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

Date and time functions can sometimes be challenging to use correctly. In the Help, function topics describe the specific details of how each function works. For information about some general considerations when using date and time functions, see the following topics:

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( )