start

Learn how to use the start function in Notion formulas.

The start() function returns the start date from a date range. It accepts a single date argument.

start(date)

start() is useful for obtaining the start date from a Date property which contains a date range.

When you pass a single date as the argument – i.e. from a Created Time/Last Edited Time property, or a timestamp – start() simply returns that date.

// Assume a property "Date" exists, with // a row value of June 23, 2022 → June 27, 2022 start(prop("Date")) // Outpuut: June 23, 2022

It’s useful to note that date math functions like dateAdd and dateSubtract return a date object that does not contain a date range – even if their argument does include one.

When these functions are passed a date object that includes a range, they only use a start date.

For this reason, the following two formulas will return the exact same date:

// Assume a property "Date" exists, with // a row value of June 23, 2022 → June 27, 2022 start(dateAdd(prop("Date"),30,"days")) // Output: July 23, 2022 end(dateAdd(prop("Date"),30,"days")) // Output: July 23, 2022

Therefore, you must use the end function within your date math function if you wish to operate on the end date in a date range:

// Assume a property "Date" exists, with // a row value of June 23, 2022 → June 27, 2022 dateAdd(end(prop("Date")), 30, "days") // Output: July 27, 2022

The example database below counts the number of days in a date range.

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// Compressed dateBetween(end(prop("Date Range")), start(prop("Date Range")), "days") // Expanded dateBetween( end( prop("Date Range") ), start( prop("Date Range") ), "days" )

This example formula uses start() and end to pass beginning and ending arguments to the dateBetween function.

By specifying “days” as the third argument, we get the number of days in the date range.

Other formula components used in this example:

end – Thomas Frank
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dateBetween – Thomas Frank
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About the Author

My name is Thomas Frank, and I'm a Notion-certified writer, YouTuber, and template creator. I've been using Notion since 2018 to organize my personal life and to run my business and YouTube channel. In addition to this formula reference, I've created a free Notion course for beginners and several productivity-focused Notion templates. If you'd like to connect, follow me on Twitter.

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Fill out the form below and I’ll answer as soon as I can! ~Thomas