Usability of Gen3 Timeframe Selector ???

[AntonioSousa]

I personally keep trying to use new Gen3 Dynatrace apps, but repeatedly go away because of a single factor:

• The Gen3 timeframe selector is not usable for me

When one uses the Dynatrace platform to get data and really access/process information, using the timeframe selector is probably one of the most repeatedly done actions. In Gen3 apps, I consistently cannot get things done, so I go back!

Are you experiencing the same? What tricks & tips do you have for things like (these are only some that come to mind, after one more frustrated tentative usage of Gen3 apps):

• You cannot do more than 90 days. Classic does it for a year. I need this a lot!
  
• I don't use AM/PM. We in Europe mostly use timing like 20:00, at the moment. No way that I know of doing this.
• Timezone is not consistent. I have tenants where it's in UTC+1 in classic and UTC in Gen3. I always have to be careful so it doesn't mess up! For example it's 20:02 here, when the following shows up:
  
  The documentation says "Timeframe selector uses the time zone specified in the user settings for your computer." but that's not true, because I have inconsistent behavior in several tenants, at the same moment/same PC.
• You can't copy the timeframe selector from one place to another. You have to repeatedly set it manually.
• No Recent tab, which I use a lot

[marco_irmer]

I have answers to some of your concerns, hopefully:

1. Limitation of 90 days - This is less of a time selector issue and more a limitations for the individual apps, actually. For example, the new Services app is currently limited to just 60 days of historical data. I have seen a few enhancements to available timeframe options in recent release notes, but I am of the same mind as you here, which is that I still use the classic apps extensively and I don't feel bad about it. 😀
   P.S. - The new Dashboards and Notebook apps, which I use A LOT, do not suffer from these limitations to the best of my knowledge.
2. AM/PM formatting of timestamps - You can change the "Region" setting in your user preferences to have the time format show in a format that is appropriate for your region. The screenshot example below shows how the timeframe selector looks if you choose "English - Sweden"
   
3. Time zone inconsistency - You *should* be able to update your user preferences to use either "use browser default", or a specific time zone. I use the browser default personally so that I always see timestamps in my own local time.
4. Copy/Paste of timeframe selector - I can't say that I have ever felt a need to copy timeframes around, which may be because I often use the CTRL-Click short to drill down using a new browser tab and this generally keeps my timeframe intact. That said, the timeframe is encoded in the URL parameters and if you insisted, you could always copy/paste there.

Hope some of that helps, at least a tiny bit.

[AntonioSousa]

@marco_irmer ,

Thanks for #2 and #3. What I can't understand is why in #3 I see different behaviors across different tenants... Also a pity these are not referenced in the documentation.

Regarding #1, that means that the app can control how the timeframe selector behaves?

Regarding #4, I use it a lot; indeed, I would also add that I most of the times also edit it directly. Which is much easier than editing the new one...

[marco_irmer]

I think #2 and #3 (timezone and region settings) are tenant specific. You would want to check your user preferences in each individual tenant to make sure they all match.

[AntonioSousa]

Once again, trying to use new apps, but going back again. ☹️

Almost 5 months forward, and the only thing I got solved was the AM/PM thing ( @marco_irmer , it was a Windows setting). #1,#4 & #5 above are moving blockers.

Indeed, every time I try, I find new ones, including these from today:

1. There are so many shortcuts that I use in the old timeframe selector that are simply not available. With so many LLM/Co-pilot stuff, why can't I do something simple in it? Things like previous week/month, last week/month, this week/month/year, are amongst some that I use the most.
2. When clicking on the timeframe selector, to say change a value, you don't get the position where the mouse clicked. That's for me, a Firefox user. In Chrome, it depends: if it's like "-30m ->  now", and you click between the 3 and the 0 it works, but if it's a date, like 2025, or an hour like 19, if you want to position it between the 2 and the 5, you'll have to click twice. Terrible inconsistent behavior, which of course reveals a lot!
3. The idea that @marco_irmer transmitted, about specific apps having different timeframe selector behaviors, is really unbelievable. This is a Platform, and this is one of the things I would expect to be very consistent across the Platform.

I fear that Dynatrace is not listening to this important issue... Maybe one way forward would let the good timeframe selector back, at least as an option we could select, and the have a very basic AI translate between formats?

[mdouds]

#4 - I also copy/paste timeframes a lot in classic apps. During incident triage it is sometimes critical to drill into the same timeframe from multiple apps, and it gets tedious to re-select the custom info multiple times. 

[Julius_Loman]

@marco_irmer @mdouds @AntonioSousa copy & paste works. It's just not obvious at all and I the UX design is more than bad here.

Just press Ctrl+C in the source time selector (You don't need to select anything) and paste it in the target time selector by Ctrl+V

[AntonioSousa]

@Julius_Loman 
Thanks for the tip! Had tried it before (on your own suggestion 😊) but hadn't worked.

Now I understand why: if I Ctrl+V and do Enter, it doesn't work the way it should (refreshes the existing period), so one has to click Apply as you show 😂 Great on touch screens, but there'no CTRL-V there! Not great for heavy users...

[Julius_Loman]

You are correct! Enter does not work the same way in the timeframe selector when pasting as it normally does.

[Julius_Loman]

Referencing the copy&paste of time selector product idea. https://community.dynatrace.com/t5/Product-ideas/Copy-and-paste-Timeframe-Selectors/idc-p/290713#M55... 

[Srh]

Thanks you for sharing your detailed feedback, @AntonioSousa . It’s really helpful, and we’ll act on it. Let me go point by point:

• Documentation: We’ll be updating this soon. Expect clearer and more detailed information about timeframe settings asap.

• Recents: This is on our roadmap and will be addressed over the next two quarters.

• ENTER to apply: True, in some scenarios, pressing ENTER doesn’t apply the timeframe as expected. We’ll improve those cases so it works more consistently.

• Cursor position: In one of the examples, you mentioned wanting the cursor between the 2 and the 5. Could you share what you’re trying to achieve with that? Understanding the use case will help us make improvements.

• Copy & paste: As mentioned before, this works by placing the cursor in the input field, press Ctrl/Cmd+A, and then copy/paste. We know the lack of visual selection makes this less obvious, and improving that experience is part of our upcoming changes.

• Timeframe limitations: These vary depending on the app. I'll ensure the teams are aware of your feedback, although changes may depend on each app’s requirements.

• AM/PM format: The format depends on your region setting, so you can adjust this in the user settings.

• Natural language input: Inputs like “previous week” or “last month” are being considered for an upcoming improvement.

Thanks again for helping us improve!

And a special thank you to @Julius_Loman and @marco_irmer , who already jumped in to clarify some of these points; I appreciate the collaboration.

Best regards,
Sarah

[AntonioSousa]

@Srh ,

I really hope Dynatrace understands the importance of the time selector. I have been doing this usability test on myself for the last months: how do I use the timeframe selector? And the answer, again and again, before anything else, is: a lot! Every time I try to move to the new apps, it's a blocker. So, from what you've said, I don't need to try again in the next two quarters to move to the new apps?

Regarding the Cursor position need, it's probably easier to express it in words: it is assumed that when you click in a web UI on something that you are going to edit, a vertical blinking caret '|' appears. You then can do whatever you want to do, <delete>/<backspace>/<cursor_left>/<whatever>, but the caret should follow along. So, imagine I have got "-24h -> Now", and I want to edit it to "-12h -> Now". I, normally click between the 2 and 4, and then do <delete><backspace>, and then write 12. Try it yourself and see the result: the first time, it should take you two clicks to get the caret; the second time, it should take you only one click. If you are a Firefox user like me, it will work differently: doesn't work at all, as you don't get the caret! This is basic UI design and a Key Level AA WCAG requirement (2.4.7).

[Srh]

@AntonioSousa ,

we do, and that’s why we appreciate the feedback on this vital piece of the UI. Rest assured that the timeframe selector, as well as apps, are constantly being improved. Regarding the missing feature, the recently used timeframes, we'll do our best to deliver it sooner. 

I understand the approach you described, though I’d like your thoughts on the current implementation. For example, when clicking into “-24h” and typing “-12h,” the value is overridden directly, so there’s no need to delete parts of the timestamp first.

You’re right, that's an issue in Firefox browsers. Thank you for reporting this. We’ll look into it!