This month we wanted to highlight a few updates to Text Blaze.
Snippet Gallery
We've added a snippet gallery where you can see examples of how to use snippets for various use cases and applications.
New Formula functions to work with dates (Beta)
We've added four new formula functions to make it easier to work with dates and times.
A common question that comes up in the forum is how to find the difference between two dates. That has been possible using the {time} command, but we're making it easier with the new datetimediff() function.
Check out an example of how to use these new functions:
Parsing a date in an arbitrary format:
{=datetimeparse("Jan 23, 2020", "MMM D, YYYY")}
Formatting a date:
{=datetimeformat("2020-01-23", "MMM D, YYYY")}
Getting the difference between two dates):
{=datetimediff("2020-01-23", "2020-02-01", "D")}
Adding 9 days to a date (note, you can change the D to something like h, M or Y to add other periods):
{=datetimeadd("2020-01-23", 9, "D")}
Change Notice: Named List Syntax
We are changing the named list syntax to use ":" instead of "=". This applies in formulas and a few command settings.
Previous syntax:
{=["a"=1, "b"=2]}
{urlload: ...; headers=Abc=123, Xyz=456}
New syntax:
{=["a": 1, "b": 2]}
{urlload: ...; headers=Abc:123, Xyz:456}
We're making this change to align with user expectations as most common languages use this new syntax. This change will also allow us to simplify equality checks in the future.
If you use named lists, you will need to update your snippets to use the new syntax. In a week we'll start auto-updating snippets to use it, but you can start updating your own snippets yourself today. We will remove support for the old syntax, once snippets have been updated.
If you have any questions or concerns please contact us support@blaze.today.
Quick Tip of the Month
In this quick video, learn how to use formulas to add dynamic calculations to your snippets:
As always...
If you have any questions, feel free to post to our Question and Answer community forums. And if you have anything you would love to see in Text Blaze, please suggest it in the Features Ideas section.