If you are working with an international team, you might be interested in adapting timestamps to accommodate different time zones. Two settings allow for this customization: the Time Zone set on each User's profile, and a system-wide setting named Show Date & Time in User's Timezone. The combination of these will determine how timestamps show throughout Scilife, in the exports, and in your documents after variable replacement.
How to set your Time Zone (User level)
Each User can set their own Time Zone in their profile:
- Click on your profile icon in the top right corner.
- Go to My Account.
- Select the desired Time Zone.
- Click on Save.
This will determine how dates and times are displayed in Scilife, providing a customizable experience while navigating Scilife.
How to set Date & Time in User’s Time zone (system level)
By default, this setting is disabled to provide a unified solution for companies with worldwide representation. For companies that work in one time zone, it can be more relevant to show the timestamps in local time.
This is modifiable only by Administrators. If you are an Administrator, you can choose to show the date and time in each user's time zone by following these steps:
- Go to MANAGE > Scilife Settings.
- Go to General Settings > Date & Time Format.
- Turn the Show Date & Time in User’s Time zone switch ON.
- Save.
When Show Date & Time in User's Timezone is ON
- Scilife: dates and times are shown in the Time Zone set in the logged-in User's profile.
- Exports (for example, the documents listing page export): times are shown in the Time Zone of the User performing the export.
- Variable Replacement in Documents: when a Document is signed off, the variables are replaced with the date and time in the Time Zone of the User signing off.
When Show Date & Time in User's Timezone is OFF
- Scilife: dates and times are still shown in the Time Zone set in the logged-in User's profile.
- Exports: times are shown in UTC.
- Variable Replacement in Documents: placeholders are replaced with dates in UTC.
Things to keep in mind
Even though the time zones are always included in exports and variable replacement, at first glance, depending on the settings applied to different users, you might notice the following:
- Variable Replacement is captured at sign-off time. Once a Document has been signed off and Published, the replaced variables shown in the viewer reflect the setting that was in place at the moment of sign-off. Modifying the setting Show Date & Time in User's Timezone afterwards will not change what is rendered in the already-Published version. To align the information rendering in the viewer with the new settings, the document needs to be force-reviewed and complete a new approval cycle.
- Downloading or printing re-runs Variable Replacement. If the setting Show Date & Time in User's Timezone has been changed after a Document was Published, downloading or printing that Document will trigger the Variable Replacement algorithm to run again using the current setting. This can produce a downloaded copy that with a converted timestamp. To align the information rendering in the viewer with the new settings, the document needs to be force-reviewed and complete a new approval cycle.
- Different Users may see Exports differently. Because Exports use the Time Zone of the User performing the export if Show Date & Time in User's Timezone is ON, two Users in different Time Zones can produce Exports of the same data with different timestamps.
How to keep date-related features aligned
If you want Scilife, Exports, and Variable Replacement to all show the same value, there are two possible configurations:
Option 1 — Everything in UTC
- Switch Show Date & Time in User's Timezone OFF, and
- Have all Users set their profile Time Zone to UTC.
Option 2 — Everything in a shared local Time Zone
- Switch Show Date & Time in User's Timezone ON, and
- Have all Users set their profile Time Zone to the same value (for example, all Users on
Europe/Brussels).
If you opt for disabling Show Date & Time in User's Timezone and each user has its own time zone set in their profile, Exports and Variable Replacement will consider UTC for all users but Scilife will show timestamps in each user's time zone.