update text on click of date with jQuery UI datepicker

Question

I have two related questions...

1. How do I update an HTML element (let's say a p tag) with the correct date when I click on a day in the jQuery UI datepicker plug in?

2. If I have another way to selecte a date aside from the datepicker, how do I then update the datepicker's selected date (it's adds a class of "ui-state-active" to the date)?

Answer 1

1. Use the altField:

   $("#datepicker").datepicker({altField: '#alternate'});

2. Use the setDate method:

   .datepicker( "setDate" , date )

More informations here.