A bug emerged in the April 8th upgrade to REDCap version 15.2.4 that involves date validated text fields using the CACLDATE action tag to calculate a date or date and time in the future or past. The bug only affects the displayed calculated value on the page, not the saved calculated value.

Bug Description

A date or datetime field using the CALCDATE action tag is displaying an incorrect value that is off by up to 1 day. However, when the form/survey is saved, the correct value is saved in the REDCap project. 

  • A date validated field is displaying a value that is 1 day off.
  • A datetime validated field is displaying a value that is 7 hours off.

Screenshot from a form with CALCDATE calculations display in the user interface


Screenshot of an entry from Logging that confirm correct values are getting saved within the REDCap system 


Intended Audience & Prerequisites

Intended Audience

Project builders/project point persons

Prerequisite Knowledge & Experience

Basics training or comparable experience and knowledge

Working knowledge of the Online Designer

Anticipated Fix Date

We anticipate a fix will be in place by end of the calendar day on Tuesday, 4/22/2025. 

Checking Your Project for the Bug

To determine if your project is impacted by this bug, use the Codebook to look for text fields with a CALCDATE applied. You can find a link to the Codebook in the left-hand navigation menu of your project, in the Project Home and Design subsection. Use your browser find feature (ctrl + f in Windows or cmd + f in Mac) to search for @CALCDATE and note for yourself the fields and forms involved. If you have experience using the data dictionary and are comfortable using this tool, you could find text fields with the @CALCDATE action tag applied. 

Screenshot of using the browser's find feature to search to find fields in the Codebook with the @CALCDATE action tag applied.

Impact and Temporary Solution

The impact is on any study teams that rely on a calculated date or datetime that is displayed in a survey or form as the basis for taking an action, such as following up with a participant to schedule a visit.

If this bug impacts your workflow because your team is taking action based on a displayed calculated date or datetime, until a fix is in place, we recommend the following alternative:

  • Create a report made up of the calculated date and/or datetime fields the team needs to track and refer to the dates and datetimes in the report. 
  • The dates and datetimes in the report are the correct values that the system saved.

Screenshot of a report of correct calculated date and datetime values

For teams that include a calculated date or datetime field in their ASI logic or condition for sending their ASI, the ASI is not impacted. The ASI logic will reference the correct saved values. However, running a report, as explained above, can help address any confusion that may arise from referencing the form.

Questions

Please reach out to the REDCap Team at redcap@ohsu.edu if you have any questions.

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