How do I make an auto-updating school year?

Modified on Mon, 7 Jul at 11:48 AM

Using an auto-updating school year lets you place a single, smart tag that always shows the correct school year without manual edits each summer. Build it once, and your forms and email notifications stay accurate all year-round.

Add a Computed Component

On your form, drop in a Computed Component and set its formula equal to:

(()=>{
let todayDate = new Date();
let currentYear = todayDate.getFullYear();
let lastYear = currentYear - 1;
let nextYear = currentYear + 1;
let currentMonth = todayDate.getMonth() + 1;

if(currentMonth >= 7) {
return currentYear + '-' + nextYear;
} else {
return lastYear + '-' + currentYear;
}
})()

Change the Month
By default, this component will flip to the new school year on July 1 each year. To change this date to the first of a different month, simply change the 7 in the pink part of the code above to any other month's number (i.e. January = 1, February = 2, September = 9, etc.)

Set the field ID of the computed component to schoolYear and set the component to Always Hide (under the component's Show/Hide Rules).

Now, when you want to reference the school year dynamically on your form or in email notifications, use ##schoolYear## to merge-in the calculated school year. Simple!

That is all it takes. One computed component and one merge tag keep every form and email up to date year after year!