Getting Started with the DateTimePicker

This tutorial explains how to set up a basic Telerik UI for ASP.NET MVC DateTimePicker and highlights the major steps in the configuration of the component.

You will initialize a DateTimePicker control with a number of tools. Next, you will handle some of the DateTimePicker events.

Prerequisites

To successfully complete the tutorial, you need a project that is already configured to use the Telerik UI for ASP.NET MVC components:

• To create a new pre-configured project for the Telerik UI for ASP.NET MVC components, you can use a project template.

• To manually configure an existing project by using NuGet, see the Adding Telerik UI through NuGet.

1. Prepare the CSHTML File

The first step is to add the required directives at the top of the .cshtml document:

• To use the Telerik UI for ASP.NET MVC HtmlHelpers:

  @using Kendo.Mvc.UI
  

Optionally, you can structure the document by adding the desired HTML elements like headings, divs, paragraphs, and apply some basic styles.

2. Initialize the DateTimePicker

Use the DateTimePicker HtmlHelper to add the component to a page:

• The Name() configuration method is mandatory as its value is used for the id and the name attributes of the DateTimePicker element.

• The Culture() configuration method specifies the culture info used by the widget. Date and time values typically vary by culture. For example, the "d" standard format string indicates that a date and time value is to be displayed using a short date pattern. For the invariant culture, this pattern is "MM/dd/yyyy". For the fr-FR culture, it is "dd/MM/yyyy". For the ja-JP culture, it is "yyyy/MM/dd".

• The Depth configuration method specifies the navigation depth. The available parameter settings are month, year, decade, and century.

@using Kendo.Mvc.UI

    @(Html.Kendo().DateTimePicker()
            .Name("datetimepicker")
            .Value(DateTime.Now)
            .Culture("fr-FR")
            .Depth(CalendarView.Month)
    )

3. Handle the DateTimePicker Events

The DateTimePicker exposes various events that you can handle and further customize the functionality of the component. In this tutorial, you will use the Open, Close, and Change events of the DateTimePicker.

@using Kendo.Mvc.UI

    @(Html.Kendo().DateTimePicker()
            .Name("datetimepicker")
            .Value(DateTime.Now)
            .Culture("fr-FR")
            .Depth(CalendarView.Month)
              .Events(e =>
              {
                  e.Change("change").Open("open").Close("close");
              })
    )

<script>
    function open(e) {
        console.log("Open :: " + e.view + "-view");
    }

    function close(e) {
        console.log("Close :: " + e.view + "-view");
    }

    function change() {
        console.log("Change :: " + kendo.toString(this.value(), 'g'));
    }
</script>

For more examples, refer to the demo on using the events of the DateTimePicker.

4. (Optional) Reference Existing DateTimePicker Instances

To use the client-side API of the DateTimePicker and build on top of its initial configuration, you need a reference to the DateTimePicker instance. Once you get a valid reference, you can call the respective API methods:

1. Use the .Name() (id attribute) of the component instance to get a reference.

       <script>
           var dateTimePickerReference = $("#datetimepicker").data("kendoDateTimePicker"); // DateTimePicker Reference is a reference to the existing instance of the helper.
       </script>
   

2. Use the client-side API of the DateTimePicker to control the behavior of the widget. In this example, you will use the enable method to disable the DateTimePicker.

       <script>
           $(document).ready(function () {
               var dateTimePicker= $("#datetimepicker").data("kendoDateTimePicker");
   
               dateTimePicker.enable(false);
           })
       </script>
   

For more information on referencing specific helper instances, see the Methods and Events article.

Next Steps

• DateTimePicker Floating Label
• DateTimePicker Appearance
• DateTimePicker Validation

See Also

• Using the API of the DateTimePicker for ASP.NET MVC (Demo)
• Client-Side API of the DateTimePicker
• Server-Side API of the DateTimePicker
• Knowledge Base Section