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Anonymous
Not applicable

How to change type of datetime column

I have a column of dates and times as shown below. It is currently in text type but when I try changing to date/time, I get an error saying "we can't automatically convert the column to date/time type".  The column was created from a Python script by converting a date column in another table to a python list, doing some calculations then putting the list into a dataframe. I'm guessing it's because of the "T" but don't know how to remove it or put a space there instead.

 

XYZ1233_0-1646310234740.png

 

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION
Pragati11
Super User
Super User

HI @Anonymous ,

 

The values in your datatime column contain a text character T which doesn't make values in the right format as expected in Power BI.

What you can do is, just replace T with a single space character in this column in Power Query Editor and then try changing it's datatype to datetime. It should work.

 

Best Regards,

Pragati Jain


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3 REPLIES 3
Anonymous
Not applicable

Hi @Pragati11 ,

 

I just replaced it with a space but I get the same error again. Any idea why?

HI @Anonymous ,

 

You will need to remove the last part of your date value as well which is highlghted below:

2021-12-23T12:17:37.780000

 

You can use EXTRACT before delimiter option in Power Query editor to do this. This can be found under Transform option:

Pragati11_0-1646313284534.png

In your case delimiter will be dot operator. Setting should be something like below:

Pragati11_1-1646313409129.png

 

Best Regards,

Pragati Jain


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LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog YouTube 

Did I answer your question? Mark my post as a solution! This will help others on the forum!

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Pragati11
Super User
Super User

HI @Anonymous ,

 

The values in your datatime column contain a text character T which doesn't make values in the right format as expected in Power BI.

What you can do is, just replace T with a single space character in this column in Power Query Editor and then try changing it's datatype to datetime. It should work.

 

Best Regards,

Pragati Jain


MVP logo


LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog YouTube 

Did I answer your question? Mark my post as a solution! This will help others on the forum!

Appreciate your Kudos!!

Proud to be a Super User!!

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