Google Sheets - Add Timestamp When Cell Changes - Apps Script

[@teresalgeorge]

I searched and searched and SEARCHED to find the code for this EXACT thing! I simply cannot tell you HOW MUCH I appreciate you doing this VIDEO!!! I have spent endless hours to try to get this to work and could not get it! AMAZING and THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HELPING MY SANITY! :)

[@lucazarts25]

I think anyone could learn how to code with a professor like you. Congratulations and thank you for the knowledge shared!

[@RadoHudran]

I remember following this 2 years ago took me easily 3 hours or so and I got a headache. It felt like a huge achievement to complete it. Now I made this code for a new sheet and it took me 30 min, felt easy, but most importantly,; this video has proven valueable over and over. I use this code in a sheet I use weekly and it has saved me lots of time. Thanks a bunch!

[@renzepro7731]

Thank you! I didn't know anything about coding, and after this video I still don't know anything about coding but I do have a working timestamp solution.

[@scott-ish404]

I love the way you explain everything by stages, without delving into too much technicalities and even makes the improvements on it easy to grasp, so that even a code-ignorant like me can follow it easily. Subscribing to your channel in 3, 2, 1...!

[@Brakken99]

I had an issue as many have with the ranged error. Two things - an error will be returned if you run the code from the editor OR debugger. The reason for this is the conditions of the fields are not being met on the spreadsheet side and this is normal. The other thing is recheck ALL OF YOUR SYNTAX. I chased this problem for far longer than I should have and found I had typed a "v" where a "u" should have gone in value - was too easy to miss but it looked right at a glance. Once this correction was made the code started to function correctly. Another great video by this youtuber!

[@gladysgalat4992]

Hello, I had a problem with the range. What could possibly be the error? Thank you so much!

[@kickinitwithk746]

I searched for hours for this solution! Your teaching methods were clear and easy to follow. Thank you.

[@GoTouchSomeGrassBuddy]

You just taught EXACTLY what I'm searching for! Thank you!!! You explain everything clearly!

[@mailtossundar]

the way of writing codes and explanations is easily understandable to everyone thanks for this video.

[@davem45]

I am so glad I stumbled on your channel this is perfect. now I have to figure out that when our receptionist receives a package, based on the tracking number it will fill in the carrier in cell 3 Thanks so much for this tutorial

[@philippschumacher4659]

Thank you very much. After watching a lot of videos regarding this, i finally found yours and understood what i did. Not just copy and paste code.

[@LucasFurioFranco]

I freaking love you, man! Thanks for the lesson, it works wonders! S2 Thank you, thank you a lot! I can't express how grateful I am to you right now! Best regards!

[@teresalgeorge]

ME TOO!! I AM just so THANKFUL for this video ! lol I LOVE THIS MAN FOR DOING THIS!

[@BustaCap]

I’ve learned so much from this channel it’s insane. Thanks for all your help.

[@guyw6849]

There have been a few questions on how to run the same script on more than one sheet, but not all of them. Through simple copy and paste, I quickly created multiple scripts, one for each sheet I wanted the script to run on, giving each a unique name (e.g., Script1, Script2, Script3. - I gave mine the name of the sheet they corresponded to). Note, you can only have one script named "onEdit." You will want to reserve the onEdit name for the short "master script" that will run the rest. After creating each new script, copy and paste the same code into each. Then, change the script name on the first line of code (right after "function" and before "(e)" to match the name of the new script. Then, change the sheet reference in the code located right after "getName() ===" to match the name of the sheet that script should run on. Finally, go back to your original onEdit script and delete all of the code and paste the following new code, making the onEdit script the "master script" to run the rest of them (of course, modify the script names to match your script names, adding however many scripts you have): function onEdit(e) { script1(e); script2(e); script3(e); } Remember to save the scripts. While on the onEdit master script, click "Run." The sheet-specific scripts will execute in the order they appear in your onEdit master script. I have no coding skills. But after some research, this approach worked for me.

[@RadoHudran]

You might want to check this guy's vid at 3:30 kzbin.info/www/bejne/hGW5YXmQdrh-bJI He talks about the "OR" statement and how you can use it This will make your code a lot shorter and quicker to execute. I also got no coding knowledge but trust me it's easy EDIT: It's not very easy tho For it to work properly my if statement had to be: if(col === targetColumn && row >= startRow && e.source.getActiveSheet().getName() === ws ||col === targetColumn && row >= startRow && e.source.getActiveSheet().getName() === bs){ bs stands for bullsh!t as well as var bs = Sheet 2 I had to repeat almost the entire statement inside IF() So in theory you could expand this row infinitely for as many sheets as you want In the end it works, even though it's not as compact as I'd like

[@nasirshaikh2715]

I really appreciate the video which you have made, it is very easier for the non-technical person to understand, thank you so much. I am the new person who is going to use this script in our master sheet and also I would like to see more videos to learn the same from scratch... :)

[@dannybans23]

Thank you so much, brother! This is exactly the solution I was looking for! I was experimenting with circular reference formulas, but the date would update the following day after inputting content into adjacent cells. So I needed a different solution. I thought of using some sort of script and just searched KZbin. Thank goodness I found your video! You saved me so much time! Well done, great work! - Greeting from Toronto, Canada!

[@ExcelGoogleSheets]

Glad it helped!

[@soamyaashishgetengaged7881]

@@ExcelGoogleSheets This only works when the owner of the sheet makes any change but if anyone enter any value then the timestamp doesnot appear. I want to create the same when anyone can enter the value

[@subhamdey1922]

@@ExcelGoogleSheets Can you help me with the script code?

[@ali399]

@@subhamdey1922 Code.gs function onEdit(e) { addTimestamp (e); } function addTimestamp (e){ //variables I 7 R 7/16:38 Fix Date Delay > var startRow 2; = var targetColumn = 1; var ws = "My Data"; //get modified row and column var row = e. .range.getRow(); var col = e.range.getColumn(); if (col === targetColumn && row >= startRow && e.source.getActiveSheet().getName() WS var currentDate = new Date(); e.source.getActiveSheet().getRange (row, 4).setValue(currentDate); if (e.source.getActiveSheet().getRange (row, 3).getValue() ""){ e.source.getActiveSheet().getRange (row, 3).setValue(currentDate); } // END IF check if date created exists } // END IF check column, row, worksheet

[@davidhebert-y6l]

thank you for sharing, all your tutorial very very very very helpful. God Bless you and Family always

[@benedictchua-theredreamer]

love the way you explain the script , not just typing it. for begginers like me, looking for some code for my project, thanks

[@ExcelGoogleSheets]

👍

[@lovelyktott]

i really appreciate and do love everything you teach. It's so simple and easy to use in real work. I practice and really use it in my restaurant. I would like to thank you for all these knowledge. If you come to Thailand, let me know, I will guide you around enjoy Bangkok for 1 day....Thankssssssssssss my real teacher

[@travel247peru8]

Congratulations ! i not speak well english, but you explain very easy and simple , thanks for your work , definettly best tutorial ever ! hugs from Perú

[@saoudiabdealbaseete4239]

Dude, you're the best, I wish you get everything that you want my friend

[@JanRossi]

Totally just used this. Thank you. I feel like I kinda jumped into the advanced area. but you made it easy to follow your instructions. Thank you!

[@Nibarger]

Very nice...I've been watching many others and you are by far the easiest to follow and understand. Thank you very much.

[@wagnerbarbosa1894]

Speaking from Brasil! Simply perfect! Thank you!

[@audiomemento]

Wow I finally got this to work thanks to your video! Super helpful and well explained.

[@coachjohn1951]

I have set up for check boxes and the timestamp and the row to the right of each. Users are clicking..... check check check in quick succession. sometimes the script fails to put in the timestamp. Seems like a problem of overlapping the running of the script before it has completed the previous. Any suggestions?

[@fauzanwidianto1365]

Great tutorial, I have a very little experience with programming language, but you really made it for me. I do still have one question related to this timestamp method. I realized that this method only works with cell edited manually, so for example I paste 3 rows of data, it would only update timestamp for the first cell only, the second and third one wouldn't be updated. Could you please help me with this one ? Really appreciate your woks man!

[@cmteclaudios]

Man, I have this problem, do you have any idea how to solve this?

[@muraly3523]

Thank you very much.You are a very good teacher.

[@thomasvu6951]

what would the code look like if you wanted the date and time stamp to be blank if the data in the column was deleted and empty now. Example A2 had data and D2 had last modified. But now A2 is empty so I want D2 to be empty now too.

[@hoiyinwan8233]

That was amazing tutorial, thank you for making this.

[@emmanuelmgbemena]

You are the best. You just helped me. Beautiful explanation

[@addydare]

Hi, just one doubt, I am copy pasting a data with multiple entries in rows, but script put a timestamp just in 1st row not the below copy pasted ones. As per my understanding this works only when onEdit triggers the cell which is edited. Can we do some changes in the script or trigger to work with the copy pasted values? Please help, in urgent need as I am working on large set of data.

[@scottbaker7165]

When doing this on my Google Sheet for example the first time is fine so lets say A29 comes up with 17:00 when i type in cell A32. However when I type in B32 for Cell B29 to be updated A29 then changes to 12:00. Anyone know of a workaround?

[@omarjimz]

Awesome. Not only learned to timestamp but scripting in Google Sheets. Thanks!

[@scottcardais3560]

This is a great tutorial and it used to work perfectly but as of 2021-11-05 it fails. The debugger says that several of the variables are "undefined". ("e", "ws", "row", "col", "currentDate") Has something changed in the scripting syntax to break this script?

[@ingridrnilsen]

Just edit the code and it should be live on your Sheet. Only way to test the code is by actually editing a cell in other words, since you're running the code from inside the script editor.

[@subratadutta4562]

Nicely explained with minute details. Thanks for uploading this video. Looking forward to watch more.

[@gordonfoodservice-canadate4520]

What is the formula for the timestamp to be entered when data is either copied or dragged? My timestamp script only works when I manually add data in each cell and does not work when I drag or copy data, it seems the onEdit trigger doesn't fire for every cell or row, it fires for every edit.

[@cristinapajarillo6956]

Thanks so much you helped improve my project significantly! All the best!

[@ohwe0w226]

Thank you!! No coding experience whatsoever and I was able to do it!

[@ExcelGoogleSheets]

Excellent!

[@bhawanishekhawat3163]

Very nice video and it is very useful in companies where Google sheets are used too much, our company is completely on Gmail

[@manasgarg14]

This is exactly what I'm looking for, thanks for the tutorial. Great job man! THANKS A TON !!! :)

[@travisnemec7764]

How would the script look different if I wanted to have an auto time stamp on two separate tabs?

[@Trackdaygenius]

Awesome tutorial! Is there a way to define a range of columns?

[@fjlugo]

I'm chasing same answer.

[@edisonpalima]

Thank you very much. This is the exact tutorial that I'm looking for. I'm now subscribed :)

[@ExcelGoogleSheets]

Thanks for the sub!

[@gebruikerarjan]

Great tut! Could you drop the script in the description below of your video? then you just can copy paste it. That would be easy!

[@batyraidarkhan2406]

Quick question, what if there is a second argument: e.g. IF column 4 modified, timestamp in column 5 for example. Thanks!

[@unityindualities]

Thank you so much for doing this, I love this page so much. You are contributing to something that is going to change the world, and I can't thank you enough. Thank you for all these tutorials, they have helped me insurmountably.

[@andrewjackman8926]

Has the Google code changed in the last 3 years? I keep getting errors now when I use it: 6:35:04 PM Notice Execution started 6:35:05 PM Error TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'range') addTimestamp @ Code:gs:15 onEdit @ Code.gs:3

[@princedraco5]

QUESTION: If I wanted it to ONLY update when the cell in the column is an exact TEXT (from a dropdown text value in the cell), how would I write that? I've been trying to add it to the first IF statement, something like if(col== 1 && "COMPLETE") but nothing is working/I feel like I'm missing something simple. Any ideas?

[@LloydMervinNalusDaniac]

Hi I appreciate your work very much, but may I know if Is there anyway I can put a time stamp in a single cell whenever changes happen to multiple range?

[@hellboy1488]

this was very helpful and my very first exposure to any sort of code! worked perfectly thank you!

[@AntonioMorales-tc1lj]

Thanks a lot, i have a question if I add a data to the cell will get the date and last modified but if I drag the data from the first column only get the date of the first row, for the other the code won´t work. If there anything to add in the code to work when dragging down the data?

[@Corigador]

Great instructions! Thanks. Is there a way to make the timestamp trigger when you paste several rows of data into the target column? Currently it only adds the timestamp to the top line where the start of the list was pasted.

[@christopherizzett4574]

Is there a way to make this work when you paste data into the sheet? Currently if I copy and paste data in the sheet it does not trigger the time stamps

[@brentwardle508]

Would it be possible to show how to update the "Last Modified" column timestamp when making edits to ANY of the cells in the same row without changing the original "Date Entered" column? e.g. entering a value in the Package ID, the same Date is filled to both the "Date Entered" and "Last Modified" columns. IF I enter text in the Comments column I want the "Last Modified" date to update.

[@robertk4444]

Hi. I tested the first, easiest, shortest script and it does not work. I saved the script and tested in a worksheet. I use google chrome and mac. What am I doing wrong. The script is in 4:22 minut of the movie. Somebody can help?

[@ExcelGoogleSheets]

No one can help you reading you comment. Try to at least share you code that doesn't work.

[@robertk4444]

@@ExcelGoogleSheets I am very sorry. Here is the code from the movie: function onEdit(e) { var row = e.range.getRow(); e.source.getActiveSheet().getRange(row,4).set.Value(new Data()); }

[@RonMorlan1516]

Just did a mod of this code and it worked great! Thanks for a great tutorial!

[@KareemMorris]

If i add a new column, how do woukd I make line 22 reflect the added columns?

[@MauricioHernandez87]

this script gives an error on the e.range.getRow(); TypeError: Cannot read property 'range' of undefined (line 14, file "Code")

[@onewiththefreaks3664]

I have had the exact same problem, but in line 15. I checked the code time and again, but I could not find an error or any reason, why this was happening. Strangely the code worked fine, until the housekeepng part with adding all these variables started. After I wrote the code a second time, it finally worked. I compared both versions, but I can not find any differences except there might be some different spaces and paragraphs. Something like this seems to be the problem. *The code works fine now! Thanks very much to this channel for all those outstanding tutorials!*

[@ianpropst-campbell6028]

I had the same problem.

[@MauricioHernandez87]

@@ianpropst-campbell6028 on the script editor go to edit and then current project triggers so you can enable on edit which is being called by the script.

[@MauricioHernandez87]

@@onewiththefreaks3664 on the script editor go to edit and then current project triggers so you can enable on edit which is being called by the script.

[@ianpropst-campbell6028]

@@MauricioHernandez87 Okay thank you!

[@DickyKurnia19]

what if the data changes take from the data query? tks

[@patomorales7892]

i wanna ask, if u has write something, the timestamp will be appear automaticly, but if u delete some text in the Package ID cloumn, is it the timestamp will be disapear or we must delete the timestamp manually

[@gumballdegree]

What if i wanted the conditional if statement to be true if I made changes to multiple columns? how do you change if(col === 1) to something like if(col === 1,2,3,4,5...etc)?

[@ExcelGoogleSheets]

try if([1,2,3,4,5].includes(col))

[@gumballdegree]

@@ExcelGoogleSheets I'll try it out thank you! Btw thank you for your channel!

[@GoogleSheetPro]

Hi I used onSelectionChange(e) to load current date and time. The date and time loads after loads after 3-5 seconds delay. Can this delay be reduced?

[@josecuervoladines5331]

Hi how do I set the range for multiple target columns instead of only one column?

[@inzakuroku7015]

Can it be applied on sheet that the data is filled by mirroring from other sheet? Thanks

[@affiqfadzil]

Great job! Clear tutorial, exactly what i'm looking for.. Thank you so much

[@AverageDadAdventures]

what about if you want to track edits/changes to any of several columns? i.e. any change to column A - N update timestamp?

[@tamayonoelle88]

Very informative and superb knowledge! Thank you for sharing it!

[@kennethiacochran9744]

Hi! Here in 2025...and I think your video may have just solved my issue with Google Sheets!! The timestamps were updating every time the file was opened - using both Lambda and If/Then statements. Let's hope this works! Thank you!

[@grabin7]

Hi What would the code look like if there as just one cell with date being updated in it if any cell in the table is changed?

[@sinisamoravac8482]

Works perfectly for me! Very well explained!! Thank you

[@kamleshpatel8244]

Amazingly helpful video, very easy to follow and give confidence adapt too ... thank you so much

[@whinapomana9715]

This is such a great tutorial, thank you so much!

[@sowsally]

hi, what if i want to insert the date for comments column, and only make changes at the time modified column? means i need to detect tow different cell. 1st cell is package id, then update the Date Entered, 2nd cell I update the data in comments column, then the timestamp update at Last Modified column. Is it able to do that?

[@akashsingh5122]

Q1) If I want Set Criteria from A Colum Example like (If Cell will “Yes “ than TimeStamp will generated otherwise it will be blank?

[@administradordrycleanservi5321]

Apreciated the good explanation, keep it up!

[@bhanuprakash9647]

Can you let me know if I want to auto update on a specific multiple sheets? Please, could you assist me with this?

[@ExcelGoogleSheets]

Watch this kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKOkfWqYf9CIa5Y

[@eiger67]

Thank you 4 that, a further implementation would be, to avoid users to make changes on modified columns...do you think would be an option to check if the "Session.getActiveUser().getEmail();" is not the spreadsheet owner? thank you again

[@xGSTQ]

Can you not just lock the modified columns?

[@GonzaloIglesias-gk3br]

Instead of onEdit, my cell is linked to a pivot table. I want to see when a number changes not when is typed, How could you do this? I am trying to do so so I can see the evolution over time of some count. I see there is a function onChange, but if I simply change that is does not work. Thanks

[@agamgumelar6605]

Works like a charm, thank you so much bro!!

[@ExcelGoogleSheets]

👍

[@markanthonytibayan4148]

This is really helpful!!! thank you so much for this. If its alright, I just have a quick question, what if I want to add another specific sheet with this function? Thank you so much in advance!!!

[@markanthonytibayan4148]

ohhhh, i figured it out! no worries. again, this video is great and very educational. really appreciate you and your vids. thank you so much!

[@ExcelGoogleSheets]

👍

[@drewkosel]

My entry is coming from zapier into the sheet and its not changing the datetime cell when the input comes in

[@mattmincevicius2193]

This script works onEdit by user only, how to make timestamp on the column added by formula? Any work around for example to make another script to simulate user edit or something?

[@ExcelGoogleSheets]

Not at the moment.

[@ankitkarani2068]

TypeError: Cannot read property 'range' of undefined (line 15, file "Code") Can you help me on this ?

[@zitoScine]

Anyone has a solution to this? I have the same problem. Thank you!

[@zitoScine]

@Octave Laurentin I figured it out; it works when you don't try to run the code in script editor but save it and go to your sheet and it'll work. Because no range is given to it until you open the active sheet in question, then the value becomes defined.

[@lukasodern]

if that doesnt work, try this code: function onEdit(e) { var ss = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet(); var r = ss.getActiveCell(); //1.Change 'Ark 1' to be matching your sheet name if (r.getColumn() == 4 && ss.getName()=='Ark 1') { // 2. If Edit is done in column 4 (D) And sheet name is 'Ark 1' then: var celladdress ='L'+ r.getRowIndex() ss.getRange(celladdress).setValue(new Date()).setNumberFormat("dd/MM/yyyy hh:mm");} }; Replace the 4 with the column you edit, and 'L' with the column you want your timestamp in.

[@Aman.Bajwa94]

@@lukasodern thnx Jan, this script worked for me..

[@sophie8199]

Are you able to advise on how to run script for multiple timestamps on one sheet? Also, for the same timestamp to only work on selected sheets...i am struggling to make either scenario to work ? Do you have videos to cover these?

[@Tubasnot]

Could you make the OnEdit check a whole range of clumns being eddited insted of just a single one? i.e. make a modified time stamp if someone changed a cell betwen Column E and Z if that was my range?

[@kylerushing898]

Hello, even though I have limited this function to a specific sheet, it is still adding timestamps to other sheets when they have any editing done to them. Any idea what I am doing wrong? function onEdit(e) { addTimestamp(e); } function addTimestamp(e){ //variables var startRow = 2; var targetColumn = 1; var ws = "Sheet1", "Sheet 2", "Sheet 3"; //get modified row and column var row = e.range.getRow(); var col = e.range.getColumn(); if(col === targetColumn && row >= startRow && e.source.getActiveSheet ().getName() === ws){ e.source.getActiveSheet().getRange(row,8).setValue(new Date()); } } // END function addTimestamp

[@ExcelGoogleSheets]

var ws = ["Sheet1", "Sheet 2", "Sheet 3"]; if(col === targetColumn && row >= startRow && ws.includes(e.source.getActiveSheet().getName())){

[@kylerushing898]

@@ExcelGoogleSheets That fixed it. Thank you!

[@kylerushing898]

@@ExcelGoogleSheets One last question. Do you currently have a video that goes over creating a script for automatic sorting? If not, do you plan on making one soon?

[@dennyandriansyah2560]

exactly what I looking for.. thanks for tutorial.. very helpful..

[@drylunch8462]

Really useful info, thank you very much for posting, have now subscribed

[@phattube81]

I did this and it seems to be triggering the function if I hit the DEL or Backspace key on a blank cell on column 1. Pls help :)

[@itbrian39]

Can't get it to work after typing it all in verbatim. Can't even get the initial function to work @ timestamp 4:15. Guess I'm not a programmer.

[@joelwhitmore9405]

I have tried this, but var row = e.range.getRow(); Is coming up with the follow "TypeError: Cannot read property 'range' of undefined (line 2, file "Code")". Am I missing something obvious?

[@ExcelGoogleSheets]

You are not supposed to manually run the function from the script editor.

[@joelwhitmore9405]

@@ExcelGoogleSheets Thanks for the replay I have it working, sorry if i missed this in the video but can we get the time stamp two work if 2 or more columns are edited within the row.

[@eptrade2323]

This is quite amazing! I found a different way of doing it, it is simple, but works for me. I created a "form" with google forms..... as a question you can ask: what is the package id? and let the response be text (the id)... once the answer is submitted you can ask google forms to send the results to a google spreadsheet..... the time stamp is a default column.

[@JithinRTrivandrum]

Is it possible to add a button and when i click on the button a form would get pop up and record the click time in the sheet?

[@umamageswari3240]

I did the same as you said...in edit script screen. But when I modified the rows in my spreadsheet it's not reflecting. Am I missing something?

[@15weouthere10]

SAME

[@joshuageraldinotantrysenak7692]

I've been browsing for hours now, finally I Found this thankyou so much. I just have one question, If I want to track the changes on other sheet then timestamp into the current sheet, how should I do that :). Thankyou

[@ExcelGoogleSheets]

source.getSheetByName("Time Stamp Sheet Name").setValue(new Date())

[@andrewjawney1]

Thanks for that! Could you please add the code into the video description?

[@madhumohan3843]

It is really impressive the way he explain and can grab the attention of code ignorant people

[@prony5145]

Great!! I have just been looking for this everywhere. Thanks a lot man.

[@juneilrenganilla817]

This is great. But is there any way that the column 3 and 4 will only be updated for a certain text in column1?