---
schema_version: "1"
id: 64d9e09d1e317c0486f2adfc1897e167397abe6319fe0b006603561b993ec49d
title: "Format Dates Transformation: Standardize the Date Format in a Column"
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content_hash: 9aa3d1c8c6efb554fac0d7a2c434a93deaff7f1dc2ea7f6800af336a8f06920f
description: Standardize the format for all dates in a text column with the Format Dates transformation. With a consistent format, you can correctly filter and group records by date, including filtering by date component, such as month. A consistent format also ensures that you can successfully convert the column type from Text to Date.
products:
  - Data 360
release: "264"
---
# Format Dates Transformation: Standardize the Date Format in a Column

Standardize the format for all dates in a text column with the Format Dates transformation. With a consistent format, you can correctly filter and group records by date, including filtering by date component, such as month. A consistent format also ensures that you can successfully convert the column type from Text to Date.

1. In a Transform node, select the text column that contains dates in the Preview tab.
2. In the Transform toolbar, click the **Format Dates** button (![Format Dates button](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-data-data_cloud-264-0-0-production-enus/f3569962-3c9b-4f83-9d0c-b6a574e785da/resources-global/analytics/images/bi_button_formatDates.png)).
3. Enter the original date formats in the selected column. The Date Format transformation assumes the first matching format shown in the Original Formats search box is the correct one. For example, if a date is 01/06/2023, the date format could be `dd/MM/yyyy` or `MM/dd/yyyy`.
4. Select the desired date format in the **Change To** field.
5. To convert a text column with dates to a Date column type, select **Convert column type to Date**.
6. Under **Show Results In**, select whether the new values appear in a new column and whether to keep the original column.
7. If you elect to create a column, set the label under **Column Label**.
8. To add the transformation to the Transform node, click **Apply**.
9. To view the canvas area, click the **Collapse** button (![Collapse button](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-data-data_cloud-264-0-0-production-enus/f3569962-3c9b-4f83-9d0c-b6a574e785da/resources-global/analytics/images/bi_button_collapse.png)).

When you run the batch data transform, the transformation replaces the dates in the existing column with dates in the specified format. If the transformation can't determine the date's original format or the date doesn’t have a value for a date component, then it replaces the date with null. For example, if you standardize on the `MM/dd/yyyy:hh:mm:sssz` format and a date value doesn’t have the seconds date component (`sssz`), then the transformation replaces the date with null.