DOC: boolean parse_dates only applies to index #1816

pandas/io/parsers.py

@@ -58,9 +58,9 @@ class DateConversionError(Exception):
     If na_values are specified and keep_default_na is False the default NaN
     values are overridden, otherwise they're appended to
 parse_dates : boolean, list of ints or names, list of lists, or dict
-    True -> try parsing all columns
-    [1, 2, 3] -> try parsing columns 1, 2, 3 each as a separate date column
-    [[1, 3]] -> combine columns 1 and 3 and parse as a single date column
+    If True -> try parsing the index.
+    If [1, 2, 3] -> try parsing columns 1, 2, 3 each as a separate date column.
+    If [[1, 3]] -> combine columns 1 and 3 and parse as a single date column.
     {'foo' : [1, 3]} -> parse columns 1, 3 as date and call result 'foo'
 keep_date_col : boolean, default False
     If True and parse_dates specifies combining multiple columns then