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Global Time Zone Settings

Topic Labels: Dates & Timezones
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Alba_Machado2
7 - App Architect
7 - App Architect

Is there a way to set the time zone for all tables in a base? I just noticed that my “where Ordered is today” filtered out all orders and it’s only 6:31pm – the day is not over yet. :neutral_face:

3 Replies 3

Time Zones need to be set on a field-by-field basis.

Time zones can be tricky to work with, so I’ve created a training video & a sample base on the topic here:

Brian_Frank
6 - Interface Innovator
6 - Interface Innovator

@ScottWorld This video is very helpful for understanding how Airtable handles dates, so thank you for that! 

I would say, however, that the original poster's question still remains, and I share it: how do you get a view filter to honor your local time zone, if all dates are actually stored in GMT? 

Airtable only seems to give you the option of manually setting the date field's time zone if you also enable the time option. But let's say I only want a date in format MM/DD/YYYY. Airtable does not give me the option to designate which time zone this field should be tracking, and since there's also no global time zone setting, it appears that everyone is forced to operate as though they work in Europe. 

Maybe this isn't an issue with a single date field, but particularly when you try to roll up or look up a date from a linked record in another table, it gets complicated very quickly, and again you seem forced to operate as though you work in GMT. This isn't helpful when trying to construct view filters, and I can't seem to figure out a way around it. Same as the OP, every day at 6 p.m., "today" views break because AT insists that it's tomorrow.

Actually, correction. It's even more mysterious than what I described above. 

I have some filters set up, and they're all defaulting to PDT, my time zone, as pictured below.

Screenshot 2023-04-04 at 7.46.53 PM.png

That first filter is for the field **ALL PRODUCTION DATES**. If we look at that field's configuration, however, we'll see that I have the formatting set to GMT/UTC.

Screenshot 2023-04-04 at 7.47.12 PM.png

If I don't use GMT/UTC on my **ALL PRODUCTION DATES** lookup field, then they get displayed in the wrong time zone. If I change it to America/Los_Angeles (PDT), then they're *also* displayed in the wrong time zone. It's a head scratcher, and I'd love if someone could help me figure out how to get view filters to work together with dates in lookups and rollups.