Converting Date-Time Group (DTG) formatted text into Date-Time geodatabase fields
The Date Time Group (DTG) format is used to record date and time information in military messaging and radio transmissions. Text strings containing data formatted in this way may be more useful when converted into geodatabase Date-Time fields, where the information can be used for animation and tracking purposes. The Convert Time Field tool can convert a table column containing strings of DTG formatted text into a new column of geodatabase Date-Time data.
The format for DTG strings is: ddHHmm'Z' MMM yy
In this string, dd is the day of the month, HH the hour, mm the minute, Z stands for Zulu (UTC) time, MMM the three character month, and yy the two digit year. To convert the string "121145ZJAN11" to a Date-Time geodatabase field, you would run the Convert Time Field tool using a custom date time format picture coded as "ddHHmm'Z'MMMyy". If the DTG formatted string is space delimited, for example: "121145Z JAN 11" you would include the spaces in the custom date time format picture as "ddHHmm'Z' MMM yy".
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Start with a geodatabase feature class or table that has a text field with DTG formatted data.
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Open the Convert Time Field tool and set the input table or feature class.
This tool adds a new Date-Time field to an existing geodatabase feature class or table and calculates Date-Time values based on an input field.
- Set the input time field to the field that contains the DTG strings.
- Type this custom date time format picture: ddHHmm'Z'MMMyy
If the DTG formatted string is space delimited, for example: "121145Z JAN 11" you would include the spaces in the custom date time format picture as ddHHmm'Z' MMM yy
- Specify the name for the new field that will contain geodatabase Date-Time data.
- Set the output format to DATE.
- Run the tool. The new field with Date-Time data will be added to the table or feature class. The display format of the data will vary based on your computer's locale and system settings.
Since the output of the tool is a new column in an existing table or feature class, it is best to import data from other formats into a geodatabase before running the tool.