For specific time-of-day triggers, I use the HOUR()
function wrapped around NOW()
. However, keep in mind that this returns the current hour in GMT, not in your local timezone, so you’ll need to compensate in your formula calculation. For example, I have a field that triggers an automation to run every day at midnight. My timezone is GMT -8, so the formula in this field is:
HOUR(NOW()) = 8
That outputs a 1 when it’s midnight in my local time, and 0 all other hours. The automation trigger is “When record matches conditions”, with the condition being that this formula field contains a 1. It switches from 0 to 1 approximately at midnight, then resets to 0 for all other hours, so it fires once a day.
Why only approximately? This has to do with how frequently NOW()
is refreshed. There have been discussions elsewhere in the forum about this, but long story short, it varies.
Here’s a screenshot showing the most recent runs of this daily automation that I mentioned above (click to enlarge):
I’m fine with the fluctuation because my automation isn’t time-sensitive. Whether or not that variance will work for you is something only you can determine.
Anyway, to combine this with a specific day of the month is pretty easy. If I wanted my automation to run at 8am on the 15th, my formula (again accounting for the 8-hour time difference in my timezone) would be this:
AND(HOUR(NOW()) = 16, DAY(NOW()) = 15)
With that, you wouldn’t need a custom view, as you could also use the “When record matches conditions” trigger to see when this formula outputs a 1, which will only be at 8am on the 15th of each month.