Looking for a way to avoid adjusting TZ on a date-time field

Question

Jira helpfully converts all date-time fields to the user's local Timezone.  However, there are cases where this is undesirable.  We need to track an 'Event time' that must always be in UTC, regardless of who is viewing it and their local TZ.

AFAIK, there is no way to achieve this without creating a new field type. Has anyone solved this problem?  If so, how?  We user scriptrunner extensively so pointers on how to achieve this, or to buy a plugin that already has it, are most welcome.

Chris Melville_iyijlg · Answer

Thanks so much for the detailed suggestion.  I have implemented this and unfortunately it does not work.  The 'utcDate' does in fact have the correct UTC time, but the final return argument

Date.from(utcDate.toInstant())

returns a Date object (which has no TZ information, just millis since the epoch) which scriptrunner and Jira dutifully display in the local TZ, so the result is identical to the original input field.

I am exploring ways to get this correct but don't have anything yet.

Trudy P Claspill · Answer

I am not aware of any method to "lock" a native Jira date/time/timestamp field to take the entry as UTC and display only UTC regardless of a user's timezone preference. I have not found anything in Atlassian's public backlog for that either.

Layssa Souza · Answer

Hi @Chris Melville , see if this helps you

1: Identify the Original Date/Time Field

* Make sure you already have a custom field of type Date/Time that will be used as the source for the calculation.

* Locate the ID of the field

Step 2: Create a Scripted Field

* Go to ScriptRunner → Scripted Fields.

* Click Create Script Field.

* Configure the field:

* Name: Event Time (UTC)

* Template: Date/Time (important to match the script's return type).

* Description: "Displays the event time in UTC, based on the original field."

3: Add the Script

* Copy the following script into the Script section:

import com.atlassian.jira.component.ComponentAccessor
import java.time.ZonedDateTime
import java.time.ZoneOffset
import java.util.Date

// ID of the original Date/Time field
def customFieldManager = ComponentAccessor.getCustomFieldManager()
def dateTimeField = customFieldManager.getCustomFieldObject("customfield_XXXXX") // Replace with your field ID

if (dateTimeField) {
def fieldValue = issue.getCustomFieldValue(dateTimeField) as Date
if (fieldValue) {
// Convert the value to UTC and return as Date
def utcDate = ZonedDateTime.ofInstant(fieldValue.toInstant(), ZoneOffset.UTC)
return Date.from(utcDate.toInstant())
}
}
return null

Replace customfield_XXXXX with the actual ID of your source Date/Time field.

4: Add the Scripted Field to Screens

5: Test the Configuration

* Create or edit an issue that uses the original Date/Time field (customfield_22218).

* Verify that the Scripted Field (Event Time (UTC)) displays the correct time converted to UTC.

Additional Notes

* Read-Only Field: Scripted Fields are calculated dynamically and cannot be edited directly. The value depends entirely on the source field (customfield_XXXXX).

* Field Visibility: Ensure the source Date/Time field is added to the screens where users can populate it, as the Scripted Field depends on its value.

* The line def utcDate = ZonedDateTime.ofInstant(fieldValue.toInstant(), ZoneOffset.UTC) can be modified to convert the date to other time zones instead of UTC.

Let me know if you need further clarification! 😊Best Regards.