Converting Data Types

Learn how to convert data to another type in a Notion formula.

Notion formulas can only return data of a single type. For reference, Notion formulas work with four distinct data types:
​String​
​Number​
​Boolean (Checkbox)​
​Date​
Additionally, you can only compare data that share the same type when you use comparison operators such as equal, and, or larger (and some require a specific data type).
Therefore, you'll often need to convert data from one type to another in order to get your formula to work.
Here are all the methods you can use to convert data to another type.
Converting Strings
To numbers:
Function/Method
Example
​toNumber​
toNumber("42")
​unaryPlus (+)
+"42"
To Booleans:
Function/Method
Example
​if​
if(prop("Text") == "true", true, false)
Good to know: You can't truly convert strings, numbers, or dates to Boolean values. What you can do is write a simple statement that outputs a Boolean true/false value using your starting piece of data as criteria.
Converting Numbers
To strings:
Function/Method
Example
​format​
format(42)
To Booleans:
Function/Method
Example
​if​
if(prop("Num") == 42, true, false)
To dates:
Function/Method
Example
​fromTimestamp​
fromTimestamp(prop("Num"))
Note: fromTimestamp only works if its argument is a valid Unix timestamp.
Good to know: replace, replaceAll, and test are able to automatically convert numbers and Booleans (but not dates) to strings. Manual type conversion is not needed.
Converting Booleans
To strings:
Function/Method
Example
​format​
format(true)
To numbers:
Function/Method
Example
​toNumber​
toNumber(true)
​unaryPlus (+)
+true
Converting Dates
To strings:
Function/Method
Example
​format​
format(now())
​formatDate​
formatDate(now(), "MMM DD YYYY")
To numbers:
Function/Method
Example
​timestamp​
timestamp(now())
​toNumber​
toNumber(now())
​minute​
minute(now())
​hour​
hour(now())
​day​
day(now())
​date​
date(now())
​month​
month(now())
​year​
year(now())
Good to know: The toNumber function converts dates to their Unix timestamp, just like the timestamp function.
To Booleans:
Function/Method
Example
​if​
if(prop("Date") == now(), true, false)
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.

Function/Method	Example
toNumber	`toNumber("42")`
unaryPlus (`+`)	`+"42"`

Function/Method	Example
if	`if(prop("Text") == "true", true, false)`

Function/Method	Example
format	`format(42)`

Function/Method	Example
if	`if(prop("Num") == 42, true, false)`

Function/Method	Example
fromTimestamp	`fromTimestamp(prop("Num"))`

Function/Method	Example
format	`format(true)`

Function/Method	Example
toNumber	`toNumber(true)`
unaryPlus (`+`)	`+true`

Function/Method	Example
format	`format(now())`
formatDate	`formatDate(now(), "MMM DD YYYY")`

Function/Method	Example
timestamp	`timestamp(now())`
toNumber	`toNumber(now())`
minute	`minute(now())`
hour	`hour(now())`
day	`day(now())`
date	`date(now())`
month	`month(now())`
year	`year(now())`

Function/Method	Example
if	`if(prop("Date") == now(), true, false)`

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Last modified 4mo ago