Alternate date entry format on app

[ShelbyZelonisRoberson]

My end users are testing a new form that I've built for them in Connect. They are entering data via the app on iPhones and Androids. 

I have a date of birth question, and the most common feedback is that they do not like having to scroll through the calendar to enter it (yes - they know about how you can quickly navigate the year, etc). 

They just want to type "11/11/1987" and not deal with the calendar.  Is there a way to collect a date in this format while still keeping it a date type field on the backend? Or do I have to collect it as a text and somehow parse it into a new date field??

Thanks!

[abureaux]

Ya, calendar is annoying. It's the only way to enter a "date" though.

You can alternatively use input masks though. Try something like 99/99/9999;_ in the body::esri:inputMask column for a text field... Or maybe even an integer field with the numbers appearance.

EDIT: Oh ya, just preemptively going to say that this is annoying for other reasons. You essentially have to enter in two digits for all months and days. Yes, there is an "optional" number option for input masks, but that doesn't alleviate the annoying method of input. Honestly, three separate fields is probably the most intuitive. Here, I put this together quickly: