How can I format a nullable DateTime with ToString()?

Edward Tanguay picture Edward Tanguay · Dec 2, 2009 · Viewed 169.9k times · Source

How can I convert the nullable DateTime dt2 to a formatted string?

DateTime dt = DateTime.Now;
Console.WriteLine(dt.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd hh:mm:ss")); //works

DateTime? dt2 = DateTime.Now;
Console.WriteLine(dt2.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd hh:mm:ss")); //gives following error:

no overload to method ToString takes one argument

Answer

Blake Pettersson picture Blake Pettersson · Dec 2, 2009
Console.WriteLine(dt2 != null ? dt2.Value.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd hh:mm:ss") : "n/a"); 

EDIT: As stated in other comments, check that there is a non-null value.

Update: as recommended in the comments, extension method:

public static string ToString(this DateTime? dt, string format)
    => dt == null ? "n/a" : ((DateTime)dt).ToString(format);

And starting in C# 6, you can use the null-conditional operator to simplify the code even more. The expression below will return null if the DateTime? is null.

dt2?.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd hh:mm:ss")