Convert dates from Bubble using Parabola

[eddie]

When I export data from my Bubble database as a CSV file the date fields do not export in UTC format. Instead they export in the following format…

Nov 18, 2021 1:09 pm

The problem is that Parabola does not recognize that as a proper date and so I can’t use the Format Dates transform on it.

Any suggestions on how I can get around this issue?

Much appreciated.

[Adam_R]

Hey @eddie great question

While that specific date format is not one of the default options in our dropdown list, we’re still able reformat that date using the reference table in our Format Dates documentation (bottom of the page).

That super-helpful chart can help you format virtually any date by specifying the starting format of the date.

In your case, the starting format for the date Nov 18, 2021 1:09 pm would be MMM DD, YYYY H:mm a.

Here is how you can input that into Parabola in the Format Dates step (I created an extra column for the example):

Let me know if you run into any issues with this formatting!

[eddie]

Thanks, @Adam_R .

I tried it, but Parabola is only formatting the dates for some of the rows and not others…

I’m also getting the following error message…“There are dates in an unknown format, try setting the old format to convert them”

Any suggestions?

Much appreciated.

[Adam_R]

@eddie One quick fix should do the trick! Since the dates have 1 day digit instead of 2 (ie. Nov 1, 2021 1:09 pm instead of Nov 01, 2021 1:09 pm), we can remove one ‘D’ from the starting format.

Here’s the new format: MMM D, YYYY H:mm a

Let me know if that resolves the issue!

[eddie]

Thanks again, @Adam_R

I managed to fix it as well by adding a second rule of MMM D, YYYY after the existing rule, but your suggestion above is cleaner as it only requires the one rule.