Month-Year format 'MM-YYYY' as a Date field?

[aMac]

Attempted output: Month-2016 as a Date value

I understand this is possible with the DateTimeFormat() function and '%B, %Y' formatting, but is there any way to write this as a Date field type?

I am trying to summarize and sort by this Date value, and when I try sorting as a String, the values sort alphabetically, as opposed to the chronological sorting I need them to. Googling Alteryx's community doesn't provide any related solutions or suggestions-- any ideas?

Thanks!

[Joe_Mako · Accepted solution]

Instead of formatting prior to summarizing and sorting, you could use

DateTimeTrim([Date],'month')

prior to the summarizing and sorting, and then format the field later, after the summarizing and sorting.