Extract Date from Timestamp in Google Sheets: A Guide

How to Extract Date from Timestamp in Google Sheets

Extracting the date from a timestamp in Google Sheets can be accomplished through various methods, including using built-in functions and changing cell formatting. This guide will cover several approaches to help you efficiently convert timestamps to dates.

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Using Built-in Functions

Google Sheets provides several functions that can be used to extract dates from timestamps.

• INT Function: This method involves using the INT function to extract the date part of a timestamp. The INT function rounds down a number to the nearest integer, effectively removing the time portion from a timestamp.
• SPLIT Function: The SPLIT function can separate the date and time parts of a timestamp into different cells. This is useful if the timestamp is in a text format with a consistent separator between the date and time.
• MID and DATEVALUE Functions: Another approach is to use the MID function to extract the date part of the timestamp as a text string and then convert this string into a date with the DATEVALUE function.
• EPOCHTODATE Function: For Unix timestamps, Google Sheets offers the EPOCHTODATE function, which converts Unix timestamps directly into date values.

Changing Cell Formatting

Instead of using functions, you can also change the formatting of the cells containing timestamps to display only the date part.

• Select the cells with timestamps.
• Go to Format > Number > Date. This changes the display format of the cells to show only the date part of the timestamp.

Note that this method only changes the display format and does not alter the underlying value in the cell.

Using Custom Formulas

For more flexibility, you can use custom formulas to extract and format the date from timestamps.

• TEXT Function: The TEXT function can format a timestamp into a date string according to a specified format. For example, '=TEXT(A1, "yyyy-mm-dd")' converts the timestamp in cell A1 into a date string.
• Array Formulas: If you need to convert a range of timestamps to dates, array formulas can apply a conversion formula to an entire column at once. For example, '=ARRAYFORMULA(IF(A2:A<>"", INT(A2:A), ""))' converts all timestamps in column A to dates.

These methods provide a range of options for extracting dates from timestamps in Google Sheets, whether you're dealing with individual cells or entire columns of data.

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