Feature Request: Allow display_date on Notes to be set independently of created_at

[Benechi]

Problem

display_date auto-derives from created_at and cannot be set independently. The derivation also applies a timezone conversion that can shift the visible date by a day.

Proposed Solution

Allow display_date to be set explicitly on PATCH as an independent field, separate from created_at.

Why It Matters

Backdating a note to the correct historical date currently requires PATCHing created_at — which also changes the internal audit timestamp and sort order, not just the displayed date. Display date (user-facing) and audit timestamp (internal) are separate concerns and should be independently settable.

Current Workaround

PATCH created_at and accept that the internal audit trail is also altered.

[github-actions]

Potentially Related Issues

I found some existing issues that may be related to this one. Please check if any of them address your question before waiting for a response:

🟢 #1442 — Feature Request: Allow createdbyid or displayauthorid to be set on Notes (Open)

Summary: This issue requests the ability to set the author/creator of Notes independently (either via created_by_id or a new display_author_id field), similar to how the new issue requests setting display_date independently. Both issues stem from API migration challenges where automatic field derivation prevents proper historical data attribution.

Key discussion points:

• The created_by_id field is permanently fixed to the API token owner and returns '422 Forbidden Attribute' when attempting to override it on POST
• The problem particularly impacts historical data migration scenarios where notes from another system need to preserve original authorship
• Current workaround involves embedding author names in note body text, which degrades data quality and makes the information non-queryable
• A bot comment linked to issue Calendar API Event Creation — owner_id Required But Cannot Be Assigned #1433 which has a similar pattern: API fields that are required/automatic but cannot be overridden, creating barriers for historical data migration

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This comment was generated automatically. If none of these match your issue, no action is needed — a team member will review your issue soon.

[usborn116]

Hi @Benechi! You should be able to PATCH just the display_date of a note. For example, you can send a PATCH request for a specific note with a body like

{
    "data": {
        "attributes": {
            "display_date" : "2026-02-19T07:00:00Z"
        }
    }
}

The response should show that the note's created_at did not change, but its display_date did according to your PATCH (and the updated_at would also have changed to the date/time you made your PATCH request, as expected).

Let us know if, when sending such a request, you're not getting the expected change!