--- title: "Timestamps: Formats, Preview and Distribution" url: "https://docs.noreja.com/en/article/timestamps-formats-preview-and-distribution" language: "en" last_updated: "2026-10-23T08:58:06.468Z" --- # Timestamps: Formats, Preview and Distribution How to choose start and change time stamps with the timestamp distribution, how to prepare dates stored as text or split into date and time, the format symbols, and how time zones are handled. All times in Noreja are calculated from the time stamps of the objects: case durations, transition durations between activities, the order of events. This page explains how to choose the right columns, how to prepare dates that are stored as text or split into two columns, and how time zones are handled. > **Permissions:** feature **Builder**: **Create** to add timestamp settings, **Edit** to change them, **Delete** to remove them; an Edit share of the entity allows all three. See [Create and edit roles](https://docs.noreja.com/en/article/create-and-edit-roles). ### Choose the Right Columns Each object needs a **Start timestamp**, the moment the event happened, and can have a **Change timestamp** for a later change. Both are set in the object's settings; see [Configure Objects and Relationships](https://docs.noreja.com/en/article/configure-objects-and-relationships). If a table has several date columns, **Timestamp distribution** in the object's settings helps to pick them: ![Timestamp distribution of the order table: Typical order of timestamps shows bestellung_erstellt_am as the earliest value in almost all rows and letztes_freigabe_am and bestellung_freigegeben_am most often as the latest; below, the number of orders per month for bestellung_erstellt_am from January 2025 to January 2026](https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/50fe8733-a064-45f9-83ac-7a15faa1234b) - **Typical order of timestamps**: for each date column, how often it holds the earliest and how often the latest value of a row. The column that is usually earliest is a good start time stamp, the one usually latest a good change time stamp. - **Charts**: below, one chart per column: the time range, the number of values (*n*), the share of empty values, and how the dates spread over the months. Gaps or spikes point to missing or bulk-loaded data. The change time stamp is only used where it lies after the start time stamp; otherwise it's ignored for that row. ### Prepare Dates Stored as Text Noreja reads real date and time columns directly, and text in ISO format such as `2025-07-23T15:24:00Z`. For other text, for example `230720251524` or a date and a time in separate columns, define the format in the second step of the entity builder, **Prepare timestamps**: - In the entity builder, go to **Prepare timestamps**. - Open the table and then the column. **Filter Transformations** shows only columns that already have settings. - Enter the **Format** of the values, for example `ddMMyyyyHHmm`. - Choose the **Time zone** the values are in, if they don't contain one. - If the time of day is in another column, as often in SAP systems, tick **Concatenate time from different column to date value**, choose the column under **Concatenate time** and add the hours, minutes and seconds to the format. Noreja joins the date and the time with a space, so the format needs one between them, for example `yyyyMMdd HHmmss`. - Check the result under **Test transformation**: **Input** shows a sample value of the column, **Output** the date and time Noreja reads from it. ![The settings of the column bestellung_erstellt_am in Prepare timestamps: Format yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.S, Time zone Europe/Berlin, the option to concatenate the time from another column, and Test transformation with the input 2025-07-19 23:08:58.0000000 and the output 2025-07-19T23:08:58+02:00 with the time zone Europe/Berlin](https://cdn-assets.productfruits.com/3e6a7cfd-6a32-445f-a23d-9267481801a8) The settings are saved as you type. The bin icon removes them again. ### Format Symbols The format uses the pattern letters of Java's DateTimeFormatter; upper and lower case matter. The most common ones: | Symbol | Meaning | Example | | --- | --- | --- | | yyyy | Year, four digits | 2025 | | MM | Month, two digits | 07 | | dd | Day, two digits | 23 | | HH | Hour, 24-hour clock | 15 | | mm | Minutes (lower case; MM is the month) | 24 | | ss | Seconds | 00 | | S | Fractions of a second | 0 | | X | Time zone offset | Z or +02 | | 'T' | A fixed letter, in single quotes | T in 2025-07-23T15:24 | Examples: `230720251524` is `ddMMyyyyHHmm`; `23.07.2025 15:24` is `dd.MM.yyyy HH:mm`; \`2025-07-23T15:24:00 ``is `yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss``. ### Time Zones - Values that contain a time zone, such as `Z` or `+02:00`, keep it. - Values without a time zone are read in the time zone you choose under **Time zone**, which is filled with Europe/Berlin when you add the settings for a column; change it if your data uses another one. For columns without such settings, Noreja assumes UTC by default. - Dates without a time are read as midnight in that time zone. The order of events on the same day is then lost; prefer columns with the time of day. - Transition durations between activities don't depend on the time zone. ### Related - [Configure Objects and Relationships](https://docs.noreja.com/en/article/configure-objects-and-relationships) - [Prepare Your Source Data: Keys, Timestamps, Indices](https://docs.noreja.com/en/article/prepare-your-source-data-keys-timestamps-indices) - [Average Time Calculation](https://docs.noreja.com/en/article/average-time-calculation)