DOW( ) function

Returns a numeric value (1 to 7) representing the day of the week for a specified date or datetime. Abbreviation for "Day of Week".

Syntax

DOW(date/datetime)

Parameters

Name Type Description
date/datetime

datetime

 The field, expression, or literal value to extract the numeric day of the week from.

Output

Numeric.

Examples

Basic examples

Returns 4, because December 31, 2014 falls on a Wednesday, the 4th day of the week:

DOW(`20141231`)
DOW(`20141231 235959`)

Returns the numeric day of the week for each value in the Invoice_date field:

DOW(Invoice_date)

Advanced examples

Identifying transactions occurring on a weekend

Use the DOW( ) function to identify transactions that occur on a weekend. The filter below isolates dates in the Trans_Date field that occur on a Saturday or a Sunday:

SET FILTER TO DOW(Trans_Date) = 7 OR DOW(Trans_Date) = 1

Remarks

Parameter details

A field specified for date/datetime can use any date or datetime format, as long as the field definition correctly defines the format.

Specifying a literal date or datetime value

When specifying a literal date or datetime value for date/datetime, you are restricted to the formats in the table below, and you must enclose the value in backquotes – for example, `20141231`.

Do not use any separators such as slashes (/) or colons (:) between the individual components of dates or times.

  • Datetime values – you can use any combination of the date, separator, and time formats listed in the table below. The date must precede the time, and you must use a separator between the two. Valid separators are a single blank space, the letter 't', or the letter 'T'.

  • Time values – you must specify times using the 24-hour clock. Offsets from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) must be prefaced by a plus sign (+) or a minus sign (-).

    Example formats

    Example literal values

    YYYYMMDD

    `20141231`

    YYMMDD

    `141231`

    YYYYMMDD hhmmss

    `20141231 235959`

    YYMMDDthhmm

    `141231t2359`

    YYYYMMDDThh

    `20141231T23`

    YYYYMMDD hhmmss+/-hhmm

    (UTC offset)

    `20141231 235959-0500`

    YYMMDD hhmm+/-hh

    (UTC offset)

    `141231 2359+01`

    Note

    Do not use hh alone in the main time format with data that has a UTC offset. For example, avoid: hh+hhmm. Results can be unreliable.

     

Related functions

If you need to return:

  • the name of the day of the week, use CDOW( ) instead of DOW( )
  • the day of the month as a number (1 to 31), use DAY( ) instead of DOW( )