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h2. Overview 
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The *Date Conversion* function is available during the CSV Import process. It allows you to convert date fields that are unconventionally formatted, into a standard date format that Yellowfin can recognise. For example, a date stored in your CSV as *{{2014-Aug-12}}* can be converted to *{{12/08/2014}}*.

In the example used here, we have a CSV file with two different date formats, and neither of them are recognised by Yellowfin as a standard date format. The CSV used can be located [here|^campIncidents.csv].

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Once the CSV file has initially been loaded, following the steps on either the [View Builder CSV Import] or [Report Builder CSV Import] pages, we can see there are two date fields in the file.
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The Date fields, *Start Date* and *End Date*, are shown in the file, but Yellowfin has recognised them as Varchar (text) fields, as they were not formatted in the standard date format.
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h2. Example 
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In order to convert these fields, follow these steps:

h3. dd-MMM-yy
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*1.* Click on the *New Function* button on the left of the CSV Data page. This will open a menu displaying all the functions that can be built into your file.

{color:#CC0000}*Note:*{color} this screenshot is from the [Report Builder CSV Import], if using the [View Builder CSV Import] not all of these options will be available, as they are available in later stages of the standard View Builder process instead.
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*2.* Click on the *Date Conversion* link to start the process.

*3.* From here you will need to select the field that requires converting. We will start with the *Start Date* field.

*4.* Click *Create*.
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*5.* From here, the *Date Conversion* window will be displayed. First, you can provide a name for the converted version of the field. 
{color:#CC0000}*Note:*{color} this will be a new field, the original unconverted field will remain. You may wish to rename the original field as well.

*6.* Next, you will need to select which *Converted Data Type* you wish the field to be stored as. If the field contains time components and you wish to use them in reporting, select *Timestamp*, otherwise select *Date*.

Last, you will need to define the *Date Format* the CSV field is *currently* stored in. Yellowfin will always convert *to* the format specified in *Administration* > *Configuration* > *Regional Settings*, which is *{{dd/MM/yyyy}}* by default, what you have to do is tell it how to read the original field. In this example, the Start Date field is displaying as *{{3-Jan-09}}*, which means it's formatted as *{{dd-MMM-yy}}*.
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*7.* Enter *dd-MMM* into the *Date Format* field. You will notice that in the preview panel at the bottom of the window, Yellowfin has highlighted the *3-Jan* component of the Sample Data, and as such is returning *3/1/1970*. What happens here is that Yellowfin converts the parts you specify (in this case day and month) and populates the rest with components from the date: 1/1/1970.
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*8.* Finish entering the date: enter *dd-MMM-yy* into the *Date Format* field. Yellowfin has now converted the entire date in the preview panel.

*9.* Click *Save* to complete.
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You will now have a new field at the end of your CSV table. This will have an orange band at the top to identify it as a converted field.
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h3. dd/MM/yyyy
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In this example, we are going to convert the *End Date* field. At the moment this field looks like a date Yellowfin should recognise, as it's in our default format of *{{dd/MM/yyyy}}*, but Yellowfin actually needs to read in dates from the format *{{yyyy/MM/dd}}*. So while it looks OK to us, Yellowfin has recognised it as text rather than a date.
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*1.* Click the *New Function* button, select *Date Conversion* and choose the *End Date* field.

*2.* Click *Create* to begin*.

*3.* Complete the *Name* and *Converted Date Type* as before.

*4.* If you were not sure how to specify your date format, i.e. what characters to use in the *Date Format* field, click on the *(i)* symbol in the field.
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*5.* From here you will be shown what character combinations make up what date components. Work out which characters you need and click *Close* to return to the previous screen.

*6.* Enter *{{dd/MM/yy}}* and click *Save* to complete.
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