Forum Discussion

JenniferJennif2's avatar
JenniferJennif2
Qrew Member
10 years ago

How do I create a formula field to display one of two date fields, depending on which one is not empty?

I have two date fields. One is required [Date A], but the other is optional [Date B]. How do I create a formula field to default to display optional [Date B] unless [Date B] is empty, then display [D...
Formulas and functions
Tables and fields
QuickBaseCoachD's avatar
QuickBaseCoachD
Qrew Captain
10 years ago
no problem

The formula for a formula date field would be

IF(not IsNull([Date B]),[Date B],[Date A])
  • AmberPollard's avatar
    AmberPollard
    Qrew Assistant Captain
    9 years ago
    Hmm, I used this formula exactly and I'm getting the error: Formula error -- Bad or missing arguments in function call

    • If(not IsNull([Date]),[Date],[Date Modified])
    My field type is a formula Date field. Should I be using another field type?

    Thanks!
  • QuickBaseCoachD's avatar
    QuickBaseCoachD
    Qrew Captain
    9 years ago
    • If(not IsNull([Date]),[Date],ToDate([Date Modified]))
    The field [date modified] is actually a date/time field, not a date field.  So it needs to be converted to be a date type.
  • AmberPollard's avatar
    AmberPollard
    Qrew Assistant Captain
    9 years ago
    D'oh! Thank you!
  • AnnSwelgin's avatar
    AnnSwelgin
    Qrew Trainee
    9 years ago
    How would I setup the formula if I want Date B unless Date B is blank then I want Date A. In my case it is a field called District.

    If(not IsNull([Related Customer (Referrals Only) - Lead - District]),[Related Customer (Referrals Only) - Lead - District],[District])

    I used this and it works great when t[Related Customer (Referrals Only) - Lead - District] is blank but I also want [Related Customer (Referrals Only) - Lead - District] to show up in my formula field when [Related Customer (Referrals Only) - Lead - District] is not blank.

    Thank you for any help.
  • QuickBaseCoachD's avatar
    QuickBaseCoachD
    Qrew Captain
    9 years ago
    I'm confused by your question. What field type us the field you are testing.

    If it is a text field then testing for IsNull will not work

    You need to test for [ My Field]. = ""

    Ie test if equal to empty quotes.
  • AnnSwelgin's avatar
    AnnSwelgin
    Qrew Trainee
    9 years ago
    District is a formula field on the Lead. and Related Customer (Referrals Only) - Lead - District is a lookup field to the district field of the Customer that referred the Lead.
  • QuickBaseCoachD's avatar
    QuickBaseCoachD
    Qrew Captain
    9 years ago
    OK.. IsNull does is not meant to work and does not work to test text fields for being blank.  So try my suggestion.
  • AnnSwelgin's avatar
    AnnSwelgin
    Qrew Trainee
    9 years ago
    the is null part is working.

    the second part I need is that I want the data in the Related Customer (Referrals Only) - Lead - District to be the "default". Essentially I want:

    [Related Customer (Referrals Only) - Lead - District]
    OR
    If(not IsNull([Related Customer (Referrals Only) - Lead - District]),[Related Customer (Referrals Only) - Lead - District],[District])
  • QuickBaseCoachD's avatar
    QuickBaseCoachD
    Qrew Captain
    9 years ago
    is this what you want?
    If(
    [Related Customer (Referrals Only) - Lead - District] <>"", [Related Customer (Referrals Only) - Lead - District],
    [District])
  • AnnSwelgin's avatar
    AnnSwelgin
    Qrew Trainee
    9 years ago
    YOU ARE THE BEST! yes that is exactly it.