Date Format issue while using .csv or .excel as output

Question

Hi everyone,

I am facing a weird issue in which the string column are getting converted to dates when I take the output in .csv or .xlsx.

Ex: The column has value 01/23 and it should be exactly the same in the excel output, however, excel is automatically converting 01/23 to 01/01/2023. Now for values after 12/2023, like 13/2023 or 48/2023 it is keeping the data as it is.

I have tried using V_String, V_String: Forced and VW_String but nothing works. Attached are the screenshots.

Regards,

Deb

excel date.JPG

Date Issue.JPG

apathetichell · Answer

are you outputting to range and preserving the formatting? if so - the underlying excel cells are formatted as date. your string is being converted to date by excel because the source formatting is a date. you can fix this by not preserving the original formatting in your output range in and unchecking that box in the output tool.

Par_O_SE · Answer

@Deba93 , I'm unable to recreate this issue. When I test this in version 22.1 inputting values through a "Text Input" tool and output it to an .xlsx file, I get no change in format. The data type is "V_String".

What is your incoming data source (.xlsx, .csv. etc.)? What is the cell format in your output Excel (General, Date, Number, etc.)?

My input in the Text Input tool:

My output in the .xlsx document:

Deba93 · Answer

I am outputting to an already existing excel by overwriting it. I tried copying data from browse tool and paste them in a blank excel. It returned the same value