Product updates: Date and time formatting

Date and time formatting

If you live somewhere other than the US, you might think there are some peculiar things about us Americans. Included in these peculiarities are how we format things like dates and times. I can't really defend our way of doing things other than to say that I think they originated in Britain, so I guess you should blame them?

In the US, pretty much everyone uses a 12-hour clock (e.g. 1:30 pm) and dates are written using the mm/dd/yyyy format. Most other parts of the world use a 24-hour clock (e.g. 13:30) and dates are formatted dd/mm/yyyy. Because of this, in the localization settings, we had a "U.S." option and an "everywhere else" option, and that setting applied to both date and time formatting.

Well, it turns out a lot of people mix and match the different formats. Some people use a 12-hour clock with dd/mm/yyyy and some people use a 24-hour clock with mm/dd/yyyy. Our old approach didn't allow you to set date and time formatting separately, so people were forced to have one of the two look incorrect.

We just fixed this! Now in the localization settings, you'll see separate date and time format options so you can choose exactly how you'd like things to display in your CRM.

API key permissions

In my last update, I mentioned that we're working on our programmer API (an advanced feature that allows programmers to build integrations with LACRM). We have another small update: Now when you create an API key, you can set its permissions. Each key can have any combination of read, create, edit, and delete access. This way, you can make sure that API keys aren't able to do more than they're supposed to in your CRM.

For example, if you have an integration that creates new leads in the CRM whenever someone fills out a form on your website, you'll need it to have create access (so it can create the contact and lead) but it doesn't need read access. By limiting the permissions, you can minimize the damage if anyone ever steals your API keys.

2-factor authentication beta testing

We've been working hard on a new security feature called "2-factor authentication" or "2fa". This feature will require you to enter a one-time code when you log in which you'll get either via email, SMS, or an authenticator app on your phone. This makes it harder for hackers to gain unauthorized access to your account.

It's not quite ready for prime time, but it's close enough that we're about to start inviting beta testers to try it out. We already have a handful of volunteers who should be getting an email invite next week. If you'd like to be on the list, you can fill out this form.