I have a datetime field field1 which i am populating using NOW() formula. At some point later i want to know the difference between NOW() and field1 in number of days.

I tried NOW()-field1 and DATETIMEVALUE(NOW()) - DATETIMEVALUE(field1), but it does not seem to be correct.

I am storing this result in a number field which can store 6 decimal places. But when i multiply the value by 60*24, it does not return correct result. If the difference is 12 hours between NOW and field1, I want the field to have .5 as value. If the difference is 6 hours, it should have .25

  • NOW() - DateTime_Field__c works very well for me. Why do you mean it isn't? – Sergej Utko Mar 14 '16 at 14:19

I think your approach is right, but you should use only 2 decimal places in your formula number field.

I have tested the following:

  • NOW() field (DateTime formula)
  • DateTime field
  • Difference field with formula NOW()- ut__Datetime__c (number formula, 2 decimal places)

Works well:

enter image description here


You can use this.

Now()-Field1__c - FLOOR(Now()-Field1__c)

For more info go to the Link


If you use it in Apex, this works:

(f2.getTime() - f1.getTime()) / 1000 / 60 / 60 / 24;

first you calculate difference in milliseconds between datetimes, then get number of days from it.

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