---
title: It's about time
description: It's about time
image: https://purplenerd.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/clock-1.jpg
---

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# It's about time

[Blog Stuff](https://purplenerd.com/blog/tag/blog-stuff) [Dabbling Dev](https://purplenerd.com/blog/tag/dabbling-dev)

![Becka](https://purplenerd.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/cert.jpg?noresize) [Becka](https://purplenerd.com/blog/author/sfdcnerd)

![](https://purplenerd.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/clock-1.jpg)

The title of this post really refers to two things. First, the fact that I've taken a few weeks off from blogging (mental holiday), and it's about time that I get back into my weekly posts. And secondly, the actual content for today's post, which is one of my most tactical posts; this one deals with time stamping. And really, the idea for this post came about when a co-worker was looking at some a timestamp function that I had created & assumed it was done via a trigger, and asked if I could re-create it for him on another object. But in reality, all I did was use formulas and workflow rules creatively - just another lesson learned on the path to dabbling dev.

What this co-worker wanted to do was timestamp when a case was taken out of a queue. Seems pretty simple, and it is with just one formula field,  one date/time field, one workflow rule and one field update.

First, the formula field:

[![](https://purplenerd.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/owner-type.jpg?width=298&height=79&name=owner-type.jpg "Owner Type")](https://purplenerd.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/owner-type.jpg)

The date/time field is just a standard one.

Next, the workflow rule:

[![](https://purplenerd.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/wfr.jpg?width=699&height=126&name=wfr.jpg "WFR")](https://purplenerd.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/wfr.jpg)

Finally, your workflow action, a field update:

[![](https://purplenerd.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/timestamp.jpg?width=326&height=180&name=timestamp.jpg "timestamp")](https://purplenerd.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/timestamp.jpg)

And there you have it! A simple way to capture the time a record was taken from a queue.

[![](https://purplenerd.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/clock.jpg?width=175&height=180&name=clock.jpg "clock")](https://purplenerd.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/clock-2.jpg)

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