I am trying to convert a timestamp string held in a custom field on a custom record into a Date/Time value for a saved search. Here are the series of formulas I have tried and the results. From the results, I'm confident the TO_DATE formula is structured correctly. The results show: * A Date/Time formula using TO_DATE() returns an Invalid Expression error when the {custrecord_ctc_cw_contacts_lastupdated} field is used directly, or within a SUBSTR() function to ensure there are no blank spaces at the end, yet … * A text formula using the {custrecord_ctc_cw_contacts_lastupdated} field shows it contains a value that is properly formatted and expected * A text formula using the {custrecord_ctc_cw_contacts_lastupdated} field within a SUBSTR() function returns the expected results * A Date/Time formula using TO_DATE() works when the {custrecord_ctc_cw_contacts_lastupdated} field is replaced with a literal string matching the value held in the field It appears the TO_DATE formula has an issue accessing the custom field. Are there any restrictions on what fields can be used in the TO_DATE function? Thank you, Scott

There is a known issue when using TO_DATE on some Free-Form Text type fields, but that issue was closed by NetSuite Engineering as a "fact of life". It was originally encountered with the following formula: TO_DATE(CONCAT('01', SUBSTR({custom field ID}, -9)), 'DD Mon YYYY'). I guess closing it as a "fact of life" simply means it's not something with enough significance, so the problem won't ever be addressed.

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Challenges with formula using TO_DATE()

SWSearcy

I am trying to convert a timestamp string held in a custom field on a custom record into a Date/Time value for a saved search. Here are the series of formulas I have tried and the results. From the results, I'm confident the TO_DATE formula is structured correctly.

The results show:

A Date/Time formula using TO_DATE() returns an Invalid Expression error when the {custrecord_ctc_cw_contacts_lastupdated} field is used directly, or within a SUBSTR() function to ensure there are no blank spaces at the end, yet …
A text formula using the {custrecord_ctc_cw_contacts_lastupdated} field shows it contains a value that is properly formatted and expected
A text formula using the {custrecord_ctc_cw_contacts_lastupdated} field within a SUBSTR() function returns the expected results
A Date/Time formula using TO_DATE() works when the {custrecord_ctc_cw_contacts_lastupdated} field is replaced with a literal string matching the value held in the field

It appears the TO_DATE formula has an issue accessing the custom field. Are there any restrictions on what fields can be used in the TO_DATE function?

Thank you,

Scott

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