# NOW
<a name="recipe-actions.functions.NOW"></a>

Creates a new column containing the current date and time in the format `yyyy-mm-dd HH:MM:SS`.

**Parameters**
+ `timeZone` – The name of a time zone. If no time zone is specified, then the default is Universal Coordinated Time (UTC).
+ `targetColumn` – A name for the newly created column.

**Example**  
  

```
{
    "RecipeAction": {
        "Operation": "NOW",
        "Parameters": {
            "timeZone": "US/Pacific",
            "targetColumn": "NOW Column 1"
        }
}
```