TryParse
doesn't let you specify the format - but you can use TryParseExact
:
DateTime date;
if (DateTime.TryParseExact(text, "dd'.'MM'.'yyyy",
CultureInfo.InvariantCulture,
DateTimeStyles.None,
out date))
{
// Success
}
else
{
// Parse failed
}
Note that the dot doesn't strictly need to be escaped with the quotes, but personally I like to put any literal text in quotes just to make sure that it won't be changed. It's a personal preference thing though - you could certainly just use "dd.MM.yyyy" if you wanted.
Likewise I've specified the invariant culture which is what I normally do for a fixed custom style - but you could make it use the current culture or a specific other culture if you wanted. When you're using a custom style (rather than a standard style such as "long date") it's less likely to make any difference, admittedly.