BO - Display hint or UTC conversion when editing course run dates #1210
Description
Feature Request
Is your feature request related to a problem or unsupported use case? Please describe.
In the BO, course run dates are displayed in local time, but Joanie’s TIME_ZONE is UTC.
Users often leave time fields at 00:00 (midnight). When stored in UTC, this can shift dates by one day in training contracts (displayed as the previous day).
As discussed, instead of changing the global timezone configuration, we should make the difference between local time and UTC explicit when displaying or editing date fields in the back-office.
Describe the solution you'd like
Add a hint in the BO to inform users that Joanie stores times in UTC.
Two possible implementations:
- Static warning (simpler option I guess ^^)
- Display an informational text above the date fields. Example:
Dates are stored in UTC. The recorded value may be 1–2 hours earlier than displayed. Please double-check start and end times.
- Dynamic UTC conversion (preferred option)
- Automatically display the UTC equivalent next to the entered date/time. Example: If the user enters 23/10/2025 – 10:00, the back-office shows:
Stored in UTC: 23/10/2025 08:00
- Ideally, highlight in red when the date value differs from the displayed one (only if easily achievable, otherwise no worries!)
Of course, these are just suggestions. If you see a better solution or a more suitable approach, feel free to go for it!
Describe alternatives you've considered
- A table in Potsie displays a warning if training session hours are missing, but users have to go and check it separately...
- Forcing all times to be entered in UTC was considered, but rejected for UX reasons 'cause users should continue entering times in their local context
Discovery, Documentation, Adoption, Migration Strategy
- Any new hint or warning must be visible in both light and dark modes for proper contrast and accessibility
- Django admin already includes a UTC hint for dates:
