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How do I get TODAY() to return today’s date in my time zone?

  • November 17, 2020
  • 3 replies
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As I typed this, it was 11/17 2:45 pm in my time zone (PST = GMT - 8).

What I want is to get a field that return what today’s date is in my time zone.

I have tried the following fields:

  • TODAY ( ) – GMT contains the formula TODAY () with “Use the same time zone (GMT) for all collaborators” toggled on in the formatting tab

  • TODAY ( ) – not GMT contains the formula TODAY () with “Use the same time zone (GMT) for all collaborators” toggled off in the formatting tab

  • TODAY ( ) using SET_TIMEZONE contains the formula DATETIME_FORMAT(SET_TIMEZONE(TODAY(),‘America/Los_Angeles’),‘MM/DD/YYYY’) (with no option to set formatting available):

What I get is the following (again, when it is 11/17 2:45 pm in my time zone (PST = GMT - 8)):

  • TODAY ( ) – GMT: 11/17/2020 12:00am

  • TODAY ( ) – not GMT: 11/16/2020 4:00pm

  • TODAY ( ) using SET_TIMEZONE 11/16/2020

Note that when it was 12:00 am on 11/17 GMT time, it was indeed 4:00 pm 11/16 in my time zone (PST). Which is sadly not when I entered the formulas…

So, essentially, I can’t get TODAY( ) to show me the date it is today in my time zone. When I request it to do that, either by:

  • toggling off “Use the same time zone (GMT) for all collaborators” in the formatting tab

  • or with the SET_TIMEZONE formula

What TODAY () spits out instead is the time it was in my time zone when it became “today” in the GMT one (which unfortunately for me happens to be yesterday until 4 pm my time!).

How does one either solve or get/hack one’s way around this problem?

In advance, a big thank you for any help and suggestions! :slightly_smiling_face:

BTW:

  • I’m on Windows 10 and use Airtable on Chrome

  • I have cleared my cache and refreshed using CTRL + F5, to no avail so far.

  • I have both manually and automatically reset my time zone in Windows 10. If I change my time zone to a different one, TODAY( ) gives the time it was in that different time zone when it became today in the GMT one.

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      Mariane_Marketi

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    • Syb_de_Clark
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    • 1 reply
    • November 18, 2020

    Ok, I now have answered my own question in an embarrassingly simple way, even though I guess I would still love something even simpler (like some setting…?), knowing I will likely want to use my “today” in larger formulas. Anyway, for those who this might help:

    The formula DATEADD(TODAY(),-8,‘hours’) does the trick, knowing I am in the PST = GMT - 8 (so to be adjusted according to your time zone :winking_face:

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    Syb_de_Clark wrote:

    Ok, I now have answered my own question in an embarrassingly simple way, even though I guess I would still love something even simpler (like some setting…?), knowing I will likely want to use my “today” in larger formulas. Anyway, for those who this might help:

    The formula DATEADD(TODAY(),-8,‘hours’) does the trick, knowing I am in the PST = GMT - 8 (so to be adjusted according to your time zone :winking_face:


    If you haven’t already tried it, I would also recommend checking out the NOW() function as this should return a time and then turn off ‘Use the same time zone (GMT) for all collaborators’.

    I’m also PST and am constantly battling issues with the way Airtable stores dates / times. Definitely would enjoy if time zone could be specified at an account or base level.

    I believe with the TODAY() function there is no value for time unless you manipulate it (as you did), the NOW() function could provide you with a time and hopefully prevent you from having to add/subtract hours.

    Keep in mind with the NOW() function that it does not constantly refresh. People who are much smarter than I go into it a little here.

    Anyways, hope that this helps. Good luck!

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      pdxbug
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    • pdxbug
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    • 12 replies
    • December 23, 2024

    Found this a bit infuriating but NOW() is the fix. Tried all combinations of today() with and without setting timezone and didn't get the correct data in the fields. e.g. 

    SET_TIMEZONE(TODAY(), 'America/New_York') (set the formatting timezone to UTC and New York and both were wrong)
    Using the formula NOW() and setting the formatting timezone to New York gives the correct data

     

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