Are ChangeTimeStamp values comparable across users?

[dbaum]

I understand there's not comprehensive documentation regarding Change column types, but I'm guessing others have already figured out how to handle the scenario I'm facing (even though I find at least one related but unanswered question), and I appreciate any experience that others have time to share.

Does anyone know what time zone is used for a ChangeTimeStamp column?

• Time zone from user's device?
• Some time zone set on the data source? For example, a Google sheet's time zone setting:
• Something else?

If the timezone is user-specific, that seemingly makes it pretty complicated to compare timestamps logged as a result of actions from different users in different time zones. Presumably the technique is to capture the user's time zone offset along with the timestamp and then reference both in any comparisons. Have others found an elegant way to do that? Have others perhaps preferred to skip using the ChangeTimeStamp column type altogether and instead designed other means to capture timestamps that are then saved in a standardized time zone and, thus, available for reliable comparison?

[1minManager]

AFAIK it uses your local time, based on the time and timezone set on the device your using.  I'm in the UK and have a few Austrailian customers.  When we are both on the App I see the local time in the spreadsheet.

[Steve · Accepted solution]

The app always uses local time. A triggered Automation uses the app's local time (I believe), but a scheduled Automation uses the server's local time.

To handle time zone differences, you'll need to capture the time zone offset with each row change by adding a column with an App formula expression.

[dbaum]

Thanks. And for others' reference, see @Kirk_Masden's comprehensive post that I somehow missed in my searching before initiating this thread: Handling multiple time zones - Google Cloud Community . 

[1minManager]

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@Steve wrote:

The app always uses local time. A triggered Automation uses the app's local time (I believe), but a scheduled Automation uses the server's local time.

To handle time zone differences, you'll need to capture the time zone offset with each row change by adding a column with an App formula expression.

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With a bot you choose the time and the timezone

[dbaum]

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@1minManager wrote:

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@Steve wrote:

The app always uses local time. A triggered Automation uses the app's local time (I believe), but a scheduled Automation uses the server's local time.

To handle time zone differences, you'll need to capture the time zone offset with each row change by adding a column with an App formula expression.

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With a bot you choose the time and the timezone

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That's my understanding as well--for a scheduled automation. On the other hand, as Steve noted, an automation triggered by a data change indeed inherits the time zone of the triggering user's device.