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Stamp today's date when a status changes

Set a date field automatically the moment a status field is changed — Field Value Updated trigger, Update Date Field with Today's Date action — so nobody has to remember to type the date, and the value is always the real one.

Catalog administratorsContent Central 7.8+10 minutesVerified 2026-09-05

Before you begin

  • The document type has the status field to watch and a Date field to fill (add one under the Fields tile if not)

When you're done, changing a document's status to the value you chose writes today's date into a date field automatically — a reliable "when did this happen" you can search and report on.

The planDocument type scope
  1. Trigger
    1. Content Field Values › Field Value Updated in this Document TypeField: Status · Field Evaluation: Selected Field Value(s) · Approved
  2. Action
    1. Content - Update Date Field with Today's DateField: Approved Date
  3. Rule
    1. "Status set to Approved → stamp date", enabled

Build the trigger

  1. Go to Administration > Catalogs & Document Types, pick the Catalog and Document Type, click the Workflow tile, then Triggers > New Trigger.

  1. Type: Content Field Values and Field Value Updated in this Document Type. Trigger Name: Status changed to Approved.

  1. Field: the status field. Field Evaluation: Selected Field Value(s), and choose the value that should stamp the date.

  1. Click Save.

Build the action

  1. Click Actions > New Action.

  1. Type: Content - Update Date Field with Today's Date. Action Name: Stamp Approved Date.

  1. Field: pick the date field. Only Date-type fields are listed; if yours is missing, it was created as text — add a real Date field under the document type's Fields tile.

  1. Click Save.

Important

The action updates a field, and updating a field is itself an event. If the date field is also watched by a trigger, or your trigger watches "any field" rather than the status field, you can build a loop. Content Central warns about a Possible Self-Triggering Loop when it can see one; the safe habit is one specific field on the trigger and a different field on the action.

Wire the rule

  1. Click Rules > New Rule. Rule Name: Status set to Approved → stamp date.

  1. Add Trigger: Status changed to Approved. Add Action: Stamp Approved Date. Apply.

Test it

  1. Open a test document's properties and change the status field to the value you chose.

  1. Reopen its properties.

What you should see: the date field now holds today's date, and View History shows the workflow rule. Change the status to something else and back to confirm it re-stamps (it writes today's date each time the condition is met — see Variations if you only want the first date kept).

Variations

Want this insteadChange this
Keep the first date and never overwrite itAdd a second trigger on the same rule with Use Multiple Triggers and Combine Method: AND: Content Field Values › Field Value Updated in this Document Type, Field: the date field, Field Evaluation: Selected Field Lacks Value
Stamp the received date on capture insteadTrigger Content Capture › Content Captured in this Document Type; same action
Write a fixed value instead of a date (for example set Priority to Normal)Action Content - Update Field with Field: and Field Value:
Stamp a date when a document is approved by a person, not by a fieldTrigger Approval Processes › Movement on Process, Process Evaluation: Approval by Final Member (recipe)
Compute a range or merge values insteadActions Content - Calculate Field-Value Range and Content - Merge Field Values (recipe)