Change a date field to a create date field in an existing base without resetting the dates to today

[Bill_Michael]

I want to change a date field to a create date in a base that already has records in the base. When I do that, all the dates in that field get converted to today’s date. Is there a workaround to have today’s date added to a field when a new record is created without modifying the existing dates in the field?

[TheTimeSavingCo · Accepted solution]

Hi Bill, it sounds like the date field you’re talking about contains the real created date value, and so you don’t want to lose that information after you’ve imported it or something, while at the same time utilizing Airtable’s “Created Date” field so that newly created records have their created date displayed properly?

If so, here’s a workaround I use

The formula field checks whether Created Date - Manual is empty, and if it is, takes the Created Date value. If not, it displays the Created Date - Manual field

Does this solve your problem?

[Bill_Michael]

Thank you for the solution. A shame I need three fields to do it but I can always hide the other fields. I got the answer faster than expected as well.