Graphed LogoGraphed
Graphed LogoGraphed
How It WorksAgentsIntegrationsPricing

How to Change Date Format in Looker Studio

Cody Schneider••7 min read

Nothing brings a dashboard to a halt quite like a messy date format. Looker Studio (formerly Data Studio) is an amazing tool, but its default date handling can turn a clean "October 26, 2024" into a confusing "20241026" that makes your report hard to read. This article provides a frustration-free guide to changing date formats in Looker Studio, covering both the simple, built-in options and the powerful custom functions you need for complete control.

GraphedGraphed

Build AI Agents for Marketing

Build virtual employees that run your go to market. Connect your data sources, deploy autonomous agents, and grow your company.

Watch Graphed demo video

Why Correct Date Formatting Matters

Before jumping into the "how," it's worth a quick reminder of the "why." Consistent date formatting isn't just about making your reports look good - it's about making them functional and easy to understand.

  • Better Readability: A clear format like "Oct 26, 2024" is instantly understandable for any user, whether they're a client or a team member. Formats like YYYYMMDD are machine-readable but not very human-friendly.
  • Accurate Sorting: If your dates are not properly recognized as a date type, Looker Studio might sort them alphabetically (e.g., April, August, December) instead of chronologically.
  • Clearer Time-Series Analysis: When you're looking at trends over time, you need a date axis that is logical and clear. Good formatting ensures your charts tell the right story.

Taking a few moments to set your dates up correctly prevents confusion and ensures that the insights you're presenting are obvious to your audience.

Method 1: The Easy Way with Built-in Date Type Options

For many common formats, you don't need to write a single formula. Looker Studio has a built-in menu that lets you change the default display for any date field directly within your data source. This is the fastest and easiest approach.

Free PDF · the crash course

AI Agents for Marketing Crash Course

Learn how to deploy AI marketing agents across your go-to-market — the best tools, prompts, and workflows to turn your data into autonomous execution without writing code.

How to Access the Date Type Settings

This change is made at the data source level, meaning it will apply to every chart using that field in your report.

  1. Navigate to the top menu in Looker Studio and click Resource > Manage added data sources.
  2. Find the data source you want to edit and click the EDIT button on the right.
  3. You'll see a list of all your fields (dimensions and metrics). Locate the date field you want to reformat.
  4. Click on its current Type dropdown menu (it likely says "Date" or "Date & Time").
  5. Hover over Date & Time, then select your desired format from the list that appears.

Common Built-in Format Options

Here's a breakdown of what some of the most common built-in options will give you:

  • Date (YYYYMMDD): The default, computer-friendly format (e.g., 20241026). Useful for some database operations, but not for direct display.
  • Year (YYYY): Displays only the four-digit year (e.g., 2024).
  • Year Quarter (YYYYQQ): Shows the year and the quarter (e.g., 20244 for Q4).
  • Year Month (YYYYMM): Shows the year and month number (e.g., 202410).
  • Month of Year: The full name of the month (e.g., October).
  • Day of Month: The day's number (e.g., 26).
  • ISO Year Week (YYYYWW): The year and week number (e.g., 202443).

This method is perfect for standardized reporting, like filtering by year, showing monthly trends, or grouping data by quarter. However, if you need a specific style like "Saturday, Oct 26th" or "10-26-2024," you'll need a more flexible solution.

Method 2: Full Control with the FORMAT_DATETIME Function

When the standard options aren't enough, you need to create a calculated field using the FORMAT_DATETIME function. This function gives you precise control over every part of the date - the day, month, year, weekday - and how they're arranged with commas, dashes, or slashes.

The main takeaway is this: FORMAT_DATETIME converts a date field into a text field based on a format you define.

How to Create a Calculated Field with FORMAT_DATETIME

  1. While editing your report, either edit your data source (following the same steps as Method 1) or click on a specific chart and find its data properties on the right sidebar.
  2. Click ADD A FIELD at the data source level or Add dimension/metric if editing a chart, then select CREATE FIELD.
  3. Give your new field a descriptive name, like "Formatted Date" or "MM-DD-YYYY".
  4. In the Formula box, you’ll write your function. The basic structure is:
  5. After entering the formula, click Apply and drag your new field into your chart as a dimension.

Understanding Format String Specifiers

The "format string" is where the magic happens. It’s a template made of codes, each preceded by a percent sign (%). Here are the most useful ones:

  • %Y - Four-digit year (e.g., 2024)
  • %y - Two-digit year (e.g., 24)
  • %B - Full month name (e.g., January)
  • %b or %h - Abbreviated three-letter month name (e.g., Jan)
  • %m - Month as a two-digit number (01-12)
  • %A - Full weekday name (e.g., Saturday)
  • %a - Abbreviated three-letter weekday name (e.g., Sat)
  • %d - Day of the month as a two-digit number (01-31)
  • %H - Hour in 24-hour format (00-23)
  • %I - Hour in 12-hour format (01-12)
  • %p - AM or PM
  • %M - Minute as a number (00-59)
GraphedGraphed

Build AI Agents for Marketing

Build virtual employees that run your go to market. Connect your data sources, deploy autonomous agents, and grow your company.

Watch Graphed demo video

Practical FORMAT_DATETIME Examples

Let's see how you can combine these to get the exact format you want. Assume your original date field is named Date.

Example 1: Classic US Format "October 26, 2024"

FORMAT_DATETIME(Date, "%B %d, %Y")

Here we're asking for the full month name, a space, the day of the month, a comma and a space, and the full year.

Example 2: Common European Format "26/10/2024"

FORMAT_DATETIME(Date, "%d/%m/%Y")

This specifies day, month, and year separated by slashes.

Example 3: Verbose Format "Saturday, October 26"

FORMAT_DATETIME(Date, "%A, %B %d")

This is great for reports that need to clearly call out the day of the week.

Important Caveat: Text Fields Sort Alphabetically

Remember, FORMAT_DATETIME creates a text dimension. If you try to sort a chart by this new field, it will sort alphabetically, not chronologically. "April" will come before "January."

The Fix: In your chart settings, use your new formatted date for the display dimension but use the original, unformatted date dimension as the primary Sort field.

Common Problems & How to Fix Them

Free PDF · the crash course

AI Agents for Marketing Crash Course

Learn how to deploy AI marketing agents across your go-to-market — the best tools, prompts, and workflows to turn your data into autonomous execution without writing code.

Problem: "Looker Studio isn't recognizing my date field."

Sometimes, your source data (like a Google Sheet or CSV) imports dates as text strings, like "10/26/2024". The FORMAT_DATETIME function will fail because it expects a true date type, not text.

The Fix: Use the PARSE_DATE function first to convert your text field into a proper date field. You'll need to create a separate calculated field just for this.

PARSE_DATE("%m/%d/%Y", YourTextDateField)

The format string here tells PARSE_DATE how to read the incoming text. Once you have this new field that is a proper date type, you can use it inside your FORMAT_DATETIME function.

Problem: "I got an error when I saved my formula."

Formula errors are common. Here’s what to check first:

  1. Typos: Double-check you've spelled FORMAT_DATETIME correctly and that every format code starts with a %.
  2. Field Names: Ensure your date field name is exactly correct. If it has spaces, you sometimes need to enclose it in curly braces {}, though Looker Studio is often smart enough to handle this.
  3. Data Type: Make sure the field you’re trying to format is actually a Date or Date & Time type! If it's text, refer to the PARSE_DATE fix above.

Final Thoughts

Mastering date formats in Looker Studio moves your reports from functional to professional. For quick and simple changes, the built-in type settings are your best bet. For anything else, the FORMAT_DATETIME function offers limitless flexibility, letting you create any format you can imagine by combining the various date part specifiers.

All this manual data processing - cleaning fields, writing formulas, troubleshooting data types - is honestly where a lot of time gets lost in reporting. These are exactly the low-value, repetitive tasks we built Graphed to eliminate. Instead of spending hours wrangling settings and formulas, you can connect your data sources in seconds and just describe the dashboard you want in plain English. We designed it so you spend more time acting on insights and less time bogged down in the setup.

Related Articles