How can I String.Format a TimeSpan object with a c

Question

What is the recommended way of formatting TimeSpan objects into a string with a custom format?

Answer 1

For .NET 3.5 and lower you could use:

string.Format ("{0:00}:{1:00}:{2:00}", 
               (int)myTimeSpan.TotalHours, 
                    myTimeSpan.Minutes, 
                    myTimeSpan.Seconds);

Code taken from a Jon Skeet answer on bytes

For .NET 4.0 and above, see DoctaJonez answer.

Answer 2

Here is my extension method:

public static string ToFormattedString(this TimeSpan ts)
{
    const string separator = ", ";

    if (ts.TotalMilliseconds < 1) { return "No time"; }

    return string.Join(separator, new string[]
    {
        ts.Days > 0 ? ts.Days + (ts.Days > 1 ? " days" : " day") : null,
        ts.Hours > 0 ? ts.Hours + (ts.Hours > 1 ? " hours" : " hour") : null,
        ts.Minutes > 0 ? ts.Minutes + (ts.Minutes > 1 ? " minutes" : " minute") : null,
        ts.Seconds > 0 ? ts.Seconds + (ts.Seconds > 1 ? " seconds" : " second") : null,
        ts.Milliseconds > 0 ? ts.Milliseconds + (ts.Milliseconds > 1 ? " milliseconds" : " millisecond") : null,
    }.Where(t => t != null));
}

Example call:

string time = new TimeSpan(3, 14, 15, 0, 65).ToFormattedString();

Output:

3 days, 14 hours, 15 minutes, 65 milliseconds

Answer 3

This is awesome one:

string.Format("{0:00}:{1:00}:{2:00}",
               (int)myTimeSpan.TotalHours,
               myTimeSpan.Minutes,
               myTimeSpan.Seconds);

Answer 4

I would go with

myTimeSpan.ToString("hh\\:mm\\:ss");

Answer 5

I used the code below. It is long, but still it is one expression, and produces very friendly output, as it does not outputs days, hours, minutes, or seconds if they have value of zero.

In the sample it produces output: "4 days 1 hour 3 seconds".

TimeSpan sp = new TimeSpan(4,1,0,3);
string.Format("{0}{1}{2}{3}", 
        sp.Days > 0 ? ( sp.Days > 1 ? sp.ToString(@"d\ \d\a\y\s\ "): sp.ToString(@"d\ \d\a\y\ ")):string.Empty,
        sp.Hours > 0 ? (sp.Hours > 1 ? sp.ToString(@"h\ \h\o\u\r\s\ ") : sp.ToString(@"h\ \h\o\u\r\ ")):string.Empty,
        sp.Minutes > 0 ? (sp.Minutes > 1 ? sp.ToString(@"m\ \m\i\n\u\t\e\s\ ") :sp.ToString(@"m\ \m\i\n\u\t\e\ ")):string.Empty,
        sp.Seconds > 0 ? (sp.Seconds > 1 ? sp.ToString(@"s\ \s\e\c\o\n\d\s"): sp.ToString(@"s\ \s\e\c\o\n\d\s")):string.Empty);

Answer 6

I use this method. I'm Belgian and speak dutch so plural of hours and minutes is not just adding 's' to the end but almost a different word than singular.

It may seem long but it is very readable I think:

 public static string SpanToReadableTime(TimeSpan span)
    {
        string[] values = new string[4];  //4 slots: days, hours, minutes, seconds
        StringBuilder readableTime = new StringBuilder();

        if (span.Days > 0)
        {
            if (span.Days == 1)
                values[0] = span.Days.ToString() + " dag"; //day
            else
                values[0] = span.Days.ToString() + " dagen";  //days

            readableTime.Append(values[0]);
            readableTime.Append(", ");
        }
        else
            values[0] = String.Empty;


        if (span.Hours > 0)
        {
            if (span.Hours == 1)
                values[1] = span.Hours.ToString() + " uur";  //hour
            else
                values[1] = span.Hours.ToString() + " uren";  //hours

            readableTime.Append(values[1]);
            readableTime.Append(", ");

        }
        else
            values[1] = string.Empty;

        if (span.Minutes > 0)
        {
            if (span.Minutes == 1)
                values[2] = span.Minutes.ToString() + " minuut";  //minute
            else
                values[2] = span.Minutes.ToString() + " minuten";  //minutes

            readableTime.Append(values[2]);
            readableTime.Append(", ");
        }
        else
            values[2] = string.Empty;

        if (span.Seconds > 0)
        {
            if (span.Seconds == 1)
                values[3] = span.Seconds.ToString() + " seconde";  //second
            else
                values[3] = span.Seconds.ToString() + " seconden";  //seconds

            readableTime.Append(values[3]);
        }
        else
            values[3] = string.Empty;


        return readableTime.ToString();
    }//end SpanToReadableTime