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Administering Time Zones


The time zone records that are shipped with Siebel Business Applications as seed data include the 74 world time zones. These are the same time zones used by Microsoft in its operating systems. Time zone records include the time zone name and standard abbreviation, its offset from UTC, daylight savings time (DST) data, and so on.

Procedures are provided below for modifying time zones and for maintaining translations of time zones.

For more information about managing time zone data, see also the Applications Administration Guide.

Modifying Time Zones

You will rarely need to modify a time zone's regional settings. However, you may want to modify other time zone settings such as the display name or daylight savings rules, as these occasionally change.

To modify time zone settings

  1. Navigate to Administration - Data > Time Zone Administration.
  2. In the Time Zones list, select the time zone record you want to modify.
  3. Modify the fields as necessary. Fields are described in the following table:
    Field
    Description

    Name

    Full name of time zone.

    NOTE:  For UTC deployments, you specify the full name of the applicable time zone as the value for the Default Time Zone system preference. For more information, see About UTC System Preferences.

    Standard Abbreviation

    The abbreviation for the time zone.

    UTC Offset

    The time difference in minutes between local time and UTC.

    For example, the (U.S.) Eastern Standard Time has a UTC offset of -300 (GMT-5). Offsets are not necessarily in increments of hours. For example, Adelaide (Australia) has a UTC offset of 570 (GMT+9:30).

    DST Abbreviation

    The abbreviation for daylight savings time for the time zone.

    DST Bias

    The difference in time, in minutes, DST makes (where applicable).

    For example, the (U.S.) Eastern Standard Time (GMT-5) has a DST bias of 60.

    DST Start Ordinal

    Part of the rule that determines when DST starts. For example, if the rule is the first Sunday in April, then First is defined in this field.

    DST Start Day

    Part of the rule that determines when DST starts. For example, if the rule is the first Sunday in April, then Sunday is defined in this field.

    DST Start Month

    Part of the rule that determines when DST starts. For example, if the rule is the first Sunday in April, then April is defined in this field.

    DST Start Time

    Start time for DST, measured in minutes into the day when DST starts. For example, 2 a.m., a common DST start time, is equivalent to 120 minutes.

    DST End Ordinal

    Part of the rule that determines when DST ends. For example, if the rule is the last Sunday in October, then Last is defined in this field.

    DST End Day

    Part of the rule that determines when DST ends.

    DST End Month

    Part of the rule that determines when DST ends.

    DST End Time

    End time for DST, measured in minutes into the day when DST ends.

    Active

    Specifies whether a time zone record is considered active (when Active = TRUE).

Administering Time Zone Translations

You can view and maintain translations of the text-based fields for each time zone using the Time Zone Administration view in the Administration - Data screen.

To administer translations of time zones

  1. Navigate to Administration - Data > Time Zone Administration.
  2. In the Time Zones list, select the time zone for which you want to view translations, or that you want to translate.
  3. The Time Zone Translations list displays existing translations.
  4. If you require a new translation, add a new record and enter the translated version of the current time zone.

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