Converts text to a date.
Sample usage
PARSE_DATE("%x", DateText)
Syntax
PARSE_DATE(format_string, text)
Parameters
format_string - See Supported Format Elements For DATE for a list of format elements that this function supports.
text - a text representation of a date.
Return data type
Date
Example
In this example, DateText is a field containing a text date. The result of applying PARSE_DATE with the correct format_string is a Date value.
| Example formula | Input | Output |
|---|---|---|
PARSE_DATE("%d/%m/%Y", DateText) |
25/12/08 |
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.