Date and time stamp updated by day light savings

cfitzgerald66

We have a number of Smarttsheets that are populated by web forms.  The date and time stamp information that was entered prior to day light savings have now changed to reflect a "fictional time".  In other words, an entry that was added at 6:00 am two weeks ago, now show a 5:00 am entry time.  We need the historical information retained and the date and time stamp to be locked as published and not adjusted by a change in day light savings.

What can we do?

Mike Wilday

Submit a product Enhancement Request. I don't believe there is a way around this but you have a strong case there! 

J. Craig Williams

Wow, I never noticed that but have added to my "that's ain't right" list.

I also submitted a Enhancement Request, although it is more likely a design bug.

Craig

Mike Wilday

I'd like to see that list, Craig. 

J. Craig Williams

LOL. It isn't safe for work. 

Mike Wilday

Gotcha! 

Kara Lumley

Thanks guys, we're looking into this. The time stamp should not have changed...

Craig, I'll follow up with you as I have more information.

Best,

Kara

Mike Wilday

Hi Kara,

It would be great if you could put the information into here so we can all understand what to expect from Smartsheet.

Thanks! 

Kara Lumley

Hi all,

We store the date and time stamp in UTC, but surface the date and time in the users local time zone (set in Personal Settings). As we go through DST, that means the created/modified may change (and will vary from user to user depending on their settings).

I spoke with the dev team, and this is a tough problem to solve. We could either store all stamps in UTC, or display the local time according to the user - we chose to display the local time.

I hope this helps...? 

Best,

Kara

J. Craig Williams

Kara,

Are you implying that the UTC time changes depending on what time zone I am in when viewing the cell and when during the year I view it or only that the displayed value changes?

If something occurs at 3am UTC on June 23rd, 2017, regardless of what my clock says tomorrow, it will have occurred at 3am UTC on June 23rd, 2017. If we all (we=everyone in the world) agreed to shift the clocks by 7.5 hours going forward, it will still have occurred at 3am UTC on June 23rd, 2017.

(deleted long digression about something important but not as relevant as I thought at first)

Perhaps an option to display Created Date in UTC (sheet level or universally) would be a start.

Craig

 

 

 

 

 

Kara Lumley

Hi Craig,

-Only that the displayed value changes

Thanks,

Kara