I am creating an automation to bring into AirTable records from a Google sheet that is being populated by Google forms. One of the fields is a Date-Timestamp field. However, even though the formatting is the same in both the spreadsheet and AirTable (namely, Date-Timestamp with the same formatting parameters), the Test Run yields an error that says, “Field ‘Date-Time’ cannot accept the provided value: Could not convert string to date.” Shouldn’t an AirTable automation designed to bring in a variety of fields from Google Sheets be able to bring in Date-Timestamp data without converting strings to dates? Is this a bug? Or am I doing something wrong? Thanks. Mike
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Automations Bringing Date-Timestamps from Google Sheets
Best answer by Mike_Williams2
I just learned from AirTable support that, per an engineer, the date-time format used by Google forms is presently not directly compatible with the date-time formats of AirTable. In the meantime, I’ll figure out a way to make this a single-line text approach, instead.
I just learned from AirTable support that, per an engineer, the date-time format used by Google forms is presently not directly compatible with the date-time formats of AirTable. In the meantime, I’ll figure out a way to make this a single-line text approach, instead.
Hi Mike, and welcome to the community!
Which ostensibly makes the automation integration incomplete, or as some would say - busted. :winking_face:
Here’s how to get around it.
- Build a script process in Google Apps Script that copies data from the Form target sheet into a new sheet.
- In that process, transform the date column into a format that Airtable will accept.
- Set that process up to run every five minutes.
- Use the Airtable automation to pull from the copied sheet rather than the Google Form’s target sheet.
Separately, one must ask - is there a really good reason not to bypass all of the Google forms and sheets layers and use an Airtable form which would eliminate all of these issues and processing?
I suspect there’s good reason, but it’s worth knowing.
+35I just learned from AirTable support that, per an engineer, the date-time format used by Google forms is presently not directly compatible with the date-time formats of AirTable. In the meantime, I’ll figure out a way to make this a single-line text approach, instead.
Alternatively, you can use Integromat or Zapier to handle your automations for you. Both platforms offer a free tier so you probably won’t need to pay for them, and both platforms offer a built-in date/time formatting feature. (Note that Integromat has far more power, flexibility, and customizability than Zapier does, which is why I personally try to avoid Zapier whenever I can.)
Here’s the link on how easy this is with Integromat:
(Note that the Integromat link contains an affiliate link of mine, so I would make a referral fee if you start paying for Integromat.)
+1Alternatively, you can use Integromat or Zapier to handle your automations for you. Both platforms offer a free tier so you probably won’t need to pay for them, and both platforms offer a built-in date/time formatting feature. (Note that Integromat has far more power, flexibility, and customizability than Zapier does, which is why I personally try to avoid Zapier whenever I can.)
Here’s the link on how easy this is with Integromat:
(Note that the Integromat link contains an affiliate link of mine, so I would make a referral fee if you start paying for Integromat.)
Hey there!
I think for this use case it is also possible to use Albato's no-code automation platform: https://albato.com/connect/airtable-with-googlesheets
The good news is that they have a free plan.
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