date fields stored as strings to spreadsheet

[DG2B]

Hi,

I've recently encountered an issue when logging date fields in my spreadsheet. Previously, date fields were recorded in the format dd/mm/yyyy. They're being logged as text fields in the format dd.mm.yyyy. Why is this happening, and how can I resolve it?

[WillowMobileSys]

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@DG2B wrote:

They're being logged as text fields in the format dd.mm.yyyy. Why is this happening, and how can I resolve it?

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Are the dates getting messed up in the app?

Under normal circumstances, AppSheet sends to the sheet text based values.  It is then the sheet formatting that controls how that value is displayed.  Sheet column formatting does not harm the interaction with AppSheet.  It is advised that you set all columns using General Text but I do occasionally set Date Formatting so I can control sorting by Date in the sheet for testing or inspection of the data.

If you are seeing the dates in the sheet with periods, that implies that you have Date Formatting applied to that column AND that you likely have the Localization set in that sheet to something other than US.  Change the Localization to the one you wish set and/or remove or change the Date formatting for that sheet column.

[DG2B]

no, when used by the app the dates are fine.
Only when using the spreadsheet (google sheets) dates are strings.
localization is set to ISRAEL GMT+2:00, no formatting is applied to columns. 

24.8.2023	31.8.2023
24.8.2023	31.8.2023
24.8.2023	31.8.2023
01/09/2023	30/09/2023
01/09/2023	30/09/2023
01/09/2023	30/09/2023

another thing i have noticed: when a record is generated by automation - date values are stored to the spreadsheet correctly as dates, but when a record is added manualy by user , all date values (also calculated values )  are stored as strings.

[WillowMobileSys · Accepted solution]

I don't have a good answer other than either there is a Localization conflict somewhere or there is a bug.  I would submit this to AppSheet support for assistance.