[javascript] Set initial value in datepicker with jquery?

I'm trying to set an initial value in my jquery ui datepicker. I've tried several different ways, but nothing seems to display the date, it's empty.

var idag = new Date();
$("#txtFrom").datepicker("setDate", idag - 2);
$("#txtTom").datepicker("setDate", idag);
$("#txtFrom").datepicker("refresh");
$("#txtTom").datepicker("refresh");

You can set the value in the HTML and then init datepicker to start/highlight the actual date

<input name="datefrom" type="text" class="datepicker" value="20-1-2011">
<input name="dateto" type="text" class="datepicker" value="01-01-2012">
<input name="dateto2" type="text" class="datepicker" >


$(".datepicker").each(function() {    
    $(this).datepicker('setDate', $(this).val());
});

The above even works with danish date formats

http://jsfiddle.net/DDsBP/2/

Use this code it will help you.

<script>
InitializeDate();
</script>




<input type="text" id="txtFromDate" class="datepicker calendar-icon" placeholder="From Date" style="width: 100px; margin-right: 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 7px;">
        <input type="text" id="txtToDate" class="datepicker calendar-icon" placeholder="To Date" style="width: 100px; margin-right: 10px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 7px;">


function InitializeDate() {
    var date = new Date();
    var dd = date.getDate();             
    var mm = date.getMonth() + 1;
    var yyyy = date.getFullYear();

    var ToDate = mm + '/' + dd + '/' + yyyy;
    var FromDate = mm + '/01/' + yyyy;
    $('#txtToDate').datepicker('setDate', ToDate);
    $('#txtFromDate').datepicker('setDate', FromDate);
}

Use setDate

.datepicker( "setDate" , date )

Sets the current date for the datepicker. The new date may be a Date object or a string in the current date format (e.g. '01/26/2009'), a number of days from today (e.g. +7) or a string of values and periods ('y' for years, 'm' for months, 'w' for weeks, 'd' for days, e.g. '+1m +7d'), or null to clear the selected date.

Use it after initialization code to get current date (in datepicker format):

$(".ui-datepicker-today").trigger("click");

I'm not entirely sure if I understood your question, but it seems that you're trying to set value for an input type Date.

If you want to set a value for an input type 'Date', then it has to be formatted as "yyyy-MM-dd" (Note: capital MM for Month, lower case mm for minutes). Otherwise, it will clear the value and leave the datepicker empty.

Let's say you have a button called "DateChanger" and you want to set your datepicker to "22 Dec 2012" when you click it.

<script>
    $(document).ready(function () {
        $('#DateChanger').click(function() {
             $('#dtFrom').val("2012-12-22");
        });
    });
</script>
<input type="date" id="dtFrom" name="dtFrom" />
<button id="DateChanger">Click</button>

Remember to include JQuery reference.

From jQuery:

Set the date to highlight on first opening if the field is blank. Specify either an actual date via a Date object or as a string in the current dateFormat, or a number of days from today (e.g. +7) or a string of values and periods ('y' for years, 'm' for months, 'w' for weeks, 'd' for days, e.g. '+1m +7d'), or null for today.

Code examples

Initialize a datepicker with the defaultDate option specified.

$(".selector").datepicker({ defaultDate: +7 });

Get or set the defaultDate option, after init.

//getter
var defaultDate = $(".selector").datepicker("option", "defaultDate");
//setter
$(".selector").datepicker("option", "defaultDate", +7);

After the datepicker is intialized you should also be able to set the date with:

$(/*selector*/).datepicker("setDate" , date)