Parameters of the DateTime generator

After you add the DateTime generator in a field of a Data definition, you can customize the existing configurations of the field.

When you click the DateTime generator of a specific field in the Data definition in the Edit branch, the unique parameters of the DateTime generator that contains the existing configuration details for that field are displayed in the DateTime dialog.

The following table provides the list of UI elements of the DateTime dialog with their default parameters, and the actions that you can perform in the dialog to customize the parameters for the selected field:

UI element Description Default feature Action
The Generator field Displays the name of the selected generator, that is, DateTime. The name is not editable. NA
The Distribution field Determines if the date and time are randomly generated or not in the corresponding column of the test data. Contains the Random option. The Random option is selected.

  • Do not perform any action if you want the date and time, when generated in the test data, to follow a random distribution.

  • Clear the Random option if you want the date and time to follow a fixed distribution and to be non-random.

    When you clear the option, the Percentage fields of all the existing configurations become editable. You can set a fixed distribution for the date and time using the Percentage field.

    For example, if you set the percentage distribution of 30% to a configuration that contains the dates of weekdays with a fixed time range and 70% to another configuration that contains the dates of weekends with a different time range, then the enumerator column of the generated data displays the values accordingly.

    The percentage for each configuration is automatically rebalanced preserving the allocation in the existing configurations, when you add a configuration subsequently.
The Duplicates field Determines if duplicate or unique date and time are present in the generated data. Contains the Allowed option. The Allowed option is selected.
  • Do not perform any action if you want the generated date and time to include duplicate entries. This means that some of the date and time values might appear more than once in the generated data.
  • Clear the Allowed option if you want to ensure a unique date and time with no duplicates. This will prevent any duplicate date and time from appearing in the generated data.
The Blank percentage field Determines the frequency of blank date and time values in the generated data. Displays 0 and is editable. Enter a number from 0 to 100. For example, if you enter 10, approximately 10% of the date and time values in the generated data will be blank.
The Name field Displays the custom name of the selected configuration. Displays Default and is editable. Enter an identifiable name to the selected configuration, if required.
The Percentage field Determines the proportion of the generated date and time values when you do not select the Random option. Editable when Random is not selected.

If you did not select the Random option for distribution, enter a number from 0 to 100 in the Percentage field to set the percentage of the date and time values to be generated.

For example, if you enter 50, the generated data will display the column corresponding to the date and time values with a 50% occurrence rate.
The Pattern list Allows you to select the date pattern for data generation. The default pattern is mm/dd/yyyy. Select the required date pattern from the list of available options.
The Limit dates section Allows you to define limitations on the generated dates. NA
  • Either enter the dates in the From and To fields in the format of dd/mm/yyyy or select the dates from the corresponding calendar icons to reflect in the fields.
  • Select the days of the week (S, M, T, W, T, F, S) in the Exclude section to exclude those days from the From and To date fields.
  • Enter multiple dates in the Specific dates to exclude field, separated by commas, to exclude specific dates from the generation.
The Limit times section Allows you to define limitations on the generated times. NA Enter the times in the From and To fields in the AM and PM format.
The Add new configuration tab You can add additional date and time configurations with specific components and settings, if required.
  • The Name field displays Configuration-1 and is editable.
  • The Percentage field is editable when the Random option is not selected.
  • The following sections display the same values that were provided in the previous configuration:
    • Limit dates
    • Limit times

Click the tab and then add the required components for the additional date and time configuration.

For example, you can have one configuration for weekdays with a fixed time range, and another configuration for weekends with a different time range.

Note:
You can click the delete icon Delete icon to delete any additional configuration that you do not need.
The Save to catalog option After the customization of the DateTime generator is complete, you can use the DateTime generator as the base generator to create a new custom generator. NA

Click the Save to catalog icon .

You can reuse the same configuration at a later time in different scenarios without having to set it up again from scratch. See Creating custom generators and categories from Data definitions.
The close icon NA NA Click the icon to exit the DateTime generator dialog.
Note: The total percentage displayed in the Percentage fields of all the configurations in the DateTime generator should be equal to 100.