Date field populating "01/01/1970" from form submission
I have a form collecting information on an event request where a "Date Selected" field is not present. Despite this, it seems that this field will intermittently be populated with "01/01/1970" when the form is submitted. The only automation surrounding this form submission is an update request that does contain this field, however the audit tracking shows this field is populated by "Form user" at the time of original form submission. Has anyone encountered this? My only thought is to create an automation clearing the field if it occurs, but I'd like to address the problem directly.
Best Answer
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I agree that it sounds like when the form is submitted and the row is newly created, Smartsheet is filling in what should be a Blank cell with default data accidentally. I have not seen other reports of this - it would be good if you could report this to Support with the following:
- Screen recording of submission coming in (without the date) and the row populated with the date
- Images of the Cell History
- If this happens on a Copy/duplicate of the sheet (to test) or if this only happens on this one sheet
- When the first date started appearing, if you can remember
- Sheet URL
Thank you!
GenevieveNeed more information? π | Help and Learning Center
γγγ«γ‘γ― (Konnichiwa), Hallo, Hola, Bonjour, OlΓ‘, Ciao!π | Global Discussions
Answers
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@Jeremy Singleton jan 1st 1970 is the equivalent of 0 / "" type casting on date columns in SMAR. So plausibly someone is entering data and it is getting converted. Update requests would count as form.
Principal Consultant | System Integrations
Prime Consulting Group
Email: info@primeconsulting.com
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I figured it was along those lines from my search, but this field does NOT exist on the intake form, which the timestamp indicates is the source when compared to other fields.
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@Jeremy Singleton update requests are forms too. If your field is on there it is likely coming in as "" and then converting.
Principal Consultant | System Integrations
Prime Consulting Group
Email: info@primeconsulting.com
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Based on the Activity Log, it is populating on the initial intake form submission, which it is not present on.
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@Jeremy Singleton that would be pretty weird, can you duplicate on a test sheet with form and only the date and primary columns?
Principal Consultant | System Integrations
Prime Consulting Group
Email: info@primeconsulting.com
Follow us on LinkedIn! -
I agree that it sounds like when the form is submitted and the row is newly created, Smartsheet is filling in what should be a Blank cell with default data accidentally. I have not seen other reports of this - it would be good if you could report this to Support with the following:
- Screen recording of submission coming in (without the date) and the row populated with the date
- Images of the Cell History
- If this happens on a Copy/duplicate of the sheet (to test) or if this only happens on this one sheet
- When the first date started appearing, if you can remember
- Sheet URL
Thank you!
GenevieveNeed more information? π | Help and Learning Center
γγγ«γ‘γ― (Konnichiwa), Hallo, Hola, Bonjour, OlΓ‘, Ciao!π | Global Discussions
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Hello, I am having the same issue when a new row is being created via a form. Columns that are not used in the form itself are self-populating as "01/01/70" for date columns and "0" for others.
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Please alsoΒ report this to SupportΒ with the following:
- Sheet URL
- Screen recording of submission coming in (without the date) and the row populated with the date
- Images of the Cell History (like what you shared here, thank you!)
- If this happens on a Copy/duplicate of the sheet (to test) or if this only happens on this one sheet
- When the first date started appearing, if you can remember
Support will be able to troubleshoot with you in a private channel so you can share this information.
Thank you!
GenevieveNeed more information? π | Help and Learning Center
γγγ«γ‘γ― (Konnichiwa), Hallo, Hola, Bonjour, OlΓ‘, Ciao!π | Global Discussions
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Thank you Genevieve. I copied the sheet and ran some tests, it did not occur. It appears to happen in conjunction with a certain selection in a different field, though I'm not sure it is happening every time. It seems to be only within the last month or so. I'll follow up with support as recommended.
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UPDATE: When taking screenshots of my test submissions where it did not appear I discovered it is showing "01/01/70" populating in the audit trail but NOT showing in the field. Is this your experience as well @Ashley WIlson?
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Yes. The cell appears blank but isn't. I have an automation that triggers under certain conditions, including one of the date cells being blank. It has stopped triggering due to this.
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I am having the exact same issue and it started between 12:15pm and 2:45pm on 04/25/25. I bet if you check your activity log for the number of cells changed when a form is submitted you will see a big increase. It looks like the form entry is adding default values to all cells, when prior to this it would only add the values entered on the form.
