Compare dates

The Compare dates step compares dates in a column to another column of dates, or compares dates in a column against the current time when your Easyflow flow runs. This step is similar to the DATEDIF function in Excel by creating a new column showing the measurement of time between two dates.

Input/output

The data you connect to this step needs at least one column with date information. In this example, we pass a column called "OrderDate" and compare that date against "current datetime". The step provides an output of a new column eg. "Date Difference" showing us the number of "hours" between "OrderDate" and "current datetime".

Settings

Pick the dataset. By default, this step will add a new column called "Date difference" and find the number of Hours between your desired date column eg. "OrderDate". The Timezone is UTC by default, and subtracts current datetime from this date column.

You can choose a different timezone from the "List of Timezones".

Select which time unit measurement you'd like to perform calculations with from the "Compare based on" dropdown list. The available units are:

• Milliseconds

• Seconds

• Minutes

• Hours

• Days

• Weeks

• Months

• Years

If you have a column with dates data you'd like to perform these calculations on, change the default selection from the "Compare with" dropdown list. The available comparison options are:

• column (to compare with a different column from the dataset)

• fixed datetime (type the desired datetime ISO format, or pick nowdate() from the function expressions)

• fixed timestamp (type the desired timestamp, or pick Timestamp from the function expressions)

Helpful tips

• We suggest formatting your dates either as YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss or X for this step. You can use the Format dates step to get your date values in one of these formats.