# 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.

Product: content-central · Versions: 7.8+ · Audience: catalog-administrator · Time: 10 minutes · Last verified: 2026-09-05

Canonical: https://help.ademero.com/content-central/workflow/stamp-todays-date-when-a-status-changes

**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.**

```plan
scope: document-type
trigger: Content Field Values › Field Value Updated in this Document Type | Field: Status · Field Evaluation: Selected Field Value(s) · Approved
action: Content - Update Date Field with Today's Date | Field: Approved Date
rule: "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**.

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

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

4. Click **Save**.

## Build the action

1. Click **Actions** > **New Action**.

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

3. **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.

4. 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`.

2. **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.

2. 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 instead | Change this |
| --- | --- |
| Keep the *first* date and never overwrite it | Add 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 instead | Trigger **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 field | Trigger **Approval Processes** › **Movement on Process**, **Process Evaluation:** `Approval by Final Member` ([recipe](/content-central/workflow/file-and-notify-after-final-approval)) |
| Compute a range or merge values instead | Actions **Content - Calculate Field-Value Range** and **Content - Merge Field Values** ([recipe](/content-central/workflow/build-a-reference-number-from-other-fields)) |

## What's next

- [When an invoice is marked Paid, clear it from queues and file it](https://help.ademero.com/content-central/workflow/clear-paid-invoices-from-queues-and-file-them)
- [File and notify after final approval](https://help.ademero.com/content-central/workflow/file-and-notify-after-final-approval)