Time Zones

Note:  Administrator permissions are required to access the Time Zone form.

Time zones allow dates, such as task due dates and completion dates, to be displayed in the entity's time zone. Microsoft .NET-supported time zones, based on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), are shipped with Essential. Because Microsoft does not support Daylight Savings Time (DST) in all time zones, DST adjustments can be made on the Time Zone form. Specify an effective date for each time zone information update to maintain a history of the change, rather than just replacing the previous set of information.

Important:  Typically, the start and end dates for DST are different each year. Consequently, new DST information must be entered each year before the beginning of DST so conversions can be accurately applied. It is recommended that the year of the effective date match the year of the DST start date.

For each time zone, equivalent entries in different languages can be defined for the Display, Standard, and Daylight names. For example, the "Central America Standard Time" Standard Name value could be entered in Spanish, "Hora Oficial de America Central". When localization has been implemented, the Culture setting assigned to a user determines which value is displayed in field lists on Essential forms. Enter the corresponding time zone names and associate each one with the appropriate language in the Language Dependent Time Zone Names section.

Specify an entity's time zone on the Enterprise Entity form. On other forms, time zones are available for viewing by clicking the Globe button next to the Calendar button. The system defaults 11:59:59 PM as the Task Due Date/Time and Task Completion Date/Time per the entity’s time zone. These values can be viewed and changed on task-related forms. Refer to Task Management Supervisor for information about implementing time zone aware tasking and notification.

To edit time zone information

  1. Click Administration > Time Zones in the Navigation Tree.

    The Time Zones list is displayed.

  2. Locate the appropriate time zone and click the link to open the Time Zone form.

  3. Modify the Bias when necessary.

    The bias is the number of hours difference between the GMT time zone and the time zone displayed, e.g., 07:00:00 = GMT plus 7 hours, -09:00:00 = GMT minus 9 hours. The bias for standard time zones in the United States are listed below.

  1. Click New Effective Date to automatically enter the current date. Alternatively, type a new effective date, or click the Calendar button and select the date. It is recommended that the year of the effective date match the year of the DST start date.

    When other updates have been made to the time zone information, the Select Effective Date field is displayed. Select a date from the list to view previous changes.

  2. Click the Adjust for Daylight Savings check box when applicable. Otherwise, skip to step 8.

  3. Complete the Daylight-related fields for the beginning of DST.

    Use the HH:MM:SS format to enter the Bias Change. Typically, one hour is forfeited at the start of DST, in which case the entry would be -01:00:00.

  4. Complete the Standard-related fields for the end of DST.

  5. Expand the Language Dependent Time Zone Names section, when necessary, to enter names in different languages. Otherwise, skip to step 12.

  6. Click Add Language Dependent Time Zone Name and select a Language from the list.

    If the appropriate language is not listed, click the Ellipsis button and add it.

  7. Enter the Display Name, Standard Name, and/or Daylight Name for the language selected and click OK.

    The time zone information is displayed as a line item in the Add Language Dependent Time Zone Names section. Edit existing translation information using the buttons adjacent to the line item.

  8. Repeat steps 9 and 10 to add other language translations for the time zone names.

  9. Click the Save button on the form.

Related topic

 User Security Management