Issue
When I import external files (e.g. spreadsheet) into Benchling, my datetime values get converted into different times. For example, if my entity on the spreadsheet has a datetime field value of '06/09/2025 11am PDT', it shows up as '06/09/2025 4am' on Benchling. My locale on Benchling and my device / web browser is set to the correct timezone.
Environment
Imports, Registry, Results
Cause
Input times from spreadsheet imports into Benchling are treated as UTC. For example, if the input time on the spreadsheet is 11am PDT, upon import Benchling will treat this time as UTC, and convert into the user's Benchling locale (PDT), 4am.
Please note that these time values will only be converted on the Benchling UI and they will be saved as is to the warehouse.
Resolution steps
There are two workarounds you can use so that the input times from the spreadsheet are displayed on Benchling as is, without the UTC conversion:
- Format your spreadsheet input times with the timezone offset from UTC.
- For example, if you want to import '06/09/2025 11am PDT', reformat this into '2025-06-09T11:00:00-07:00', with the -0700 (PDT) offset.
- Add a custom column to your notebook table that refers to the datetime field. This custom column will then show the exact datetime value from the spreadsheet instead of converting it to a timezone.
- Please note that this workaround will only be useful if it's sufficient for your use case to display the imported values on the notebook. Otherwise, please resort to workaround 1.