lastworkdate - script and chart function

The lastworkdate function returns the earliest ending date to achieve no_of_workdays (Monday-Friday) if starting at start_date taking into account any optionally listed holiday. start_date and holiday should be valid dates or timestamps.

Syntax:

lastworkdate(start_date, no_of_workdays {, holiday})

Return data type: integer

Diagram that shows a calendar of a month. The start date of work is set on the 10th of the month and the end date of work is set on the 26th. The days inbetween the start and end date, excluding Saturdays and Sundays, are highlighted in green. — A calendar that shows how the lastworkdate() function is used

Limitations

There is no method to modify the lastworkdate() function for regions or scenarios that involve anything other than a work week that begins on Monday and ends on Friday.

The holiday parameter must be a string constant. It does not accept an expression.

When to use it

The lastworkdate() function is commonly used as part of an expression when the user would like to calculate the proposed end date of a project or assignment, based on when the project begins and the holidays that will occur in that period.

Regional settings

Unless otherwise specified, the examples in this topic use the following date format: MM/DD/YYYY. The date format is specified in the SET DateFormat statement in your data load script. The default date formatting may be different in your system, due to your regional settings and other factors. You can change the formats in the examples below to suit your requirements. Or you can change the formats in your load script to match these examples. For more information, see Modifying regional settings for apps and scripts.

Default regional settings in apps are based on the user profile. These regional format settings are not related to the language displayed in the Qlik Cloud user interface. Qlik Cloud will be displayed in the same language as the browser you are using.

If you are an app creator, you can set the default region for apps you create. For more information, see Setting your preferred regional settings for creating apps and scripts in Qlik Cloud Analytics.

Arguments
Argument	Description
start_date	The start date to evaluate.
no_of_workdays	The number of working days to achieve.
holiday	Holiday periods to exclude from working days. A holiday is stated as a string constant date. You can specify multiple holiday dates, separated by commas. Example: '12/25/2013', '12/26/2013', '12/31/2013', '01/01/2014'

Example 1 - Basic example

Overview

Open the Data load editor and add the load script below to a new tab.

The load script contains:

A dataset containing project IDs, project start dates, and the estimated effort, in days, required for the projects. The dataset is loaded into a table called ‘Projects’.
A preceding load which contains the lastworkdate() function which is set as the field ‘end_date’ and identifies when each project is scheduled to end.

Load script

SET DateFormat='MM/DD/YYYY'; 

Projects: 
    Load 
       *, 
       LastWorkDate(start_date,effort) as end_date 
       ; 
Load 
id, 
start_date, 
effort 
Inline  
[	 
id,start_date,effort 
1,01/01/2022,14 
2,02/10/2022,17 
3,05/17/2022,5 
4,06/01/2022,12 
5,08/10/2022,26 
];

Results

Load the data and open a sheet. Create a new table and add these fields as dimensions:

id
start_date
effort
end_date

Results table
id	start_date	effort	end_date
1	01/01/2022	14	01/20/2022
2	02/10/2022	17	03/04/2022
3	05/17/2022	5	05/23/2022
4	06/01/2022	12	06/16/2022
5	08/10/2022	26	09/14/2022

Because there are no scheduled holidays, the function adds the defined number of working days, Monday to Friday, to the start date to find the earliest possible end date.

The following calendar shows the start and end date for project 3, with the working days highlighted in green.

Diagram that shows the start date of project 3 as May 17 and the last work date as May 23, for a total of five working days. — A calendar that shows the start and end date of project 3

Example 2 - Single holiday

Overview

Open the Data load editor and add the load script below to a new tab.

The load script contains:

A dataset containing project IDs, project start dates, and the estimated effort, in days, required for the projects. The dataset is loaded into a table called ‘Projects’.
A preceding load which contains the lastworkdate() function which is set as the field ‘end_date’ and identifies when each project is scheduled to end.

However, there is one holiday scheduled on May 18, 2022. The lastworkdate() function in the preceding load includes the holiday in its third argument to identify when each project is scheduled to end.

Load script

SET DateFormat='MM/DD/YYYY'; 

Projects: 
    Load 
       *, 
       LastWorkDate(start_date,effort, '05/18/2022') as end_date 
       ; 
Load 
id, 
start_date, 
effort 
Inline  
[	 
id,start_date,effort 
1,01/01/2022,14 
2,02/10/2022,17 
3,05/17/2022,5 
4,06/01/2022,12 
5,08/10/2022,26 
];

Results

Load the data and open a sheet. Create a new table and add these fields as dimensions:

id
start_date
effort
end_date

Results table
id	start_date	effort	end_date
1	01/01/2022	14	01/20/2022
2	02/10/2022	17	03/04/2022
3	05/17/2022	5	05/24/2022
4	06/01/2022	12	06/16/2022
5	08/10/2022	26	09/14/2022

The single scheduled holiday is entered as the third argument in the lastworkdate() function. As a result, the end date for project 3 is shifted one day later because the holiday takes place on one of the working days before the end date.

The following calendar shows the start and end date for project 3 and shows that the holiday changes the end date of the project by one day.

Diagram that shows the start date of project 3 as May 17 with a holiday on May 18. The last work date of the project moves to May 24. — A calendar that shows the start and end date of project 3 with a holiday on May 18

Example 3 - Multiple holidays

Overview

Open the Data load editor and add the load script below to a new tab.

The load script contains:

A dataset containing project IDs, project start dates, and the estimated effort, in days, required for the projects. The dataset is loaded into a table called ‘Projects’.
A preceding load which contains the lastworkdate() function which is set as the field ‘end_date’ and identifies when each project is scheduled to end.

However, there are three holidays scheduled for May 19, 20, 21, and 22. The lastworkdate() function in the preceding load includes each of the holidays in its third argument to identify when each project is scheduled to end.

Load script

SET DateFormat='MM/DD/YYYY'; 

Projects: 
    Load 
       *, 
       LastWorkDate(start_date,effort, '05/19/2022','05/20/2022','05/21/2022','05/22/2022') as end_date 
       ; 
Load 
id, 
start_date, 
effort 
Inline  
[	 
id,start_date,effort 
1,01/01/2022,14 
2,02/10/2022,17 
3,05/17/2022,5 
4,06/01/2022,12 
5,08/10/2022,26 
];

Results

Load the data and open a sheet. Create a new table and add these fields as dimensions:

id
start_date
effort
end_date

Results table
id	start_date	effort	end_date
1	01/01/2022	14	01/20/2022
2	02/10/2022	17	03/04/2022
3	05/17/2022	5	05/25/2022
4	06/01/2022	12	06/16/2022
5	08/10/2022	26	09/14/2022

The four holidays are entered as a list of arguments in the lastworkdate() function after the start date and number of working days.

The following calendar shows the start and end date for project 3 and shows that the holidays change the end date of the project by three days.

Diagram that shows the start date of project 3 as May 17 and the last work date as May 25, with four extra holidays moving the last work date back by three days - with two of the holidays falling on Saturday and Sunday. — A calendar that shows the start and end date of project 3 with holidays from May 19 to 22

Example 4 - Single holiday (chart)

Overview

The same dataset and scenario as the first example are used.

However, in this example, the dataset is unchanged and loaded into the app. The end_date field is calculated as a measure in a chart.

Load script

SET DateFormat='MM/DD/YYYY'; 

Projects: 
Load 
id, 
start_date, 
effort 
Inline  
[	 
id,start_date,effort 
1,01/01/2022,14 
2,02/10/2022,17 
3,05/17/2022,5 
4,06/01/2022,12 
5,08/10/2022,26 
];

Results

Load the data and open a sheet. Create a new table and add these fields as dimensions:

id
start_date
effort

To calculate the end_date, create the following measure:

=LastWorkDate(start_date,effort,'05/18/2022')

Results table
id	start_date	effort	=LastWorkDate(start_date,effort,'05/18/2022')
1	01/01/2022	14	01/20/2022
2	02/10/2022	17	03/04/2022
3	05/17/2022	5	05/23/2022
4	06/01/2022	12	06/16/2022
5	08/10/2022	26	09/14/2022

The single scheduled holiday is entered as a measure in the chart. As a result, the end date for project 3 is shifted one day later because the holiday takes place on one of the working days before the end date.

The following calendar shows the start and end date for project 3 and shows that the holiday changes the end date of the project by one day.

Did this page help you?

If you find any issues with this page or its content – a typo, a missing step, or a technical error – let us know how we can improve!

Leave your feedback here

lastworkdate - script and chart function

Regional settings

Example 1 - Basic example

Example 2 - Single holiday

Example 3 - Multiple holidays

Example 4 - Single holiday (chart)

Dataset

Preceding load

Field

App

Measure

Did this page help you?