If you extract an attribute that has the data type DATETIME or DATETIME LIST, you must identify the date format. You can choose a built-in common date/time format or you can type the format you need using a pattern string based on the "Time Format Syntax" described for the java.text.SimpleDateFormat class. Trading Networks extracts the value of the date and uses it and the pattern you specify to decode the value and convert it to the format that Trading Networks requires to store the date in the BizDocEnvelope.