Sample usage
PARSE_DATE("%x", DateText)
Syntax
PARSE_DATE( format_string, text )
Parameters
format_string - A string representation of the format of your date field. See Format elements for date and time parts for a list of format elements that this function supports.
text - a text representation of a date.
Return data type
Date
Example
In these examples, DateText is a field containing a text date. Use the format_string field to specify the format of that text string. Applying PARSE_DATE to the text field returns a Date value.
| Example formula | Input | Output |
|---|---|---|
PARSE_DATE("%m/%d/%y", DateText) |
12/25/08 |
2008-12-25 |
PARSE_DATE("%d%m%Y", DateText) |
25122008 |
2008-12-25 |
Notes
When using PARSE_DATE, keep the following in mind:
- Unspecified fields. Any unspecified field is initialized from 1970-01-01.
- Case insensitive names. Names, such as Monday, February, and so on, are case insensitive.
- Whitespace. One or more consecutive white spaces in the format string matches zero or more consecutive white spaces in the date string. In addition, leading and trailing white spaces in the date string are always allowed -- even if they are not in the format string.
- Format precedence. When two (or more) format elements have overlapping information (for example both
%Fand%Yaffect the year), the last one generally overrides any earlier ones.
This function supports format elements, but does not have full support for
%Q, %a, %A, %g, %G, %j, %u, %U, %V, %w, and %W.