Automatically update the TODAY function in formulas

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For the TODAY function to recognize the current date, the sheet must be updated and saved. If there is a chance that a sheet may not have enough daily activity for TODAY to update, there are a few different workflows you can leverage to automatically update your sheet.

Option 1: Record a date in a helper column 

First, add a Date column to your sheet and add yesterday's date (or any date in the past) into a cell. You can then hide this column. 

Next, create a time-based workflow to add today's date into that new column using the Record a Date action. 

To create this workflow:

1. Select Automation > Create workflow from scratch.
2. Title your workflow (for example, Daily Update).
3. Set the trigger to When a date is reached.
4. Select Run once, then change it to Custom > Repeat every Day.
5. Select an early morning time for the trigger (for example, 2:00 AM).
6. Configure a condition block that checks whether the new date column is in the past. 
7. Set the Action block to Record a date in that date column.

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Remember to add at least one past date into your new date column so that your workflow has a cell to update tomorrow. 

Option 2: Record a date and use cell links to update multiple sheets

If you have multiple sheets to update, you can set up the date column and workflow described above in a separate reference sheet. Next, use a cell link to bring the date from this reference sheet into your current sheet that contains the TODAY function. 

The automation adds a new date to the reference sheet daily, which in turn updates your formula sheet via the cell-link data change.

Option 3: Use Bridge to schedule a daily sheet save

If you have access to Bridge, see the Bridge article explaining the Schedule Daily Sheet Save template.