Documentation

Date as a date-key

The Date column is a unique date-key in the database and must be singular. The Date column is needed if you want to use update logic that utilizes date-key (i.e. Incremental update logic).

To optimize data processing and ensure alignment with our internal systems, Improvado platform prioritizes columns named Date for identifying unique date-key. To ensure clarity and avoid any unintentional use of existing Date columns, we recommend renaming them to a more specific name within your spreadsheet context.

Update logic

• Incremental (with date-key). Records get modified, and the old data is saved. Already existing rows get determined based on the set of dimensions in a Flat Data file and only rows that were changed are updated. Updated rows are not counted for your row count usage.
• Snapshot (without date-key). All data is overwritten each time. We will automatically add an internal date-key column called date for any files missing a date-key column with today's date.

Empty values in the Date key column

If your files have empty values in the Date key column, you’ll need to set up a Skip rule for this column. Otherwise, you’ll receive an error during extraction.

Flexibility in date formats

We offer a wide range of date formats for the Date column, allowing you to choose the one that best matches your existing setup.

You can also see the full list of supported date formats: {%dropdown-button name="destination" %}

{%dropdown-body name="destination" %}

• ```MM/DD/YYYY```
• ```DD/MM/YYYY```
• ```YYYY/MM/DD```
• ```MM-DD-YYYY```
• ```DD-MM-YYYY```
• ```YYYY-MM-DD```
• ```MM.DD.YYYY```
• ```DD.MM.YYYY```
• ```YYYY.MM.DD```
• ```MMDDYYYY```
• ```DDMMYYYY```
• ```YYYYMMDD```
• ```DD Month, YYYY```
• ```Month DD, YYYY```
• ```YYYY, Month DD```
• ```YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS;SSS```

{%dropdown-end%}

Note: The date format you select from the dropdown indicates the date format in that column of your spreadsheet and helps us correctly parse dates in that column. But it is not the date format that will be stored in Improvado.

If the date format in your Flat Data files is missing from the list, you can create a new request using the Improvado Service Desk.

Avoid using system default names

Our system automatically adds the following default columns:

• ```date_yyyymmdd```

Please avoid importing columns with these names to prevent data conflicts.