[Bug]: Strange Time Formatting Issue

[kuntz80]

Issue validation

• I checked the issue to prevent duplicate
• I checked my configurations files and the documentation

Describe the bug

When synchronising my inline fields I have a timeframe field which is being converted to somewhat obtuse time notation:

Inline Field

Longevity:: 110hr

Converted Property

Longevity: P4DT14H

Is there anyway to have it keep the original format? P4DT14H is not very readable or intuitive

How to reproduce ?

No response

Minimal Reproducible Example

Create an inline field with a time format and convert it to a property with Dataview (to) Properties

Field:: 55min
Field2:: 100hr

Configuration

{
  "prefix": "mat_",
  "listSuffix": "_list",
  "unflatten": {
    "enabled": false,
    "separator": "__"
  },
  "ignore": {
    "files": [],
    "keyName": "dv_ignore"
  },
  "dql": true,
  "djs": true,
  "listFields": {
    "fields": [],
    "lowerCase": true,
    "ignoreAccents": true
  },
  "ignoreFields": {
    "fields": [],
    "lowerCase": true,
    "ignoreAccents": true
  },
  "cleanUpText": {
    "fields": [],
    "lowerCase": true,
    "ignoreAccents": true
  },
  "interval": 1000,
  "deleteFromFrontmatter": {
    "enabled": true,
    "lowerCase": true,
    "ignoreAccents": true
  },
  "extraMenus": true
}

Relevant log output

Anything else?

No response

OS

Linux

Obsidian information

SYSTEM INFO:
	Obsidian version: v1.9.12
	Installer version: v1.9.12
	Operating system: #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Wed, 13 Aug 2025 23:38:48 +0000 6.16.0-arch2-1
	Login status: not logged in
	Language: en
	Insider build toggle: off
	Live preview: on
	Base theme: dark
	Community theme: none
	Snippets enabled: 1
	Restricted mode: off
	Plugins installed: 20
	Plugins enabled: 19
		1: Hotkeys++ v0.2.7
		2: Media Extended v3.2.6
		3: Templater v2.13.1
		4: Dataview v0.5.68
		5: Recent Files v1.7.4
		6: Advanced Tables v0.22.1
		7: Full Calendar v0.10.7
		8: Kanban v2.0.51
		9: Tasks v7.20.0
		10: Folder notes v1.8.16
		11: Tag Wrangler v0.6.4
		12: Custom File Extensions Plugin v1.2.1
		13: Advanced Canvas v5.3.2
		14: Minimal Theme Settings v8.1.1
		15: Note Refactor v1.8.2
		16: Perplexity Converter v1.0.6
		17: Text Extractor v0.6.1
		18: Hledger Notes v1.1.2
		19: Dataview (to) Properties v0.0.21

Plugin version

0.0.21

[Mara-Li]

The problem is that they are automatically converted to duration (object-format) by Dataview : https://blacksmithgu.github.io/obsidian-dataview/annotation/types-of-metadata/#duration
https://blacksmithgu.github.io/obsidian-dataview/reference/literals/#durations

The only thing i can do is to "convert to readable" format, but it won't be accurate everything, as you can want specific value.
I want to keep the original text, but the dv object doesn't keep them.

[Mara-Li]

If you don't want to convert into duration, you should set the text between ":

Field:: "55min"
Field2:: "100hr"

The only thing i can do is that:

---
dv_me: hello
dv_Field4: 9h 15min
dv_Field2: 4j 4h
---
me:: hello
Field4:: 555min
Field2:: 100hr

[kuntz80]

Thanks for your response and making me aware of the dataview durations type which I was using without knowing it.

In my case I would prefer a more readable format like 9h 15min but not sure if that's best practice as far as how you or other users would want to represent dataview durations in their frontmatter.

And, only because I have so many files with this field I am not keen on going through all of them to change that field. Also, my sed skills are pretty rusty.

I leave it to you to make the call if a more readable format for durations in frontmatter is warranted or leaving the P4DT14H notation is better for interoperability with dataview or other things.

[Mara-Li]

Published in beta in 0.0.22-0