Newtonsoft.Json customize date serialization

Question

I am using Newtonsoft.Json for serializing my dates from C# to JSON. What I want to do is have the json serializer use the current culture for formatting dates into string.

Here is what I am getting by my Json serializer:

JsonConvert.SerializeObject(DateTime.Now);

result is:

"2016-07-08T17:10:17.6722753-05:00"

But what I prefer is:

"08/07/2016 17:10:57"

Because my current culture is brazil and I want my dates to be displayed the above way.

Is it possible to Globally (for any date that may be serialized) tell the json serializer in Newtonsoft.Json to use as if it is doing the date.ToString() (because ToString respects the culture in System.Threading.Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture.DateTimeFormat and gives the right format accordingly)

Answer 1

You'll want to set JsonSerializerSettings.DateFormatString to your desired format.

var jsonSettings = new JsonSerializerSettings();
jsonSettings.DateFormatString = "dd/MM/yyyy hh:mm:ss";

string json = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(someObject, jsonSettings);

After that, you can either pass the settings object in each time you use the serializer, or follow the steps in the answer referenced by dbc. Although, you don't mention where this is running (ASP.NET, desktop, UWP, etc), so how you set it globally may differ.

Answer 2

Yes you can use a Converter in the JsonSerializer settings.

public class SpecialDateTimeConverter : DateTimeConverterBase
    {
        public override object ReadJson(JsonReader reader, Type objectType, object existingValue, JsonSerializer serializer)
        {
            throw new NotImplementedException();
        }

        public override void WriteJson(JsonWriter writer, object value, Newtonsoft.Json.JsonSerializer serializer)
        {
             writer.WriteValue(((DateTime)value).ToString("dd/MM/yyyy hh:mm:ss"));
        }
    }

    string convertedDateTime = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(DateTime.Now, Formatting.Indented, new SpecialDateTimeConverter());