Incorrect Handling of XLSX data

Incorrect Handling of XLSX data

Trying to import an XLSX schedule of bills into Zoho Books I ran across the problem of date formatting.

To replicate: Build a CSV file with bill dates in whatever format you like and import it  - this should work if you match the "dd/MM/yyy" etc. format drop down.

Save that same file as an XLSX and attempt to import it. The import will likely fail due to incorrect date formats. The reason this happens is Excel doesn't internally store dates as a string, rather as numeric value (number of days since 1/1/1970.)

The workaround is to explicitly set the date columns in your XLSX  as "Text" rather than "General" ( / "Date"). 

The problem with this approach is that if you wanted to do any date functions in your Excel sheet they will fail.

A much better solution would be to recognise that a file is an xlsx and allow the user to specify a format in the drop-down of "Excel Defined". The import the utility can then use the  raw "numeric" value stored in the spreadsheet, to correctly set the relevant fields date. Not only does this allow Excel date functions to be used, but it also removes the "Locale" challenges you encounter when relying on csv.





    Access your files securely from anywhere

          Zoho Developer Community




                                    Zoho Desk Resources

                                    • Desk Community Learning Series


                                    • Digest


                                    • Functions


                                    • Meetups


                                    • Kbase


                                    • Resources


                                    • Glossary


                                    • Desk Marketplace


                                    • MVP Corner


                                    • Word of the Day



                                        Zoho Marketing Automation
                                            • Topic Participants

                                            • Simon



                                                Manage your brands on social media



                                                      Zoho TeamInbox Resources

                                                        Zoho DataPrep Resources



                                                          Zoho CRM Plus Resources

                                                            Zoho Books Resources


                                                              Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                                                                Zoho Projects Resources


                                                                  Zoho Sprints Resources


                                                                    Qntrl Resources


                                                                      Zoho Creator Resources



                                                                          Zoho Campaigns Resources


                                                                            Zoho CRM Resources

                                                                            • CRM Community Learning Series

                                                                              CRM Community Learning Series


                                                                            • Kaizen

                                                                              Kaizen

                                                                            • Functions

                                                                              Functions

                                                                            • Meetups

                                                                              Meetups

                                                                            • Kbase

                                                                              Kbase

                                                                            • Resources

                                                                              Resources

                                                                            • Digest

                                                                              Digest

                                                                            • CRM Marketplace

                                                                              CRM Marketplace

                                                                            • MVP Corner

                                                                              MVP Corner





                                                                                Design. Discuss. Deliver.

                                                                                Create visually engaging stories with Zoho Show.

                                                                                Get Started Now


                                                                                  Zoho Show Resources


                                                                                    Zoho Writer Writer

                                                                                    Get Started. Write Away!

                                                                                    Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                                                                                      Zoho CRM コンテンツ






                                                                                        Nederlandse Hulpbronnen


                                                                                            ご検討中の方





                                                                                                  • Recent Topics

                                                                                                  • Request For Quotation (RFQ) module

                                                                                                    Hello, Do you have any plans to implement a RFQ module in to ZOHO Inventory? I would like to chose items that I require a price for, select a number of different suppliers to e-mail and have them submit there pricing online. I would then like to see a
                                                                                                  • How to Customize Task Creation to Send a Custom Alert Using JavaScript in Zoho CRM?

                                                                                                    Hello Zoho CRM Community, I’m looking to customize Zoho CRM to send a custom alert whenever a task is created. I understand that Zoho CRM supports client scripts using JavaScript, and I would like to leverage this feature to implement the alert functionality.
                                                                                                  • Lookup Fields not Converting

                                                                                                    I manage holiday properties. I have a lookup to the Accounts (Properties) in the Leads module. The lookup is connected to the property address field. When I convert it the lookup field does not update in Deals, although the property address does. There
                                                                                                  • Zoho Meeting iOS app update - Join breakout rooms, access polls, paste links and join sessions, in session host controls

                                                                                                    Hello, everyone! In the latest iOS version(v1.7) of the Zoho Meeting app, we have brought in support for the following features: Polls in meeting session Join Breakout rooms Paste link in join meeting screen Foreign time zone in the meeting details screen.
                                                                                                  • Calculate hours between 2 date/time fields

                                                                                                    Hi, Does anyone know if it is possible to get the number of hours between 2 date/time fields in a zoho crm custom function? Thanks, Michael
                                                                                                  • External ID validation.

                                                                                                    I added an external ID field as below in one of my custom modules: When creating records via the API using some value (eg: 762115b2-097e-43b2-bdba-f3924a5371a6) for this field, it works without any problem. I can create and even see the records on the
                                                                                                  • Sales Order, what are the statuses under Confirmed and Closed

                                                                                                    Hi, I have to build a workflow in Deluge which should be triggered when Sales Order status is Confirmed or Closed. But these 2 states don't exist when you fetch a sales order. Which of the statuses are considered as Confirmed or Closed ? Here is a list
                                                                                                  • CRM x WorkDrive: File storage for new CRM signups is now powered by WorkDrive

                                                                                                    Availability Editions: All DCs: All Release plan: Released for new signups in all DCs. It will be enabled for existing users in a phased manner in the upcoming months. Help documentation: Documents in Zoho CRM Manage folders in Documents tab Manage files
                                                                                                  • Not able to change colors help center

                                                                                                    Hi. How can I change the orange color in the help center? You can change everything besides this font color And how can I remove the part on the bottom?
                                                                                                  • Remove Address from credit card payment

                                                                                                    I would like to remove the need to add address when paying by credit card. I only want the customer to have to add their credit card details.
                                                                                                  • Copy Widget to another Dashboard

                                                                                                    I can see the option to clone a widget to the same dashboard but is it possible to copy it to another dashboard?
                                                                                                  • Create a button that executes a customized function

                                                                                                    Hello, I have created a summary view in which I combine the data from my items table and suppliers table. I would like to know if there is the possibility of adding a button somewhere in the view to be able to execute a function when clicked on it. I
                                                                                                  • Whatsapp reply not reflected under Tickets for offline agent

                                                                                                    Hi, We are encountering a situation where WA response from customer is not reflected under tickets (if the agent handling the case previously is not active due to off day/ MC). The ticket will remain in the offline agent's queue until agent is back to
                                                                                                  • Custom field doesn't fill when converting sales order to invoice

                                                                                                    Hi, When I convert a Sales Order to an Invoice one of the custom fields on a product line names "Subsidie" does not seem to fill in automatically. I manually have to select the product again by clicking on the product name in the order line en re-select
                                                                                                  • Can I use ZOHO calendar to schedule a Youtube video that is already in my youtube account, but listed as private or unlisted?

                                                                                                    I am creating Youtube videos and shorts and then uploading them to our Channel so others can view and approve. Once approved I would like to just schedule them over the next few days within Zoho. So far it looks like I have to re-upload the video to Zoho
                                                                                                  • How to Display a Logo Image on a Public Form?

                                                                                                    I would like to display a logo image in the header of a form. To achieve this, I added an Add Notes field to the form. The code below works perfectly for Zoho users accessing the form. However, when the form is made public, the image does not load properly:
                                                                                                  • Advice for my first project in Zoho

                                                                                                    Hello, how can I design and implement a customized ERP and CRM system using Zoho to automate and manage core business functions, including customer relationship management, property inventory, sales tracking, and financial processes. This is one of my
                                                                                                  • Associate Email API Internal Error

                                                                                                    I am trying to associate an already existing email within a function using the Related Emails API. To provide more context, I also have admin permissions and have ensured that the fields are correct and that I have admin permissions when associating the
                                                                                                  • Profit on Sales order

                                                                                                    Hi, would it be possible to implement a column at the Sales order overview of Purchase amount? So a field with the amount of all purchase related to this Sales order? This is very usefull so you will see the profit you made on this deal. I tried to get
                                                                                                  • Subform Data in v2 REST API

                                                                                                    What is the mechanism for adding subform data in the Creator v2 REST APIs?  There is nothing documented in the Data APIs documentation (https://www.zoho.com/creator/help/api/v2/).   I was able to determine how to GET the subform data by adding it to the
                                                                                                  • ZOHO Widget SDK not loading in html

                                                                                                    I have this code below, I have imported the widgetsdk however I get the error shown in the image, I have tried many different ways of importing and initiating the function ZOHO but nothing is working. can someone explain what I'm doing wrong, if I am
                                                                                                  • Information problem

                                                                                                    ZOHO Guys, I am trying to evaluate your product as a serious business tool. However your attitude to providing key information such as 1. CRM Data Model 2. Product Roadmap and Enhancement promises 3. Complete and accurate help make it very difficult to recommend as a serious choice for small business. You may be cheap, but I would prefer to pay if it means not being kept in the dark! Kind Regards Andrew Copley
                                                                                                  • How to create comparison time periods like these examples

                                                                                                    In a Pivot Report I would like to be able to select any date range and show a set of metrics for that date range e.g. revenue, orders, units sold. I would then like to be able to compare to the previous period based on the amount of days on the selected
                                                                                                  • Overwrite Option for custom modules

                                                                                                    Hi Team, I noticed that the overwrite option is unavailable in Zoho Books when importing data for custom modules. This limitation makes it challenging to bulk update old data, as the only option is the 'bulk update' feature, which is restricted to 25
                                                                                                  • Zoho Creator - Zoho Analytics

                                                                                                    I am facing an issue in Zoho Analytics where I am still seeing deleted data from the Zoho Creator form I created. Could you please look into this and let me know what needs to be done?
                                                                                                  • Important updates to Zoho CRM's email deliverability

                                                                                                    Last modified on: Jul 24, 2024 These enhancements are released for all users across all data centers. Modified on: Oct 30, 2023 Organisations that are in the Enterprise and above editions of Zoho CRM, and have not authenticated their email-sending domains
                                                                                                  • Unable to send emails

                                                                                                    I have this email parth@mrcolumbus.in, but I couldnt send outgoing email. Can you please help?
                                                                                                  • Notifications push : Encourager le réengagement et renforcer la fidélité des utilisateurs efficacement

                                                                                                    Vous avez déjà souhaité engager et communiquer de manière proactive avec les utilisateurs, y compris lorsqu'ils utilisent votre application de manière peu active ? Zoho Apptics vous offre déjà des fonctionnalités qui vous permettent d'évaluer la performance,
                                                                                                  • Easy way to delete attachments

                                                                                                    I've reached my data limit and would like to run a view/report, and mass delete attachments. Is there an easy, fast way to do this? Moderation Update: Post Summary: There are two features the post discusses a) Easy way to remove Email attachments Will
                                                                                                  • How to add new deal to existing contact

                                                                                                    Hi, I want to add new deal to existing contact.
                                                                                                  • cutomized fields are not showing up in zoho creator from zoho crm

                                                                                                    We have customized fields in zoho crm under accounts module like "Last production upgrade" --> This field is a date. When created a solution in zoho creator i couldn't find any of the customized fields. Would you please help me on this matter? Thanks
                                                                                                  • Mass update Accounts in Zoho Desk

                                                                                                    We used the integration feature to bring in all of our accounts from Zoho CRM. While all of the names and links are in place, on the Zoho Desk side the email, phone, website, and address fields are blank. By going into each account I can select "Update
                                                                                                  • Domain verification is in progress... (How long do I need to wait?)

                                                                                                    Trying to setup my first email domain by connecting with GoDaddy. Have been here for quite some time and the screen is not changing. How long should this take?Send DataSend Data
                                                                                                  • Open New Free Zoho Account

                                                                                                    Hi Team, Do you guys offer a free email hosting? I do have a domain already. If yes, what is the process to open the new account? Thanks,
                                                                                                  • Use image on img HTML tag

                                                                                                    Hi how could I do to use my image saved in Workdrive to use it in an HTML img tag ? I need to display it on my website without having to use iframes. Regards,
                                                                                                  • Linking an email to a Contact when the email is sent in deluge via sendmail

                                                                                                    The "to:" address in this code is a CRM Contact. Email address is forced unique in CRM This sendmail gets sent via a workflow which is in a custom module. It works, except that the outbound email does not appear (i.e, get linked to) the Contact such that
                                                                                                  • How to restore deleted Field

                                                                                                    I edited a field in zoho form and by accident I deleted a field (email address). The form is ongoing to be filled by respondent. Then, when I checked to the all entries and report, the email address is gone. I checked in audit log, there is a record that
                                                                                                  • How to select multiple notes at once in the PC client?

                                                                                                    In the PC client, you can select notes using ctr+LMB. But why can't you use shift+LMB? PC version 3.2.0
                                                                                                  • Feature Request: Search in the PC client. Some thoughts about the search.

                                                                                                    Hi all. I'm really excited to start using Zoho Notebook, but I'm missing some of the search capabilities on my desktop. There are also some thoughts on improving search in general. Search is very important to me, without it it is difficult for me to use
                                                                                                  • How to Add Bulk Data in Zoho Creator Forms Using Deluge Without Exceeding Execution Time Limit

                                                                                                    I have a database form with a column named 'Product Name' containing 8000 values in a Zoho Creator form. In another form named 'Returns Data,' I have a column with the same name, 'Product Name.' How do I add these 8000 values to the 'Returns Data' form
                                                                                                  • Next Page