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Question

Date format in MM/DD/YYYY despite me changing column to DD/MM/YYYY

  • February 23, 2026
  • 2 replies
  • 75 views
CKARC
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Hi Airtablians

I have a date column which I have set to DD/MM/YYYY . . when i try to cut or import data into it sometimes it works, sometimes it doesnt, i have realised that even though I have set the field explicitly as DD/MM/YYYY format like most of the known world, it still wants in input in MM/DD/YYYY then it represents that back in the format I want to see it i.

This is causing havoc with automations.

I am guessing that there is a central “what format is the date in this entire table/workspace in” setting but I cant find it?

 

My date settings
 

field input still wanting me to enter in 


it appears this is why i cant cut or import data in unless it is MM/DD/YYYY format (which also means all the datas in the dataset are probably wrong, but i saved in s asecond text field as backup. 

The field is linked to an interface, in case that means anythiung?

2 replies

DisraeliGears01
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The “Local” setting is MM/DD/YYYY (Feb 24, 2026 in your screencap). I forget how “Local” is determined, it might be during account creation or go by IP, but regardless you can just use that dropdown and select “European”.

Airtable stores everything behind the scenes into a UTC datetime string ( 2026-02-24T00:00:00.000Z) and then converts it into a preferred format from there.

    A
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    • anthonyXRay
    • Participating Frequently
    • February 24, 2026

    The thing that gives people trouble is how Airtable separates how a date is displayed from how it’s interpreted when you import or enter it.

     

    By setting your field to DD/MM/YYYY you are only changing the display format to the user.  In Airtable it is still processing the input based on your locale depending on whether your account is US based or something else.

    What is happening is when you are pasting in 5/6/2026 but Airtable is thinking it is June 5th so the display may look right but Airtable is interpreting it the other way. 

    You can avoid this by pasting values in the ISO style format of YYYY-MM-DD, Airtable will handle that consistently. When parsing text dates in automations use “DATETIME_PARSE()” with the exact format specified.

    Interfaces will not affect this part of the parsing.  This is just a strange Airtable quirk.

    Anthony at XRay
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