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servicemanagement_time_zones_htm servicemanagement_time_zones_htm

You can store dates and times in Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) so that dates/times can be accurately converted and displayed in the time zone of the location, technician, and user. In addition, time zones can be adjusted for Daylight Savings Time (DST).

Table of Contents

When and how are times converted - an overview

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Times are not converted to GMT as soon as you enable the time zone feature in setup. Immediately after you turn on the time zone view feature, the system will attempt to populate certain specific date/time related fields in GMT in the database for new records added. Existing service call, time stamp, and appointment data must be converted after you populate certain tables with time zone values. Existing data must be converted before you add new service calls or appointments.
Service call, time stamp, and appointment get the time zone from location. CAUTION:

Warning

Time Zones and the corresponding data conversions must be set up and executed immediately after turning on the time zone view option and BEFORE new service call or appointment data is entered or existing service call or appointment data is edited. Failure to perform the implementation of this feature in this manner could result in invalid service call or appointment time related data; therefore, we suggest that time zone views be implemented during non-business hours. Before turning on or turning off the time zone view feature, a current backup should be created of your company data.

Some additional notes regarding time conversions:

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You must set up a time zone record for each time zone your business deals with. Use the Time zone reference at the end of this chapter as a guide for abbreviations and times. Note:

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For new installs, the time zones have already been entered. You should validate the GMT offsets and define the daylight savings time information, if applicable.

1. Choose Microsoft Dynamics GP > Tools > Setup > Service Management > Lookup Setup > General > Time Zones.
2. Enter a Time Zone name, for example, CST for Central Standard Time. See Time zone reference for a list of common time zone abbreviations.The GMT Offset values fill automatically based on the time zone selected.
3. If Daylight Savings Time (DST) applies to this time zone, mark the check box. The remaining fields on the window are enabled.
4. Complete the remaining fields, as necessary.
   • DST BiasThe amount of hours and/or minutes to adjust the time for daylight savings time. For example, if the time is moved backward one hour in the summer and moved forward one hour in the fall, enter 1 in the Hours portion of the field.
   • DST Start DateUsed to specify the date DST begins. You can include the instance of the day of the week for that month, the day of the week, and the month. For the instance, choose from 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or Last.
   • DST Start TimeThe time of day DST goes into effect.
   • Standard Start DateUsed to specify when standard time resumes and when DST ends. You can include the instance of the day of the week for that month, the day of the week, and the month. For the instance, choose from 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or Last.
   • Standard Start TimeThe time of day standard time goes into effect, and DST time ends.
   • DST BiasThe amount of hours and/or minutes to adjust the time for daylight savings time. For example, if the time is moved backward one hour in the summer and moved forward one hour in the fall, enter 1 in the Hours portion of the field.
   • DST Start DateUsed to specify the date DST begins. You can include the instance of the day of the week for that month, the day of the week, and the month. For the instance, choose from 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or Last.
   • DST Start TimeThe time of day DST goes into effect.
5. Choose Save. When you save a service call, the time will fill in GMT time. If there is a time zone associated with the location of that service call, that time zone will fill on the service call.

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You can assign a time zone for several records within Service Management. We have provided a special utility to make entering time zones easier. But first, you must manually enter a time zone in at least one record, at the highest point of the record hierarchy you choose. This utility assumes the following general record hierarchy:
Image Removed Image Added
If you do not use postal code assignments, you can start at the branch level. Therefore, before you run the utility, you should assign a time zone to the branch(s) so that the utility knows where to get the time zone necessary to populate the time zones for the other records. If you do not use branches, you start at the location level, again, assigning a time zone to the location.

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• Update branch time zone values with postal code time zone values (only if postal codes are used).
• Update location time zone values with branch time zone values.
• Update technician time zone values with branch time zone values.
• Update service data (service calls, appointments, and time stamps) time zone values to GMT.
• Update appointment views, which will be based on the location/technician combination. 

Note

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If you want to update branch times zones based on postal codes time zone, you must first mark

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the Use Postal Code Assignment

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check box in the Service Options window.

1. Choose Microsoft Dynamics GP > Tools > Utilities > Service Management > Update Time Zone Data. 

   Note

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1. You must be logged in as "sa" to run this utility.

   
   

2. Mark the appropriate check boxes for time zone fields you want to update.
3. Choose Update. If the update was successful, a message box appears. When you click OK, the Print Destination window, which allows you to print a report displaying which records were updated.

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After running the Update Time Zone Data utility to populate the postal codes, branch, location, and technician records, the time zones for additional Service records populate accordingly. For some windows, time zones must be assigned manually from a lookup.

Note

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If you change a branch after the time zone feature has been enabled, you must manually change the technician and/or location time zone.

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Time zone views

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Time zone views allow you to view the dates/times in the time zone of location, technician, user, and in GMT (Greenwich Mean Time). This feature has been implemented in several windows. 

Note

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Time zone views are just that: views; they do not affect the way dates/times are stored.

Changing the view

The time zone icon appears in the upper right of the appropriate window. To change a view,

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1. Click anywhere inside the icon. A popup menu appears.

2. Click the view that you want. The picture on the icon changes, depending on the view selected.

   If the time zone view indicator looks like this:	The time displays by:
   Image Modified	GMT
   Image Modified	Location
   Image Modified	Technician
   Image Modified	User

   The availability of views depends on the window and context. See below for a list of windows and available views.

• Service CallGMT, Location (default), Technician,

  User

  User 

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• The time zone view icon will not be enabled until a service call is saved.

  
  

• AppointmentsGMT, Location (default from service call), Technician, User
• Service Level Call InquiryGMT, Location, Technician (default), User
• Dispatch BoardGMT, Location (default), Technician
• Appointment WizardGMT, Technician (default), User
• Reschedule Appointment WizardGMT, Technician (default), User
• Appointment HistoryGMT, Location, User

• Technician SchedulesGMT, Technician (default), User.

  Note

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• The time zone selected appears in each grid of the technician's schedule.

  
  

• Technician Activity InquiryGMT, Technician (default), User
• Technician Board - AppointmentsGMT, Technician (default), User

• Technician Board - Appointments - Daily ViewGMT, Technician (default), User

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• The time zone selected appears in the right corner of the Time column heading.

  
  

• Time StampGMT, Location, Technician, User

  Note

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• When any of the clocks on the window are pressed, the system converts to the time zone selected using the time zone icon.

  
  

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Dates and times display

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The table below shows a list of supported time zones. Information includes common abbreviations, descriptions, and the time differences relative to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).