VBScript in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition

Name

Now Function

Syntax

Now

Return Value

A Date.

Description

Returns the current date and time based on the system setting.

Example

The following example returns the date 10 days from today:

Dim dFutureDate
dFutureDate = DateAdd("d", 10, Now)

Programming Tips and Gotchas

• It’s often overlooked that workstations in a modern Windows environment are at the mercy of the user! If your application relies on an accurate date and time setting, you should consider including a line in the workstation’s logon script to synchronize the time with one of the servers. Many so-called bugs have been traced to a workstation that has had its date or time wrongly altered by the user. The following line of code, when added to the logon script of an NT/Windows 2000 machine, synchronizes the machine’s clock with that of a server called NTSERV1:

  net time \\NTSERV1 /set

• If you convert the date returned by Now to a string, it takes the Windows General Date format based on the locale settings of the local computer. The U.S. setting for General Date is mm/dd/yy hh:mm:ss.

• The Now function is often used to generate timestamps. However, for short-term timing and intra-day timestamps, the Timer function, which returns the number of milliseconds elapsed since midnight, affords greater precision.

See Also

Timer Function