PX Policy Compare Dates Function Fails with Custom DateTime Formats

Products

• CA Identity Manager
• CA Identity Suite

Issue/Introduction

In Identity Manager, using a Policy Xpress (PX) Policy with the Compare Dates comparator function may fail to return the correct timespan offset when a custom date-time format is used. Specifically, the comparator may ignore the time portion and only provide the offset in days.

Example Scenario
Custom Format: yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss

Date 1: 2026-03-20 11:28:43
Date 2: 2026-04-20 18:28:43

Returned Result: +31.0:0:0 (Time offset ignored)
Expected Result: +31.7:0:0 (Includes the 7-hour time difference)

Environment

Product: Symantec Identity Manager / Identity Suite
Versions: 14.5.x, 15.0
Feature: Policy Xpress (PX) Policies > Comparators > Compare Dates

Cause

This is a known product defect. The Compare Dates function correctly calculates the offset when using the out-of-the-box (OOTB) format available in the dropdown menu (yyyy/MM/dd HH:mm:ss), but it miscalculates or truncates the time portion when a manually entered custom format (e.g., using hyphens like yyyy-MM-dd) is applied.

Resolution

Engineering is reviewing this behavior for a fix in a future version.

Workaround

To ensure both the date and time portions are calculated correctly, use the default out-of-the-box format provided in the comparator dropdown list:

yyyy/MM/dd HH:mm:ss

Using this format ensures the returned offset follows the standard +/-D.H:M:S calculation (e.g., +31.7:0:0 for 31 days and 7 hours).

Additional Information

Requests to change the format of the returned offset value (e.g., changing the separators or structure of the D.H:M:S string) are considered Enhancement Requests. Customers wishing to see different output formats should submit a Product Idea on the Broadcom Software Ideas Portal.