Does Column Type of Date restrict using IF formulas?

Matt Rasmussen

I have a "helper" column with the Column Type of Date and I want to use an IF formula to return a date. However, I only get "#UNPARSEABLE" errors regardless of what I've tried. I have the "Restrict to dates only" checkbox un-checked because I get the error whether it's checked or not... Here is the formula:

=IF([Project IT Department]@row = "Supply Chain Systems", [Project Start Date]@row, "")

Seems pretty basic, I'm not referencing another sheet, just comparing one column of the row and picking a date column if true. My concern is that the IF function is comparing a text value and then returning a date but a true function should be agnostic about the data types. What is causing the error?

Jake Gustafson

Make sure your column with the formula is also set as a Column Type (Date). I was able to get it to work, so I'm not sure what may be causing your error. When my formula column is not set to Date the error is "#INVALID COLUMN VALUE" so it doesn't seem like the same issue. Also, you could try saving and refreshing to see if something was strangely cached causing the formula to malfunction.

Jake Gustafson

Make sure your column with the formula is also set as a Column Type (Date). I was able to get it to work, so I'm not sure what may be causing your error. When my formula column is not set to Date the error is "#INVALID COLUMN VALUE" so it doesn't seem like the same issue. Also, you could try saving and refreshing to see if something was strangely cached causing the formula to malfunction.

Matt Rasmussen

I think it was a cache issue. It's working now without any change to the formula I have above.