Use the date field instead of the text field for symbolizing the layer and the template shows up. Alternatively, set the attribute property from the template property window. See <a href="http://help.arcgis.com/en/arcgisdesktop/10.0/help/index.html#//001t0000004p000000.htm" target="_blank">http://help.arcgis.com/en/arcgisdesktop/10.0/help/index.html#//001t0000004p000000.htm</a>