---
title: "Table Reading Date Error"
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---


When building a table in **TrialBuilder**, an error may occur if:

- The variables have been created.
- The export is **not rebuilt** but only **refreshed**.

In this situation, the **Text** format may incorrectly be applied to date fields.
This makes the whole table unreadable in R, throwing the following error:

> CRF error: some date-type columns are stored as text

---

## Steps to Correct the Issue

1. Change the table attribute from `Automatic` to **Custom**.  
   ![List of tables - VS switched to Custom](img/tm_date_error_1.png)

2. Identify the **date-type variables** that are currently in:  
   - `char / 50. / date9.`  
   Open VS to locate the two variables with incorrect formats.  
   ![Identify variables with incorrect format](img/tm_date_error_2.png)

3. Change these variables to the format:  
   - `num / 8. / date9.`  
   ![Corrected formats](img/tm_date_error_3.png)