Airtable Date Fields Explained: Formatting, Time, and Time Zones

Dates in Airtable offer flexibility in format and display, but they can also lead to confusion, especially with time zones. This guide covers options available for formatting and time settings in Airtable date fields.

Creating a Date Field

The date field allows various formats. If most of your users are based in the United States, you might prefer M/D/YYYY. Options include:

• Local: Automatically formats based on the browser’s location settings.
• Friendly: Displays the month, day, and year (e.g., "March 2, 2023").
• US: Month/day/year format.
• European: Day/month/year format.
• ISO: Year/month/day, ideal for logical sorting.

Adding Time to a Date Field

You can choose a 12-hour format with AM/PM or a 24-hour format (e.g., "17:25" for 5:25 PM). Use time only if necessary for the field’s purpose, such as appointments.

Time Zones

Time zones can display relative to the user or remain fixed. By default, Airtable stores all times in GMT. You may set “Use the same time zone for all collaborators” to standardize the time displayed for everyone in a specific location.