Implementing a DateTimePicker with event highlights isn’t rocket science—until you do it wrong.
When I first started integrating calendars into my projects (a decade ago, haha…), I quickly realized how frustrating it was to use a basic Bootstrap DateTimePicker that just let users pick dates—but gave zero context on what those dates meant.
As a passionate advocate for Free and Open Source Software, I believe powerful tools should be accessible and customizable, not locked behind expensive plugins or bloated libraries.
That’s why I set out to build a Bootstrap DateTimePicker with event highlights that’s both lightweight and flexible.
It’s not just about selecting dates—it’s about giving your users meaningful insights right on the calendar, empowering better decisions without sacrificing simplicity or performance.
Ready to ditch the dull and add real value to your DateTimePicker?
- Why Event Markers Matter in a Bootstrap DateTimePicker
- Preparing Event Data for Your DateTimePicker
- Getting Started: Installing and Initializing Your Bootstrap DateTimePicker
- How to Implement Markers
- Provide Full Code in One HTML File
- Wrapping Up: Elevate Your Bootstrap DateTimePicker with Event Highlights
Why Event Markers Matter in a Bootstrap DateTimePicker
In many applications, simply selecting a date isn’t enough. Users want to see which days have important events, deadlines, or availability at a glance. That’s where event markers come in.
By adding visual cues directly inside your Bootstrap DateTimePicker, you reduce guesswork and improve usability. Imagine a project management tool where team members immediately see days with meetings or deliverables highlighted. Or a booking system that flags fully booked dates to avoid confusion.
For open-source projects especially, this approach empowers developers to build smarter, more intuitive interfaces without relying on expensive or proprietary calendar components. It’s about making time management tools that serve real needs—transparently, efficiently, and accessibly.
Use Cases
- Display Inline Calendar:
Show a responsive calendar directly on your web page, allowing users to view dates easily without popup dialogs. - Event Markers:
Highlight specific dates with custom indicators or markers to visually denote events, appointments, or important days. - Navigation Control:
Enable users to navigate seamlessly between months and years using intuitive controls, ensuring a smooth user experience. - Date Selection:
Facilitate date selection with clickable day cells, supporting both single and range selections based on user needs. - Event Integration:
Integrate event data dynamically into the calendar, dynamically updating markers based on real-time data or user inputs. - Responsive Design:
Ensure the calendar adapts to different screen sizes and devices, maintaining usability and functionality across platforms. - Customizable Styling:
Customize the appearance of the calendar and event markers to match your application’s branding or design guidelines. - Interactive Features:
Implement interactive features such as tooltips on hover or click events on event markers to provide additional information. - Integration with Backend:
Connect the calendar to backend systems to store and retrieve event data, ensuring synchronization with other parts of the application. - Accessibility Considerations:
Design the calendar with accessibility features in mind, making it usable for all users, including those using assistive technologies.
Where to Get It
You can get the Bootstrap DateTimePicker plugin from the following sources:
Make sure to include the necessary CSS and JS files in your project. You will also need jQuery and Moment.js for the DateTimePicker to work properly.
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Preparing Event Data for Your DateTimePicker
To highlight events on your DateTimePicker calendar, you need structured event data that your script can read and interpret. Typically, this data comes as a simple JSON array with date strings and optional metadata.
Example:
[
{ "date": "2025-06-15", "title": "Project Deadline" },
{ "date": "2025-06-20", "title": "Team Meeting" },
{ "date": "2025-06-25", "title": "Client Presentation" }
]Keep these tips in mind when preparing your event data:
- Use ISO date formats (
YYYY-MM-DD) for consistency and easy parsing. - Include relevant metadata like titles or categories if you want tooltips or custom markers.
- If fetching from a backend, ensure your API returns data in a predictable structure to simplify integration.
By starting with clean, well-structured data, your DateTimePicker’s event markers will reliably reflect your schedule and avoid common bugs like date mismatches or empty highlights.
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Getting Started: Installing and Initializing Your Bootstrap DateTimePicker
Before you can enjoy the benefits of a Bootstrap DateTimePicker with event markers, setting up the right environment is key. This involves integrating the necessary libraries—Bootstrap’s CSS and JavaScript, the DateTimePicker plugin itself, and any dependencies like Moment.js or similar date-handling tools. Proper initialization ensures the widget functions smoothly within your project’s existing front-end stack.
Taking a moment to understand how these components interplay saves time and frustration down the line, especially when customizing event markers or syncing with your data sources. Whether you’re working on a fresh project or enhancing an existing Bootstrap interface, laying this solid foundation is essential to unlocking the full potential of your DateTimePicker.
How to Initialize
To initialize the DateTimePicker, include the required libraries and initialize the plugin on your target element.
How to Capture Click Events
To capture click events on the days, months, years, prev, and next buttons, you can use jQuery’s on method. This allows you to add event listeners dynamically to elements that are created after the page load.
$(document).on('click', '.datepicker .next, .datepicker .prev, .datepicker .datepicker-switch, .datepicker-months .month', function() {
setTimeout(markEvents, 100); // Delay to ensure the calendar is updated before marking events
});How to Implement Markers
The markEvents function iterates through the event data and adds markers to the corresponding date cells in the calendar. Ensure that the date format is converted correctly before comparison.
function markEvents() {
eventData.forEach(function(event) {
var eventDate = event.date;
var title = event.title;
// Find the corresponding date cell in the calendar
$('#calendar td.day').each(function() {
var cell = $(this);
var cellDate = cell.attr('data-day'); // Assuming the date is stored in a data attribute
// Convert the cellDate format from 'm/d/Y' to 'Y-m-d'
var cellDateFormatted = moment(cellDate, 'MM/DD/YYYY').format('YYYY-MM-DD');
if (cellDateFormatted === eventDate) {
// Add marker or indicator
cell.addClass('has-event').attr('title', title);
cell.append('<div class="event-indicator"></div>');
}
});
});
// Prevent the event indicator from being removed on click
$('.event-indicator').on('click', function(event) {
event.stopPropagation();
});
}
Provide Full Code in One HTML File
Here is the complete HTML file that integrates all the steps mentioned above.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<title>Bootstrap DateTimePicker Calendar with Events</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/bootstrap/4.5.2/css/bootstrap.min.css">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/tempusdominus-bootstrap-4/build/css/tempusdominus-bootstrap-4.min.css">
<style>
/* CSS for event indicator */
.event-indicator {
position: absolute;
bottom: 2px;
left: 50%;
transform: translateX(-50%);
width: 8px;
height: 8px;
background-color: #007bff; /* Example color */
border-radius: 50%;
pointer-events: none; /* Ensure indicator is not interactive */
}
/* Optional: Style for cells with events */
.has-event {
position: relative; /* Ensure position for absolute child */
cursor: pointer; /* Optional: Change cursor on hover */
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<div class="container mt-5">
<div id="calendar"></div>
</div>
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.6.0/jquery.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/moment.js/2.29.1/moment.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/tempusdominus-bootstrap-4/build/js/tempusdominus-bootstrap-4.min.js"></script>
<script>
var eventData = [
{ date: '2024-06-27', title: 'Event 1' },
{ date: '2024-06-28', title: 'Event 2' },
// Add more events as needed
];
$(function() {
$('#calendar').datetimepicker({
format: 'L', // Locale date format (e.g., 'MM/DD/YYYY')
inline: true
});
// Once the calendar is rendered, manually mark the events
setTimeout(markEvents, 100); // Adding a slight delay to ensure the calendar is fully rendered
// Add event listeners for next, prev, and month/year buttons
$(document).on('click', '.datepicker .next, .datepicker .prev, .datepicker .datepicker-switch, .datepicker-months .month', function() {
setTimeout(markEvents, 100); // Delay to ensure the calendar is updated before marking events
});
});
function markEvents() {
eventData.forEach(function(event) {
var eventDate = event.date;
var title = event.title;
// Find the corresponding date cell in the calendar
$('#calendar td.day').each(function() {
var cell = $(this);
var cellDate = cell.attr('data-day'); // Assuming the date is stored in a data attribute
// Convert the cellDate format from 'm/d/Y' to 'Y-m-d'
var cellDateFormatted = moment(cellDate, 'MM/DD/YYYY').format('YYYY-MM-DD');
if (cellDateFormatted === eventDate) {
// Add marker or indicator
cell.addClass('has-event').attr('title', title);
cell.append('<div class="event-indicator"></div>');
}
});
});
// Prevent the event indicator from being removed on click
$('.event-indicator').on('click', function(event) {
event.stopPropagation();
});
}
</script>
</body>
</html>
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Wrapping Up: Elevate Your Bootstrap DateTimePicker with Event Highlights
We’ve seen how a simple DateTimePicker can transform from a basic date selector into an interactive event-aware tool that enhances user experience and functionality—without relying on proprietary software or complex setups. By implementing event highlights the open-source way, you’re not only improving your UI but also championing accessible, customizable tech for everyone.
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⚠️ Disclaimer:
The steps outlined in this article reflect my personal setup and were accurate at the time of writing. Given the constantly evolving nature of software, operating systems, and package ecosystems, your experience may differ. Some tools or features may have limited or no support depending on your hardware, platform version, or environment. Use this guide as a starting point or reference—not a definitive solution. These instructions document my own experiments and discoveries; always validate them against your specific setup before relying on them.
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