Time Zone Selector

[jazz]

Is it possible to add an option under look and layout preferences for the user to select the time zone they are in?  That way it would show their local time as the forum time.

[Oldiesmann]

This is already there... It's called "Time Offset".

[jazz]

This is already there... It's called "Time Offset".

Shall we say "Back to basics"?  I can not believe that I've never noticed that feature.

[sudden]

what about the forumboard's default timezone? can we change that setting?

and how to enable Quick Reply for all users by default (globally..)?

[Ben_S]

what about the forumboard's default timezone? can we change that setting?

Admin > edit features and options. It is in there

and how to enable Quick Reply for all users by default (globally..)?

Admin > Current themes settings > reset member specific options.

[sudden]

thanks Ben



Overall time offset <-- This one for Forum Default timezone? it is set to zero(0). im not sure how to change it.. is it using GMT timezone?

[Ben_S]

0 would be the timezone the server is in. Therefore it is only GMT if the server's timezone is GMT.

[sudden]

ok thanks..

quick support.. i love this board!

[sudden]

one more question..

i can change the forumboard's default timezone.

but.. the problem is.. the difference is 10 hrs and  30 mins.. how to enter 10:30 difference.

the board does not accept 30mins.. it fixed the 10hrs difference, but there is still 30mins gap

i tried
+10:30
10:30

does not work.. it only accepts the '10' part. help

[[Unknown]]

Use 10.5 - being, ten hours and one half.

-[Unknown]

[sudden]

Thanks Unknown, 10.5 works like a charm

[dodge]

Would somebody explain this is laypersons terms?  I've got the %B %d, %Y, %I:%M:%S %p  but how do i adjust it if my clock is 2hrs 33mins slow?

I read the php page but that just confused me further.

[[Unknown]]

That would be the format.  You want to look at the offset.

If your clock is off, you should contact your host.  SMF (most logically) relies upon the server's time, so if SMF's time is off that means that the server's time is off.  Now, if the server's time is off by something different than a whole number in hours, the time is probably wrong - and this will cause other problems.

There are, though, a few time zones which are half an hour different.  If you or your server is in one of these, use a 0.5 difference.

-[Unknown]

[ryanbsoftware]

off-set is annoying to use though, i prefer a time zone selector, perhaps at least as a mod...

[dodge]

That would be the format.  You want to look at the offset.

If your clock is off, you should contact your host.  SMF (most logically) relies upon the server's time, so if SMF's time is off that means that the server's time is off.  Now, if the server's time is off by something different than a whole number in hours, the time is probably wrong - and this will cause other problems.

There are, though, a few time zones which are half an hour different.  If you or your server is in one of these, use a 0.5 difference.

-[Unknown]

thats cracked it , thank you!

[dschwab9]

A drop down box for time selection would be a nice touch.  Something like:

GMT (+0)
EST (-5)
CST (-6)
MST (-7)
etc...

[navjotjsingh]

Please take a relook at this suggestion. I don't want my users to be too geeky to manually adjust their timezones. They should be able to set the forum's timezone to their own timezone via a drop down menu. And Automatic DST Adjusting also should be available.

Please consider this suggestion.

[Arantor]

How would "auto adjusting" actually work in practice? DST varies depending on where in the world you are.

[navjotjsingh]

Auto DST Setting - I mean depending upon the timezone selected. Sorry for the mistype.

[MrPhil]

As more and more hosts are at PHP 5.1+, SMF should offer a drop-down list for both the administrator (forum default) and individual members to select their named timezone (e.g., America/New_York). This makes PHP use the proper DST settings too, rather than relying on the server DST rules + fixed offset. SMF already has a crude form of using the new PHP timezone functions, but it doesn't work well (Etc/GMT+5 instead of EST/DST or America/New_York). See http://us3.php.net/manual/en/function.date-default-timezone-set.php and descendant links for the full story. For systems on PHP 5.2+, there should be a PHP function that gets a list of legal timezone names to choose from. SMF might offer, in addition (for those who get lost in this list), standard mappings of, e.g., EST/EDT => America/New_York or GMT-5/DST. This list could also be used on 5.1 systems that don't offer the current list of legal names.

One problem with storing a named timezone list member is that the list of legal names is subject to change, as governments twiddle with timezones and DST rules. So, even if right now you select and save a legitimate timezone name, it might become invalid in the future. You could detect this by comparing the return value of date_default_timezone_set() to what you gave it, and either fall back to some default or ask the admin/member for a new selection.