Google Spreadsheet Timestamp IF function

Question

I have a simple line of code that updates whenever A2 row contains the letter "v". If not found, set it blank:

=IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("v",A2)),now()," ")

The problem is it constantly updates so the date changes every time I open the spreadsheet. How do I "freeze" now() so it stops updating?

You can't: Now() returns always actual time. You may disable automatic calculation, copy and paste values or use scripting to achieve this kind of functionality. — LS_ᴅᴇᴠ, Sep 12 '13 at 13:26

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Sep 16 '13 at 21:53

As stated by LS_dev, you can't do this using a formula in a cell. You have to write a script which will first check to see if the 'timestamp' cell has a value; if not, then look for a 'v' in cell A2. If found, put the current time in the timestamp cell.

Google Spreadsheet Timestamp IF function

1 Answers1