Date Variables versus Date Format Variables

Date variables created with Define Dates should not be confused with date format variables defined in the Variable View of the Data Editor. Date variables are used to establish periodicity for time series data. Date format variables represent dates and/or times displayed in various date/time formats. Date variables are simple integers representing the number of days, weeks, hours, and so on, from a user-specified starting point. Internally, most date format variables are stored as the number of seconds from October 14, 1582.