When you import a CSV into Glide, date and time values can be interpreted in different ways depending on their format. This affects whether Glide understands them as true date/time values or just plain text.
1. Date-only values (e.g. 3/1/2026)
If your CSV contains a date without a time:
Glide converts it into a proper date/time value
It assigns a default time and uses the time zone of the person importing the CSV
This means the date is fully usable for sorting, filtering, and calculations.
2. Non-standard date + time formats (e.g. 10/11/2024, 12:00:00 PM)
If your CSV includes both date and time but not in ISO 8601 format:
Glide stores the value as text (a string)
It does not recognize it as a true date/time
As a result, Glide can’t reliably interpret or manipulate the value (for example, sorting or comparing dates may not work correctly).
3. ISO 8601 formatted values (e.g. 2026-03-26T15:32:12.587Z)
If your CSV uses ISO 8601 format:
Glide converts it into a proper date/time value
The exact timestamp (including time zone) is preserved
The importer’s time zone is also stored separately
This is the most reliable and recommended format.
Why format matters
When a value is treated as plain text, Glide has no context to interpret it correctly. For example:
3/1/2026 could mean March 1 or January 3 depending on region
Without a standard format, Glide can’t safely determine which is correct
Best practice
If you want consistent, accurate results:
Use ISO 8601 format for all date/time values in your CSV
(e.g. 2026-03-26T11:11:00+00:00)