TODAY() Formula

James Tanner

Hi everyone,

How do I force the TODAY function to refresh in the background, that is, without opening/saving...etc the sheet? It seems that this is a known limitation with the function and I thought to reach out and ask to see if there's a workaround or alternative solution.

Regards,

James

Mike Wilday

You can find a list of all the ways the Today() function will be updated here:

https://help.smartsheet.com/function/today?_ga=2.35237729.1743277944.1607359431-1074882870.1602114816

• You open the sheet and save it
• You add a new row to the sheet from a form submission
• You make changes to the sheet from an update or approval request (more on these alerts here)
• You update the sheet by way of a report (more on reports here)
• A linked cell updates the sheet (more on cell linking here)
• You open the sheet being referenced in a cross-sheet formula (more on cross sheet formulas here)

One method that has been referred to is to create a cell on a sheet that is opened daily with the formula =Today() formula and then reference that cell through the linked sheet.

Would something like that work?

James Tanner

Thanks for your reply. I'll try the suggested workaround and see how it goes. Regards!

Andrée Starå

Hi @James Tanner

To add to Mike's excellent advice/answer.

To automate it fully, I usually set up and use the 3rd party service/integration, Zapier, with my clients.

Is that an option?

I hope that helps!

Be safe and have a fantastic week!

Best,

Andrée Starå | Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

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