column keeps reverting to date format

Dan Dopierala

I am also having a very similar issue. We have 3 "contact list" columns (Functional/Technical/User). Two of the columns change from Contact List to Date type every week or so. Very easy to go back & update, but very frustrating - as the multiple reports that use the base sheet simply display blanks in the column when this occurs (the main smartsheet still retains the value - even though it is not a valid date format). Oddly, the third Contact List column has never encountered the issue that the other 2 have/are encountering.

Andrée Starå

Hi @Dan Dopierala

Strange!

If you haven’t already, I would recommend that you reach out to the Smartsheet Support Team.

I hope that helps!

Be safe and have a fantastic week!

Best,

Andrée Starå | Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

✅Did my post(s) help or answer your question or solve your problem? Please help the Community by marking it as the accepted answer/helpful. It will make it easier for others to find a solution or help to answer!

Davey Smalley

Hi Dan,

Sounds like the same bug we have.

I'd try exporting the whole lot to excel and then recreating the smartsheet and importing the data.

The smartsheet suggested workaround was a bizarre stab in the dark.

Good luck!

Davey

Davey Smalley

Just an update:

Six months later we still have exactly the same bug with the smartsheets database changing column types from number to dates.

This messes up our finanical reporting and has meant I've had to pay for two more licences just so the users can change the column type back to number.

:O(

PaulJ

I'm experiencing a similar issue. I have a column that is already designated as a Date type. When I replicated the sheet (it's used as a template for other sheets), the column shows up as "Invalid Operation". If I go into the sheet, change the format type to Text/Number, save the sheet, then change the type back to Date, all the values show up correctly. I've confirmed before I do this that the column type is showing as Date.

I've tried the workaround, but that didn't change anything.

Any suggestions?

Paul

Vanessa Pryor

I have the exact same issue. It has been extremely frustrating, as our CEO and CFO rely on my report for their weekly calls. Every week they get increasingly less confident in my ability to do my job because of this error. In the 2nd screenshot below, the count column has NEVER been a date column. The data that is pulled with a VLOOKUP formula has NEVER been a date column. Both receiving sheet and sheet from which the VLOOKUP Is pulling information columns are the same. This is just looking to see if an account has activated. If activated, it just shows the row number in the activated accounts sheet.

I will right click column header, change back to text, then once I save and exit the sheet, and go back, the below appears "#DATE EXPECTED"

Genevieve P.

Hi @Vanessa Pryor

Formula errors can work a bit like dominoes - if there is one cell in a column with an error, then any other formula that's referencing the column in its entirety (such as a cross-sheet range) will display the error from that one cell.

Can you check the columns that your COUNT formula is looking at to see if there is an error in any of its referenced columns?

Jcasey

I'm having a similar issue. I'm the owner of a sheet in SS where the rows are generated from other users submitting a SS form. There is a column in the sheet named "Submission Date", and it has the column type "created date", which is perfect as it assigns/auto-populates with the date that the form was submitted. This column seems to spontaneously change to the date type/format, and that subsequently inactivates a workflow I have set up that moves the rows to another sheet when all of the approvals are complete. The rows won't move to the other sheet because the column type, or format, doesn't match between sheets after the submission date changes to Date instead of Created Date. My workaround is to log in everyday and change the column back to Created Date, and then reactivate my workflow. I then take the step to move the rows to the other sheet because they don't go automatically after I reactivate the workflow. I'm not going to pursue a fix outside of this feedback because it will likely take more of my time than my current work around!! Please fix this SS and my new workflow will be so much more impressive to the team!!

Paul Newcome

@Jcasey Have you reached out to Support yet?

me_user

@Jcasey Hi! I am having the EXACT same issue with my current sheet. I even have a workflow to move rows that keeps breaking. Were you able to get this resolved?

Jcasey

I haven't had any resolution to this, but I'll admit that I haven't contacted the support team because I don't have the time. I hope you're able to fix the issue, but for us, we just continually change the date format back and save, but then our automated workflow doesn't work, so we move the rows ourselves once all of the approvals are entered.

Nick Ricci

Hello, just adding my voice to the choir. We have a column with a very simple Single Select Drop Down list that periodically reverts to the "Date" column type. We're on the verge of automating the inputs to this column via an integration with Microsoft Dynamics, and this bug could prove to be a big issue for us. Thus far our fix has been to change the column type back to a drop-down and copy-paste our list back in every time it happens. I've read through the workaround steps provided by Alejandra (dated 12/21/2018), and am a bit concerned that Smartsheet hasn't fixed what their support team confirmed to be a bug in the ensuing half decade. Will this bug be remediated? Or has it been relegated to eternal backlog purgatory?