FAQ

This page collects answers to common questions about creating, editing, and publishing events in Events. Use it when you need quick clarification on timelines, times, components, or event types.

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Frequently asked questions

Why do I have to provide a start time when creating an incident?

Incident start times are used for SLA calculations and public reporting accuracy. Rather than defaulting to the moment you opened the record (which is often later than when the incident actually began), you set the start time explicitly so it reflects reality. You can backdate it as needed.

Can I change the incident start time after it's been created?

Yes — two ways. Open the incident in edit mode and use the Incident Start Time field on the General tab. Or edit the timestamp on the first timeline entry — the incident start time will update automatically to match.

How does the incident end time get set?

When you post a timeline entry using a final workflow phase (e.g. "Resolved"), the end time is automatically set to that entry's timestamp. If you used a custom timestamp on that entry, the end time reflects that value — not the clock time when you clicked Submit.

Can I override the end time after the incident is resolved?

Yes. Edit the Incident End Time field on the General tab, or edit the timestamp on the resolved timeline entry — the end time will cascade automatically to match.

Can I backdate or adjust a timeline entry's timestamp?

Yes. Both when adding a new entry and when editing an existing one, the timestamp field can be set to any past value. This is useful when you are recording an update that happened before you had a chance to post it.

Why didn't the maintenance start time change when I posted an "In Progress" update?

That is by design. Maintenance start and end times represent your scheduled window, which is set at creation and is not affected by workflow transitions. If the actual window shifted, edit the event's General tab to correct the times directly.

What is the difference between a timeline entry and a note?

Timeline entries are public — they appear on your status dashboard and are visible to all users. Notes are internal — they are only visible to your team inside the dashboard and are never published, regardless of the event's publish setting. See Notes and Timeline.

When should I use an informational event instead of an incident?

Use an informational event when the notice does not affect any service components — for example, a product announcement or a change log update. If any service is degraded, unavailable, or has a changed status, use an incident so the affected components are reflected on the status dashboard.

Can I add components to an informational event later?

No. Informational events do not support components, severity, or timelines. If the situation escalates to a service impact, create a new incident.

What happens if a component is deleted while an event is still active?

The deleted component continues to appear on the status dashboard for that event — its name and severity were captured as a snapshot when the event was created or last updated, so deletion does not remove it from existing events.

When you open the event in edit mode, the deleted component appears in a separate highlighted section on the Components tab, labelled Deleted, with a notice explaining that it is still visible on the dashboard. From there you have two options:

• Uncheck it to explicitly remove it from the event before saving.
• Leave it checked and save — the component is automatically removed from the event on save and will no longer appear on the dashboard going forward.

If you do not open and re-save the event, the deleted component remains in the event snapshot and continues to show on the status dashboard indefinitely.