There are a number of ways to have users input dates into your application. Dropdown menus are the preferred method employed as there will certainly be less error checking on dropdown input as compared to textbox input. Utilizing the date() functions the current date (or any date you prefer by adjusting the date value) can easily be made the pre-filled selected value. Here you will find two examples: one that displays the current date with a range of days prior, and the other that displays the current date out of all the dates in a range of years.