Time zones

A time zone is Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) plus or minus the required offset for geographic location. Service Manager uses time zone information to display local time correctly, and calculate the correct escalation time for alerts. Service Manager uses time zone information for:

• Work schedules
• Alerts
• Request Management lead time calculations
• Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and service contracts
• Clocks
• Reminders

System administrators can define a system-wide default time zone and date format in the company record. Individual operator records can contain individual time zone values that override the system-wide default time zone.

Service Manager contains out-of-box time zone records for most regions of the world. System administrators can also create their own time zone records. Each time zone record contains:

• Local GMT offset
• Local time switch over definitions
• Local date format

Associated tables

Service Manager uses information in these tables to track time zone information.

• tzfile
• contact
• location
• device
• assignment
• cm3groups
• ocmgroups

Set the default system time zone

To set the default system time zone:

1. Click System Administration > Base System Configuration > Miscellaneous > System Information Record.
2. Click the Date Info tab.
3. In the Time Zone field, type or select the default system time zone.
4. Click Save.
5. Click More or the More Actions icon, and then select Set Parms.
6. Stop and restart the Service Manager server.

Add a time zone record

To add a time zone record:

1. Click Tailoring > Database Manager.
2. In the Form field, type tzfile.
3. Click Search.
4. Specify information for the following fields:
   • Time Zone Name identifies the time zone.
   • Description specifies the locations where the time zone applies.
   • Default Date Format is one of these date formats:
     • mm/dd/yy — standard U.S. date format
     • dd/mm/yy — standard European date format
     • yy/mm/dd — optional date format
     • mm/dd/yyyy — standard U.S. date format
     • dd/mm/yyyy — standard European date format
     • yyyy/mm/dd — optional date format
     The value you enter in this field overrides the default date format in the company record.
   • Date Separator is the character that separates the year, month, and date. Only "/","-", or "." is allowed.
   • Time Change Definitions defines every possible time offset that can occur within the time zone:
     • Name (abbr) is the abbreviation for a particular time offset.
     • Offset from GMT is the number of hours, minutes, and seconds the time zone is ahead or behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) in this format:
       plus or minushours:minutes:seconds.
       For example, +04:03:02 is ahead of Greenwich Mean Time by 4 hours, 3 minutes, and 2 seconds.
   • Time Change Dates/Indexes defines when time changes occur:
     • Switchover Date is the date and time when the offset begins.
       Type the date and time in this format: datehour:minute:second.
       For example, 04/04/04 02:00:00 switches over on April 4, 2004 at 2 AM.
     • Index of Definition is the index number of the time offset used on the switch over date.
       The index number matches the position the offset has in the Time Change Definitions. The first offset is index 0, the second offset is index 1, and so on.
5. Click Add.

Your user profile must include the system administration capability word to add this record.

Delete a time zone record

To add a time zone record:

1. Click Tailoring > Database Manager
2. In the Form field, type tzfile.
3. Click Search
4. Type or select optional search criteria.
5. Click Search.
6. Select the time zone to delete.
7. Click Delete.
8. Click Yes to confirm the deletion.

Update a time zone record

To update a time zone record:

1. Click Tailoring > Database Manager.
2. In the Form field, type tzfile.
3. Click Search.
4. Update one or more of these fields:
   • Time Zone Name identifies the time zone.
   • Description specifies the locations where the time zone applies.
   • Default Date Format is one of these date formats:
     • mm/dd/yy — standard U.S. date format
     • dd/mm/yy — standard European date format
     • yy/mm/dd — optional date format
     • mm/dd/yyyy — standard U.S. date format
     • dd/mm/yyyy — standard European date format
     • yyyy/mm/dd — optional date format
     The value you enter in this field overrides the default date format in the company record.
   • Time Change Definitions defines every possible time offset that can occur within the time zone:
     • Name (abbr) is the abbreviation for a particular time offset.
     • Offset from GMT is the number of hours, minutes, and seconds the time zone is ahead or behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) in this format:
       plus or minushours:minutes:seconds.
       For example, +04:03:02 is ahead of Greenwich Mean Time by 4 hours, 3 minutes, and 2 seconds.
   • Time Change Dates/Indexes defines when time changes occur:
     • Switchover Date is the date and time when the offset begins.
       Type the date and time in this format: datehour:minute:second.
       For example, 04/04/04 02:00:00 switches over on April 4, 2004–2005 at 2 AM.
     • Index of Definition is the index number of the time offset to use when it reaches the switch-over date.
       The index number matches the position the offset has in the Time Change Definitions. The first offset is index 0, the second offset is index 1, and so on.
5. Click Save.

 

Related topics

Regional settings

System information record