Resolving date/time display discrepancies in web services
Problem
Date and time values have both a value and a display value. Inconsistencies between these values can lead to unexpected behavior. The value is the raw value within the database. The display value represents the user-friendly value shown in the UI. Certain field types such as Encrypted text, DateTime, choice, and reference fields all also use a display value that differs from the raw value.
With DateTime fields, the raw value is always stored in the UTC timezone, while the display value appears in the timezone set for the current user record.
Symptoms
- Date and time values appear different than expected
- Entering a date and time value using web services results in a different value appearing in the UI
Cause
By default, web services use either the display value or the raw value depending on the operation.
- SOAP Insert or Update operations treat request values as display values
- SOAP retrieval operations return raw values
- JSON operations all use raw values
- REST Table API retrieval operations return raw values
- REST Table API Insert or Update operations use display vaues for certain fields (you can force the REST API to always use a particular type of value using the sysparm_input_display_value parameter
Resolution
You can explicitly specify the format you want the operation to use by adding a parameter to the request URI.
- SOAP and JSONv2: add the displayvalue parameter. Valid values are true, false, and all. For example, to use only the display values:
<instance>.service-now.com/incident.do?SOAP&displayvalue=all - REST retrieval operations: add the sysparm_display_value parameter for retrieval operationsValid values are true, false, and all. For example, to return only the display values:
<instance>.service-now.com/api/now/table/incident?sysparm_display_value=true - REST Insert or Update operations: add the sysparm_input_display_value parameter for Insert or Update operations. Valid values are true and false. For example, to insert data using only raw values:
<instance>.service-now.com/api/now/table/incident?sysparm_input_display_value=false