Automatically Advance Date Field That Is Being Used To Trigger A Workflow

Andy Lidbeck

I have a sheet that has a number of tasks that need to be completed on recurring schedule. Each row has a date field that I am using to trigger a workflow. In my case, the workflow is simply copying the row to another sheet when the date trigger occurs.

My current shortcoming is that once that alert is triggered, I need to update the trigger date to a new value. I have a sperate column that contains the frequency of occurrence. So for example, if the frequency column is "Annual", the trigger date should jump forward 365 days once the automation completes.

Within the workflow configuration, I am not able to update the contents of the cell that is being used as my date trigger. Any thoughts on how I might automatically update the value of a cell, after an automated workflow is triggered?

I'm happy to provide screenshot examples if needed.

Thanks,

Toufong Vang

Andy,

I am guessing that your automation trigger is configured as "When a date is reached" for "Trigger Date". Have you tried adding a second action to the workflow, like "Record a date"?

The idea is to record a date into another field like "Copy Date" after the row has been copied. The date recorded would be the date of the copy action. Meanwhile in "Trigger Date" you'll have a formula that compares Copy Date and Trigger Date. When Trigger Date = Copy Date, increment Trigger Date by 365 days.

=IF(DATEONLY([Trigger Date]@row) = DATEONLY([Copy Date]@row), [Trigger Date]@row = DATEONLY([Trigger Date]@row + 365))

This hasn't been tested.

Cheers!

Andrée Starå

Hi @Andy Lidbeck

I hope you're well and safe!

Can you describe your process in more detail and maybe share the sheet(s)/copies of the sheet(s) or some screenshots? (Delete/replace any confidential/sensitive information before sharing) That would make it easier to help. (share too, andree@workbold.com)

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 support the Community by marking it Insightful/Vote Up or/and as the accepted answer. It will make it easier for others to find a solution or help to answer!

Andy Lidbeck

Thanks for the reply @Andrée Starå

So here is a scrubbed screenshot of the grid I'm working with.

So my workflow says to copy the entire contents of that row to another sheet whenever that date is reached on the calendar. In my scenario, this is a task that needs to be done monthly, so one month from now, I once again need the contents of this row copied to the destination sheet. My current setup does not advance the date, so after the automation runs the first time, it won't ever run again.

My first thought was to add an action at the end of the current workflow, that simply updated the "Trigger Date" field. However, because that field is being used as part of the workflow, it does not appear that I can modify it. (thats my uneducated assumption at least) As you can see below, I can't update that field for whatever reason.

So my question, how can I automatically update that "Trigger Date" field once the workflow has completed? Is there a simple way to do this that I am not thinking about? I have some ideas using cell linking, hidden fields, etc. that I think might work, but perhaps this is quite easy to accomplish and I just don't know it.

Regardless, I appreciate your assistance.

Toufong Vang

Andy,

I am guessing that your automation trigger is configured as "When a date is reached" for "Trigger Date". Have you tried adding a second action to the workflow, like "Record a date"?

The idea is to record a date into another field like "Copy Date" after the row has been copied. The date recorded would be the date of the copy action. Meanwhile in "Trigger Date" you'll have a formula that compares Copy Date and Trigger Date. When Trigger Date = Copy Date, increment Trigger Date by 365 days.

=IF(DATEONLY([Trigger Date]@row) = DATEONLY([Copy Date]@row), [Trigger Date]@row = DATEONLY([Trigger Date]@row + 365))

This hasn't been tested.

Cheers!

Andy Lidbeck

While I did not use this formula specifically, you got me pointed in the right direction. Thanks for the help.

Andrée Starå

@Andy Lidbeck

Happy to help!

I saw that TFC answered already!

Let me know if I can help with anything else!

Best,

Andrée 

Andy Lidbeck

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.