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Administrator Guide
Last Updated: 2026-05-15
Reference: Sequence Generator Variables

Reference: Sequence Generator Variables

When you create a unique sequence identifier, you can use a combination of constants, Workday-delivered variables, and custom locale-dependent variables in the
Sequence ID Format
 field of these tasks:
  • Create ID Definition / Gapless Sequence Generator
  • Create ID Definition / Sequence Generator
  • Edit ID Definition / Gapless Sequence Generator
  • Edit ID Definition / Sequence Generator
Sequence generator variables are case-sensitive, must be enclosed in square brackets, and can’t contain more than 4 consecutive identical letters. Date-related variables are evaluated based on the date the sequence number is generated.

Workday-Delivered Variables

Variable
Description
[seq]
[Seq]
[SEQ]
The sequence number that:
  • Increases by the value you enter in the
    Increment Sequence ID By
     field.
  • Expressed in the number of digits you enter in the
    Padding
     field.
Workday uses a separate sequence for each ID definition that uses this variable.
[year]
[Year]
[YEAR]
[yyyy]
The calendar year in 4-digit format. Example: 2026.
[y]
[yy]
[yyy]
The last 2 digits of the 4-digit calendar year. Example: 26 represents the year 2026.
[month]
[Month]
[MONTH]
[MM]
The calendar month in 2-digit format with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 01 - 12. Example: 09 represents September.
[M]
The calendar month. Valid values range from 1 - 12. Example: 9 represents September.
[day]
[Day]
[DAY]
[dd]
The date of the calendar month in 2-digit format with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 01 - 31.
[d]
The date of the calendar month. Valid values range from 1 - 31.
[ddd]
The date of the calendar month in 3-digit format with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 001 - 031.
[dddd]
The date of the calendar month in 4-digit format with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 0001 - 0031.
[D]
The day of the calendar year. Valid values range from 1 - 365. Example: 32 represents February 1.
[DD]
The day of the calendar year, expressed in a minimum of 2 digits with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 01 - 365. Example: 32 represents February 1.
[DDD]
The day of the calendar year in 3-digit format with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 001 - 365. Example: 032 represents February 1.
[DDDD]
The day of the calendar year in 4-digit format with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 0001 - 0365. Example: 0032 represents February 1.
[F]
The occurrence of a specific weekday within a calendar month. Valid values range from 1 - 5. Example: On Wednesday, 2026-01-31, 5 represents the fifth Wednesday of January.
[FF]
The occurrence of a specific weekday within a calendar month in 2-digit format with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 01 - 05. Example: On Wednesday, 2026-01-31, 05 represents the fifth Wednesday of January.
[FFF]
The occurrence of a specific weekday within a calendar month in 3-digit format with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 001 - 005. Example: On Wednesday, 2026-01-31, 005 represents the fifth Wednesday of January.
[FFFF]
The occurrence of a specific weekday within a calendar month in 4-digit format with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 0001 - 0005. Example: On Wednesday, 2026-01-31, 0005 represents the fifth Wednesday of January.
[h]
The hour of the day in 12-hour clock (civil time) format. Valid values range from 1 - 12.
[hh]
The hour of the day in 12-hour clock (civil time) format expressed in 2 digits with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 01 - 12.
[hhh]
The hour of the day in 12-hour clock (civil time) format, expressed in 3 digits with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 001 - 012.
[hhhh]
The hour of the day in 12-hour clock (civil time) format, expressed in 4 digits with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 0001 - 0012.
[H]
The hour of the day in 24-hour clock (military/standard time) format. Valid values range from 0 - 23. Example: 0 represents 12 AM.
[HH]
The hour of the day in 24-hour clock (military/standard time) format, expressed in 2 digits with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 00 - 23. Example: 00 represents 12 AM.
[HHH]
The hour of the day in 24-hour clock (military/standard time) format, expressed in 3 digits with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 000 - 023. Example: 000 represents 12 AM.
[HHHH]
The hour of the day in 24-hour clock (military/standard time) format, expressed in 4 digits with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 0000 - 0023. Example: 0000 represents 12 AM.
[k]
The hour of the day in 24-hour clock format, starting from 1. Valid values range from 1 - 24. Example: 1 represents 12 AM.
[kk]
The hour of the day in 24-hour clock format, starting from 1 and expressed in 2 digits with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 01 - 24. Example: 01 represents 12 AM.
[kkk]
The hour of the day in 24-hour clock format, starting from 1 and expressed in 3 digits with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 001 - 024. Example: 001 represents 12 AM.
[kkkk]
The hour of the day in 24-hour clock format, starting from 1 and expressed in 4 digits with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 0001 - 0204. Example: 0001 represents 12 AM.
[K]
The hour of the day in 12-hour clock (civil time) format. Valid values range from 0 - 11.
[KK]
The hour of the day in 12-hour clock (civil time) format, expressed in 2 digits with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 00 - 11.
[KKK]
The hour of the day in 12-hour clock (civil time) format, expressed in 3 digits with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 000 - 011.
[KKKK]
The hour of the day in 12-hour clock (civil time) format, expressed in 4 digits with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 0000 - 0011.
[m]
The minute of the hour. Valid values range from 0 - 59.
[mm]
The minute of the hour in 2-digit format with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 00 - 59.
[mmm]
The minute of the hour in 3-digit format with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 000 - 059.
[mmmm]
The minute of the hour in 4-digit format with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 0000 - 0059.
[s]
The second of the minute. Valid values range from 0 - 59.
[ss]
The second of the minute in 2-digit format with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 00 - 59.
[sss]
The second of the minute in 3-digit format with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 000 - 059.
[ssss]
The second of the minute in 4-digit format with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 0000 - 0059.
[S]
The millisecond of the second. Valid values range from 0 - 999.
[SS]
The millisecond of the second, expressed in a minimum of 2 digits with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 00 - 999.
[SSS]
The millisecond of the second in 3-digit format with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 000 - 999.
[SSSS]
The millisecond of the second in 4-digit format with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 0000 - 0999.
[w]
The week number in the calendar year. Valid values range from 1 - 52.
[ww]
The week number in the calendar year, expressed in 2 digits with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 01 - 52.
[www]
The week number in the calendar year, expressed in 3 digits with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 001 - 052.
[wwww]
The week number in the calendar year, expressed in 4 digits with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 0001 - 0052.
[W]
The week number within a calendar month. Valid values range from 1 - 6.
[WW]
The week number within a calendar month in 2-digit format with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 01 - 06.
[WWW]
The week number within a calendar month in 3-digit format with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 001 - 006.
[WWWW]
The week number within a calendar month in 4-digit format with leading zeroes. Valid values range from 0001 - 0006.
[Z]
The RFC 822 time zone, indicating the number of hours and minutes the time is ahead or behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC/GMT), using 4-digit numerical offsets.
Example: When it’s 4:30 PM Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), the RFC 822 time zone is -0700.
[ZZ]
[ZZZ]
[ZZZZ]
The ISO 8601 full format time zone, indicating the number of hours and minutes the time is ahead or behind Coordinated Universal Time Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
Example: When it’s 4:30 PM Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), the ISO 8601 full format time zone is -07:00.

Locale-Dependent Variables

When you define custom locale-dependent variables with fixed-text strings, you can choose whether to add a space after the comma. Workday automatically disregards any spaces entered after the comma.
Variable
Description
[E]
[EE]
[EEE]
The short names for the days of the week. Examples:
  • Su,M,Tu,W,Th,F,Sa
  • Sun,Mon,Tues,Wed,Thu,Fri,Sat
[EEEE]
The full or long names for the days of the week.
[MMM]
The short names for the months of the calendar year. Example:
Jan,Feb,Mar,Apr,May,Jun,Jul,Aug,Sep,Oct,Nov,Dec
[MMMM]
The full or long names for the months of the calendar year.
[a]
[aa]
[aaa]
The names for the periods of the day. Example:
A.M.,P.M.
[z]
[zz]
[zzz]
The short names for the regional time zones. Example:
PST,PDT
[zzzz]
The full or long names for the regional time zones. Example:
Pacific Standard Time,Pacific Daylight Time
[G]
[GG]
[GGG]
[GGGG]
The names for the eras. Example:
B.C.,A.D.