Auto Created Date - Historic Data

Hi,

Just started using Smartsheet and I've got to admit, I am impressed.

I have a form, when the user submits data in the form, the timestamp is captured for when it is created.

The problem is, I have existing data I want to copy in which gets deleted when I change the column to autonumber - Created Date.

Best solution I've found is create another column, hide it and use that as an autonumber if the date column is blank by using an ifblank formula.

I also tried =LEFT(AutoDate@row, LEN(AutoDate@row)) to capture the date in the column beside it, but it automatically converts to todays date when I convert the formula to the whole column, which I need for the form to capture when it was created.

Can anyone help please? Or have another solution?

Thank you for taking the time to read 😊