In the diverse world of Google Data Studio functions, the WEEKDAY function is a simple yet powerful tool. This function is designed to return a number, representing the specific day of the week for a given date. If you are analyzing a vast array of data that involves dates and time, this function can enable you to systematically categorize your data based on the weekdays.
WEEKDAY function can be expressed in two main forms.
1)
markdown
WEEKDAY(date_expression)2)
markdown
WEEKDAY(X [,Input Format])At its core, WEEKDAY function interprets a date input and returns a value representing the day of the week. The counting begins from Sunday, designated as '0', and runs to Saturday, designated as '6'. This way, a unique value is assigned to each day of the week, facilitating the analysis of data based on weekdays.
However, it is important to note that how WEEKDAY identifies the day depends essentially on the input's format. For example, for a Text field/expression or compatibility mode Date, many valid strptime formats are accepted, along with certain specific format like 'BASIC', 'DEFAULT_DASH', 'DEFAULT_SLASH', etc.
For a Number field/expression, the accepted formats are 'SECONDS', 'MILLIS' (milliseconds), 'MICROS' (microseconds), 'NANOS' (nanoseconds), 'JULIAN_DATE' (days since Epoch).
Now, let's take a look at how the WEEKDAY function works using a sales data set.
Assume you have a data set "Sales Metrics" with a field "Date of Sale" where the sales dates are recorded. Now, you want to find out which weekday corresponds to each recorded date.
markdown
WEEKDAY(`Date of Sale`)If you have a formatted Text field "Sale Date" like '2022/01/01-09:40:45':
markdown
WEEKDAY(`Sale Date`, 'DEFAULT_SLASH')If you have a Number field "Sale Timestamp" representing seconds since Epoch like 1672272000 (representing January 1, 2023):
markdown
WEEKDAY(`Sale Timestamp`, 'SECONDS')The WEEKDAY function is quite flexible with the formats of the input data but it does have certain limitations. Most importantly, it cannot process mixed types of data. Your input data for a single run must all be of the same type (Date or compatibility mode Date, Number, or Text).
Here are a few tips to effectively use the WEEKDAY function:
Remember, understanding your analytics is all about interpreting your data correctly, and Google Data Studio functions, such as WEEKDAY, can be key tools in your analysis toolkit.
Become a Looker Studio expert
for free
Learn all the secrets of data analysis and create beautiful and effective dashboards thanks to our 30-second video courses! Join Catchr's community on YouTube.
Get more video lessons
All your data on Looker Studio
Build Looker Studio dashboard easily with your marketing data from all platforms and track your essential KPIs! No-code integration.
Start free trial now!
Optimize your data analysis
Get free Looker Studio dashboard template among a large collection of +50 stunning template! Elevate your data visualization.
Get free templates!.png)
