GetTimeFormat

The GetTimeFormat function formats time as a time string for a specified locale. The function formats either a specified time or the local system time.

int GetTimeFormat(
  LCID Locale,              // locale
  DWORD dwFlags,            // options
  CONST SYSTEMTIME *lpTime, // time
  LPCTSTR lpFormat,         // time format string
  LPTSTR lpTimeStr,         // formatted string buffer
  int cchTime               // size of string buffer
);

Parameters

Locale

[in] Specifies the locale for which the time string is to be formatted. If lpFormat is NULL, the function formats the string according to the time format for this locale. If lpFormat is not NULL, the function uses the locale only for information not specified in the format picture string (for example, the locale's time markers).

This parameter can be a locale identifier created by the MAKELCID macro, or one of the following predefined values.

Value	Meaning
LOCALE_SYSTEM_DEFAULT	Default system locale.
LOCALE_USER_DEFAULT	Default user locale.

dwFlags

[in] Specifies various function options. You can specify a combination of the following values.

Value	Meaning
LOCALE_NOUSEROVERRIDE	If set, the function formats the string using the system default time format for the specified locale. If not set, the function formats the string using any user overrides to the locale's default time format. This flag cannot be set if lpFormat is non-NULL.
LOCALE_USE_CP_ACP	Uses the system ANSI code page for string translation instead of the locale code page.
TIME_NOMINUTESORSECONDS	Does not use minutes or seconds.
TIME_NOSECONDS	Does not use seconds.
TIME_NOTIMEMARKER	Does not use a time marker.
TIME_FORCE24HOURFORMAT	Always uses a 24-hour time format.

lpTime

[in] Pointer to a SYSTEMTIME structure that contains the time information to be formatted. If this pointer is NULL, the function uses the current local system time.

lpFormat

[in] Pointer to a format picture to use to form the time string. If lpFormat is NULL, the function uses the time format of the specified locale.

Use the following elements to construct a format picture string. If you use spaces to separate the elements in the format string, these spaces will appear in the same location in the output string. The letters must be in uppercase or lowercase as shown (for example, "ss", not "SS"). Characters in the format string that are enclosed in single quotation marks will appear in the same location and unchanged in the output string.

Picture	Meaning
h	Hours with no leading zero for single-digit hours; 12-hour clock.
hh	Hours with leading zero for single-digit hours; 12-hour clock.
H	Hours with no leading zero for single-digit hours; 24-hour clock.
HH	Hours with leading zero for single-digit hours; 24-hour clock.
m	Minutes with no leading zero for single-digit minutes.
mm	Minutes with leading zero for single-digit minutes.
s	Seconds with no leading zero for single-digit seconds.
ss	Seconds with leading zero for single-digit seconds.
t	One character time-marker string, such as A or P.
tt	Multicharacter time-marker string, such as AM or PM.

For example, to get the time string

"11:29:40 PM"

use the following picture string:

"hh':'mm':'ss tt"

lpTimeStr

[out] Pointer to a buffer that receives the formatted time string.

cchTime

[in] Specifies the size, in TCHARs, of the lpTimeStr buffer. If cchTime is zero, the function returns the number of bytes or characters required to hold the formatted time string, and the buffer pointed to by lpTimeStr is not used.

Return Values

If the function succeeds, the return value is the number of TCHARs written to the buffer pointed to by lpTimeStr. If the cchTime parameter is zero, the return value is the number of bytes or characters required to hold the formatted time string. The count includes the terminating null.

If the function fails, the return value is zero. To get extended error information, call GetLastError. GetLastError may return one of the following error codes:

• ERROR_INSUFFICIENT_BUFFER
• ERROR_INVALID_FLAGS
• ERROR_INVALID_PARAMETER

Remarks

If a time marker exists and the TIME_NOTIMEMARKER flag is not set, the function localizes the time marker based on the specified locale identifier. Examples of time markers are "AM" and "PM" for US English.

The time values in the SYSTEMTIME structure pointed to by lpTime must be valid. The function checks each of the time values to determine that it is within the appropriate range of values. If any of the time values are outside the correct range, the function fails, and sets the last-error to ERROR_INVALID_PARAMETER.

The function ignores the date portions of the SYSTEMTIME structure pointed to by lpTime: wYear, wMonth, wDayOfWeek, and wDay.

If TIME_NOMINUTESORSECONDS or TIME_NOSECONDS is specified, the function removes the separator(s) preceding the minutes and/or seconds element(s).

If TIME_NOTIMEMARKER is specified, the function removes the separator(s) preceding and following the time marker.

If TIME_FORCE24HOURFORMAT is specified, the function displays any existing time marker, unless the TIME_NOTIMEMARKER flag is also set.

The function does not include milliseconds as part of the formatted time string.

To use LOCALE_NOUSEROVERRIDE, lpFormat must be NULL.

No errors are returned for a bad format string. The function simply forms the best time string that it can. If more than two hour, minute, second, or time marker format pictures are passed in, then the function defaults to two. For example, the only time marker pictures that are valid are L"t" and L"tt" (the 'L' indicates a Unicode (16-bit characters) string). If L"ttt" is passed in, the function assumes L"tt".

To obtain the time format without performing any actual formatting, use the GetLocaleInfo function with the LOCALE_STIMEFORMAT parameter.

Windows 2000: The ANSI version of this function will fail if it is used with a Unicode-only locale. See Language Identifiers.

Requirements

  Windows NT/2000: Requires Windows NT 3.5 or later.
  Windows 95/98: Requires Windows 95 or later.
  Header: Declared in Winnls.h; include Windows.h.
  Library: Use Kernel32.lib.
  Unicode: Implemented as Unicode and ANSI versions on Windows NT/2000.

See Also

National Language Support Overview, National Language Support Functions, GetDateFormat, GetLocaleInfo, SYSTEMTIME