---
schema_version: "1"
id: b2514a777c4a6d9daff165952ebc363e46940b4a1373dbc9792bc0df21d00516
title: "Text to Date Transformation: Convert the Column Type"
collection: admin
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/analytics/264-0-0/bi_integrate_recipe_transformation_dimensiontodate.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=analytics.bi_integrate_recipe_transformation_dimensiontodate.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
source_site: help.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: 3763d2108c982b721ad9098c4493dc5076be0de181abd24c9024e850fb602999
description: When you load data into a dataset, CRM Analytics tags a date column as a text (dimension) if it contains unexpected string values or dates in different formats. To use date functionality, such as grouping by month, use the Text To Date transformation to change the Text column type to Date.
products:
  - CRM Analytics
  - Cross Cloud
release: "264"
---
# Text to Date Transformation: Convert the Column Type

When you load data into a dataset, CRM Analytics tags a date column as a text (dimension) if it contains unexpected string values or dates in different formats. To use date functionality, such as grouping by month, use the Text To Date transformation to change the Text column type to Date.

### Required Editions

## Text to Date Transformation: Convert the Column Type

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          <col style="width:50%">
        </colgroup>
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            <th scope="colgroup" class="slds-cell-wrap" colspan="2" style="text-align:center;vertical-align:top;" id="d163766e39">User Permissions
              Needed</th>
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            <td data-label="User Permissions Needed" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d163766e39 ">To create a recipe:</td>

            <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d163766e39 ">Edit Analytics Dataflows OR Edit Dataset Recipes</td>

          </tr>
        </tbody>
      </table>

1. In the Transform node of a Data Prep recipe, select the text (dimension) column you want to convert to the Date column type.
    
    For example, you standardized the dates in a text column and now want to convert the column type to Date.
2. In the Transform toolbar, select **Text to** | **Date**.
    
    ![The To Date modal showing options to specify the date format.](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-analytics-bi-264-0-0-production-enus/ec791473-f5b4-4f64-a656-9104f455d966/resources-global/analytics/images/bi_integrate_dim2date_settings.png)
3. In the Date Format field, select the date format to display the dates.
4. Under Show Results In, select whether the new values appear in a new column and whether to keep the original column.
5. If you elect to create a column, set the label under Column Label.
6. To change more column attributes, click the Column Attributes box, change them, and click **Apply**. ![The Column Attributes box showing the API Name, Output Type, and Date Format for a text column converted to a date column.](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-analytics-bi-264-0-0-production-enus/ec791473-f5b4-4f64-a656-9104f455d966/resources-global/analytics/images/bi_integrate_dim2date_moreSettings.png)
7. Click **Apply** to add the transformation to the Transform node. The Preview tab shows the new date component column.
8. To view the Graph area, click the Collapse button (![Collapse button](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-analytics-bi-264-0-0-production-enus/ec791473-f5b4-4f64-a656-9104f455d966/resources-global/analytics/images/bi_button_collapse.png)).
9. Save the recipe.

Run the recipe to convert the column type to Date and the date values to the specified format. If the transformation can’t parse a date value, it replaces the value with null.