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# dateTemplate

The template for formatting one date and time value.

```
var dateTemplate: String! { get set }
```

## Discussion

Use this string to specify a custom fixed format for each of the date and time values. The string you specify is based on the Unicode Technical Standard #35, which uses characters to represent the day, time, year, hour, minute, and other pieces of date or time information.

If you do not assign a value to this string, the formatter object automatically updates the string based on the values in the [`dateStyle`](/documentation/Foundation/DateIntervalFormatter/dateStyle) and [`timeStyle`](/documentation/Foundation/DateIntervalFormatter/timeStyle) properties.

For information about how to define a custom formatting string, see [Date Formatters](https://developer.apple.com/library/archive/documentation/Cocoa/Conceptual/DataFormatting/Articles/dfDateFormatting10_4.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40002369) in [Data Formatting Guide](https://developer.apple.com/library/archive/documentation/Cocoa/Conceptual/DataFormatting/DataFormatting.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/10000029i).

---

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