Dates are automatically changing - but incorrectly??

Liz Lomax

Hi,

I've got a weird error I'm hoping someone can help with...

I've got a sheet I'm working on, with dependencies enabled, and for some reason when I type a date into the End Date column (when Start date, Duration and Dependency have not been specified), it is "rounding" the date down to the previous day. eg: I type 01/12/2022 but when I hit enter, it changes to 30/11/2022.

At first I thought this was just correcting for working days, but - per the example above - it is doing it to ALL dates, regardless of whether they fall mid-week or not.

Why is this happening??

I understand that the logic (if that's the right term) views the Start Date as static and the End or Duration as dynamic based on the other of the two being populated, but in the event that both Start and Duration are blank, what possible reason is there for Smartsheet to override the date I enter into End back 24 hours?

Any advice on how to stop this please? (preferably that doesn't insist I have to enter a start date into every single row!)

Thanks

Genevieve P.

Hi @Liz Lomax

Another Community member reported this behaviour in this other thread:

https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/98138/gantt-smartsheets-not-respecting-entered-end-date

They are currently in contact with Smartsheet Support over this issue as it's not expected behaviour that the end date would jump back one day after being entered into the sheet.

I don't have an ETA for when this will be resolved. However, in the meantime, the current solution is indeed to enter a Start Date first, before entering an End Date.

Cheers,

Genevieve

Liz Lomax

Hi Genevieve,

Thanks for that update.

Weirdly, when I contacted Smartsheet support, they told me that it WAS an expected behaviour, but didn't offer any explanation why on earth Smartsheet would purposefully build it that way.

Indeed, I can see no possible reason why anyone would want/expect that behaviour.

I understand that pre-populating either start date or duration prevent the glitch from occurring, but it's still exceptionally annoying that it happens at all.

Liz Lomax

Response I received from Smartsheet support below, which isn't particularly helpful.

========

Hi,

Thanks for getting back to us. I understand that when you are entering a date it automatically changes to the previous day. I am glad to assist you with it.

I appreciate the information you provided. I was able to replicate the same behavior as well. This happened because of the dependencies being enabled. If the dependencies are enabled the Duration default value is 1 day, and the End date is calculated depending on the Duration and Start Date. The End Date will return to a day before if you add the End Date value before Starting date or the Duration.

I was able to confirm that what you are experiencing is the expected behavior. There currently isn't a way to maintain the Date you add in the End Date once the Dependencies are enabled if the Start Date is not defined first.

When you have a moment, please submit your feature request to the Product team by signing in to the online Community (the Community uses your Smartsheet account to sign in) and create an Idea post in the Smartsheet Product Feedback and Ideas topic. 

Posting your enhancement in the Community will allow other Smartsheet users to see and vote on your idea! The top-voted posts in this category are reviewed monthly by the Product team and you'll receive an email notification if the status changes for a post you've created or voted on. 

To resolve this either, remove the dependencies or use a different End Date column in your Project Settings.

For more information see these articles:

• Enable Dependencies and Use Predecessors.
• Project Sheet Columns: Start Date, End Date, Duration, % Complete and Predecessors.

Genevieve P.

Hi @Liz Lomax

My apologies for any confusion; I've confirmed with the Support team that this behaviour is indeed being investigated. I've followed-up with your original ticket to ensure it stays open and associated with Brian's ticket as well, so the team can have a full picture of this happening across multiple accounts.

Thank you for your patience as we look into this!

Cheers,

Genevieve

Liz Lomax

Thank you Genevieve. I look forward to seeing this issue resolved.

JYoung

I'm experiencing same issue, which is unfortunate because I need to solve for start date by using end date for recurring project.

Lmonro

I have experienced a related issue. When I enter dates into my smartsheet project they often change by a couple of days. They are not pegging to a single day of the week, but appear to adjust randomly. This occurs without dependencies. When the issue first came up, we were not planning to use smartsheet for the heavy lifting in project management. Currently we are increasing our smartsheet usage and it has become a significant concern. I appreciate if there is a solution out there.

Thanks!

Andrée Starå

Hi @Lmonro

I hope you're well and safe!

Can you share some screenshots? (Delete/replace any confidential/sensitive information before sharing) That would make it easier to help.

I hope that helps!

Be safe, and have a fantastic week!

Best,

Andrée Starå | Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

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Lmonro

Here are screen shots of before/after.

I entered 3/7/24 into the end date column. Upon hitting enter, it changed to 3/7/24.

There are no dependencies on this task.

If you see something I could change to prevent the modification of the date, please let me know.

Thanks!

Andrée Starå

https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/comment/423611#Comment_423611

Happy to help!

Have you double-checked so the dependencies aren't activated, + there are no nonworking days (Holiday) set?

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Rebecca Pobutkiewicz

This is such a shame. We need the dependencies in order to automatically grab the latest child row due date and populate it in the Parent row, but when individuals submit our form and fill out the due date, smartsheet automatically changes the due date to the prior date. I'm trying to understand why this would be the expected result. If my due date is 7/3/24, then it SHOULD NOT change it to 7/2/24.

PM_Reeves

Are you based outside of the US?

I keep getting a similar issue in Aus, whereby cells revert to US date format, and then take on Pacific Times which invariably puts them a day behind me.

It happens sporadically with no drivers, but I've been told several times that it's due to cell ink issues.

It has the most ridiculous 'fix'. I visit the source sheet, click any cell, (full or empty), click 'Save' and in a few moments my data is back in the AU date format with the correct time.

I have a rule set to highlight cell changes, so if I'm actually in work at the time I can be made aware, otherwise it's just a case of looking for rogue dates.

Good luck.