Submitted Date formula keeps changing because of Created Date time zones

kaylabetterworkweek

I’m trying to create a reliable Submitted Date column based on the Smartsheet Created Date system column.

The goal is for Submitted Date to capture the correct calendar date when the form was submitted and then remain unchanged. The issue is that the Created Date timestamp appears to be displayed or evaluated differently depending on the user, automation, or server time zone.

For example, a row may initially show a Submitted Date of 7/18/26, but later recalculate to 7/19/26, even though the Created Date cell history has not changed.

I originally used DATEONLY(), but late-evening submissions were sometimes pushed into the next day because of the time-zone conversion.

I then tried converting the Created Date to text and rebuilding the date from the displayed text (based on how others were doing in other feeds):

=DATE(2000 + VALUE(MID([Created Date (Auto)]@row + "", 7, 2)), VALUE(LEFT([Created Date (Auto)]@row + "", 2)), VALUE(MID([Created Date (Auto)]@row + "", 4, 2)))

However, the Submitted Date is still changing later. It appears that the '[Created Date (Auto)]@row + "" is not creating a fixed text value. It is still recalculating based on how the Created Date timestamp is currently being displayed or evaluated.

What I need is:

• A Submitted Date that is based on the form submission timestamp
• The date should not change later because another user or automation accesses the sheet

Has anyone found a reliable way to convert a Created Date system timestamp into a fixed date that does not later shift because of time-zone handling?

Kerry St. Thomas

Similar to you, we've experienced an issue with the Created Date kind of …wandering. We used a formula to parse it out. To preserve a field, it can't be linked to a formula. So we used a combination of an autonumber column and Data Shuttle.

• We set up a Data Shuttle configuration to offload the sheet once daily. (It's what fit our use; yours might be different). The destination was as attachment to the very same sheet, named consistently and with a new version of the same attachment.
• "On Attachment" to the sheet triggered another Data Shuttle, which was explicitly set up to map the "Date Created" System column to a "Created" Date column. The shuttle was set up to update only those rows where the "Created" date column was blank, and to join with the autonumber field for the row.

By using Data Shuttle, we'd be essentially entering the data, and not leaving it to a column formula that could update.

We also tried a similar trick with a helper sheet, using Copy Row and Data Mesh. Also successful, but more convoluted to set up so we didn't do that one again.

I know, it's annoying. And it requires you having access to Premium apps. But… the workarounds do exist. I'm sure there are others too. Good luck!