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Displaying Time in PXSelector: A Comprehensive Guide for Acumatica Developers

19 January 2025

When developing customizations in Acumatica, working with time fields can often present challenges, especially when displaying time in a PXSelector. A common issue arises when a time field, such as TimeDeliver, appears incorrectly as a default date (e.g., 01/01/00) instead of the desired time format. This article will walk you through how to address and solve this issue effectively, ensuring that time values are displayed in the correct format.

Understanding the Problem

The key issue reported by some developers is that time fields in PXSelector display a default date instead of time. For instance, when attempting to display a DateTime? field (like TimeDeliver), the field might render as a date like 01/01/00, which does not accurately represent the expected time value (e.g., 1:00 PM).

Here’s an example of how the field might be set up in the data access class (DAC):

[PXDBTime(DisplayMask = "t", UseTimeZone = false)]

[PXUIField(DisplayName = "Time Deliver")]

public DateTime? TimeDeliver { get; set; }

The PXDBTime attribute indicates that the field should store time values, but it does not automatically handle the formatting in the PXSelector.


The Solution: Use PXDateTimeEdit and Configure Time Mode

One solution to this problem is to ensure that the ASPX page (the UI layout) includes the proper configuration for time display. The key is to use the PXDateTimeEdit control and set its TimeMode property to true. Additionally, the EditFormat should be set to "t", the correct format for displaying time.

Here’s how you can configure your ASPX page to display the time in the correct format:

<px:PXDateTimeEdit runat="server" ID="CstPXDateTimeEdit20" DataField="TimeDeliver" DisplayFormat="t" EditFormat="t" TimeMode="true" />

DisplayFormat="t": This ensures that only the time is displayed, without the date portion.

EditFormat="t": This ensures the time input mode is enabled.

TimeMode="true": This ensures the field accepts and displays time in the correct format.

Common Pitfalls and Additional Tips

  1. Incorrect Type for Data Field: If you use PXDBTime in your DAC, ensure the field is correctly configured to store time values. For example, if you were originally using PXDBDate, switching to PXDBTime ensures proper handling of time data.
  2. Timezone Considerations: The UseTimeZone parameter, when set to false, prevents the system from converting times based on the server's timezone. This is especially useful in scenarios where you want to keep the time as-is, without adjusting it for different time zones.
  3. Alternative Solution with PXTimeList: While the PXTimeList attribute can also be used to display time in the HH:MM format, it may require changing the field type from DateTime? to int to store the time in minutes. However, this approach can lead to data conversion errors or loss of data, so it is generally not recommended if you want to keep the original data structure intact.

Conclusion

By configuring the PXDateTimeEdit control with the correct properties and ensuring that your data access class is set up to handle time correctly, you can display time values in your PXSelector in a seamless and user-friendly manner. This solution avoids common pitfalls such as incorrect time formatting or unnecessary data conversion. Implement these changes and your Acumatica interface will be more intuitive and accurate when handling time data.