GlobalID and time zone

Question

I am downloading data from my Survey123 page into a csv file. The date time field is not accurate in the table because the users locations are not collected correctly. I need to find out what is the time zone of each data point so I can convert my datetime field to the local time zone where all my users (and our organization) are. and the only identifier I suspect can be helpful is "GlobalID".

Is there a way to get the time zone from the GlobalID?

jcarlson · Accepted Answer

The GlobalID is just a unique identifier, and has nothing to do with any of the other attributes, including the time or location.

The date/time values collected are stored as timestamps in UTC, unless the time zone for the service was otherwise specified. I'd suggest reading this excellent post about how S123 works with date/time values. You may be able to configure your survey to save a hidden field representing the UTC offset of the user's device or a separate timestamp, though that only helps you moving forward.

To calculate the "local time" of prior submissions, you'll probably need to add a new field and calculate its values. You could do this easily enough by spatially intersecting your points with the World Time Zones layer and using the Zone field.

EDIT: I should add, if all your points fall into the same time zone, you could apply the offset in Excel once the data is exported. The rest of the AGOL universe will adjust for the local offset of the device accessing the data, so permanently adjusting the values in the field will cause your times to display incorrectly elsewhere. So again, I'd still use a separate field for this.