String to Date

[heatherpaquette]

Hi!

How would I convert the BillOfLadingDate to a Date format?  It is currently string and I want the dd/mm/yyyy to stay the same.

I have tried converting to Date but it doesn't work.

[jrlindem]

You can use a formula tool to parse and then format:  DateTimeFormat(DateTimeParse([your_field_here],"%m/%d/%Y"),"%d/%m/%Y")

Here's a knowledge article that goes into more detail about manipulating date strings:  DateTime Functions

[heatherpaquette]

If you have time, would you mind creating the formula in Alteryx with the example and reposting?  I'm still not quite getting the answer.

[jrlindem]

@heatherpaquette  Certainly!  Here you go.  Shown below and attached 😊

I didn't connect directly to your data, but you can swap out my text input tool for your data and simply change the formula to reference your BillOfLadingDate field.  I did it this way to show you more dates than your example dataset had in it.

[jrlindem]

@heatherpaquette Okay, felt bad for not providing this with your data!  it's really as simple as swapping out the text tool for your data and then updating the formula to the correct field:

[heatherpaquette]

Thank you!  The formula works great, but the format is still String.  Is there a way to make the format Date rather than String?

[jrlindem]

It can't be represented as a true date, unless it conforms to Alteryx's date standards.  So if you're going to use the date in formulas, etc. in your workflow you'll want to leave it in native date format like yyyy-mm-dd but after you've done your transformations, calculations, manipulations and go to output, then add in that formula from above and format the date (as string) for your final output.

-Jay