Establish what is happening
Compare display with exported text
Choose a controlled date whose intended meaning is independently known and inspect its exported field. Record whether the source contains a serial number or formatted text, including any time component. Keep the original export because reopening and resaving it in another tool may change the representation under investigation.
Record interpretation assumptions
Capture the producer’s relevant date-system or format settings and the importer’s selected field type and date format. Compare preview with stored date. If the product does not support serial dates, distinguish a missing validation or guidance problem from an incorrect conversion in a format it actually claims to accept.
Use a discriminating second date
Compare a second known date that exposes day/month order or the suspected date-system offset. Include a time-bearing example only if that field supports it. Keep timezone interpretation separate from calendar-date parsing so a shifted day is not attributed to the wrong boundary before the source representation is understood.
What to carry forward
End with the intended date, exported value, interpretation settings, and first divergent result. State which source context is missing. The next owner should investigate serial conversion, date-text format, or later timezone handling separately rather than guessing a correction from the final displayed date alone.
Technical background: Microsoft support.
Keep the decision with the work.
Use a Work Item in Aglet to record the problem, the evidence you have, and the next decision. Add an owner and priority, then keep updates in the discussion so the next person can follow the reasoning.
Create an account See the product workflow