This article covers what you need to know about how Knack handles time zones and date/time fields in Flows.
This article contains the following sections:
How Time Works in Flows
When you're using Flows to connect and automate your processes, understanding how date and time work can seem tricky. This article will break down what you need to know about how Knack handles time zones and date fields in Flows.
Sending Times from Knack
When you send a date and time from Knack as part of a Flow, something important happens behind the scenes:
- Your local time is automatically converted to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) before being processed. This ensures consistent timing across different locations and systems.
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Regardless of whether you enter the date and time using your local time zone, Knack automatically converts and transmits it in UTC to ensure uniformity and accuracy across different systems.
Example: If your Knack application displays a date and time as 2024-11-27 10:00:00 in your local time zone (UTC -5), the Flow will interpret this value as 2024-11-27 15:00:00 in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
Processing Times in Flows
Flows take the UTC time and adapt it to the time zone that you have set for the Flow. This adjustment ensures that all actions and triggers operate in harmony with your chosen time zone preferences.
Example: If your Flow is set to UTC +2, the time will be displayed as 2024-11-27 17:00:00.
Receiving Times Back in Knack
When a Flow sends a time back to Knack:
- The time is sent in UTC.
- Knack displays the time exactly as when it was received.
- No additional time zone conversions are applied.
Example: The Flow sends the field back as 2024-11-27 15:00:00 (UTC). Knack displays it as 2024-11-27 15:00:00, ensuring no further time zone adjustments are applied.
Important Things to Remember
- Consistency is Key: Using UTC ensures that your Flows run consistently, regardless of the local time zones of individual users or systems.
- Data Accuracy: Knack preserves the original UTC format of date/time fields received from Flows to prevent conversion errors.
- Flexibility: You can configure your Flow's time zone settings to match your needs.
Tip: To learn how to adjust your Flow's time zone settings, see our article here.
FAQs
Why does Knack display the time in UTC after the Flow runs?
Knack maintains the UTC format as received from the Flow to ensure consistency and accuracy across systems. This approach avoids introducing errors from additional time zone conversions.
How can I ensure my Flows work with my local time zone?
Set the appropriate time zone in your Flow settings (accessible in your Account Dashboard > Account > Flows Settings). This ensures that Flows display and process times in your preferred time zone while preserving UTC integrity when sending data back to Knack.
Can I display the time in my local time zone in Knack?
Knack currently displays time fields received from Flows in UTC to preserve the original data. You can apply your local time zone adjustments within your app's workflows or by using formulas to convert the displayed time if needed.
Need Help?
If you have further questions about how date and time fields are handled in Flows, please reach out to our support team via this form: Create Support Ticket