3.1.4 Setting Windows Time Zone Variable

People post Network News from all over the world in every possible timezone. When WinVN sends a news article or mail message, it needs to know the time of the response so that the information can be "time stamped".

If running Windows NT, this information is obtained automatically from the NT control panel. You do not need the TZ variable. If running Windows 3.x however, you must set the TZ environment variable. If this variable is not already set by some other MSDOS or MS WINDOWS application, it will need to be set before WinVN is loaded. This variable can be entered into the MSDOS AUTOEXEC.BAT file or any function that is run before Windows is started. The syntax of the TZ variable is as follows:

The tnz must be a three-letter time-zone name, such as EST, followed by an optionally signed number, hh specifying the offset one must add to the local time to get UTC (Universal Coordinated Time). To specify the exact local time, the hours can be followed by minutes (:mm) ; seconds (:ss) and a three-letter daylight-savings-time zone, dzn such as EST. Separate hours, minutes and seconds with colons (:). If daylight savings time is never in effect, as it is in certain parts of the world, set TZ without a value for dzn. The tzn can be any value, but it is important that the correct offset from UTC is specified for the timezone calculations to work properly. Some examples:

Countries are free to make up their own designations for tnz and dzn so zone names can never be used for anything other than display purposes. This causes some overlap in names so it is not always possible to tell an exact location from a given Time Zone Name. The following are many generally accepted 3 letter time zone names: 

Hour	TZN	DZN	Zone 	Example
0	GMT		Greenwich Mean Time		GMT0
0	UTC		Universal Coordinated Time	UTC0
2	FST	FDT	Fernando De Noronha Std		FST2FDT
3	BST		Brazil Standard Time		BST3
3	EST	EDT	Eastern Standard (Brazil)	EST3EDT
3	GST		Greenland Standard Time		GST3
3:30	NST	NDT	Newfoundland Standard Time	NST3:30NDT
4	AST	ADT	Atlantic Standard Time		AST4ADT
4	WST	WDT	Western Standard (Brazil)	WST4WDT
5	EST	EDT	Eastern Standard Time	 	EST5EDT
5	CST	CDT	Chile Standard Time		CST5CDT

Hour	TZN	DZN	Zone	Example
5	AST	ADT	Acre Standard Time		AST5ADT
5	CST	CDT	Cuba Standard Time		CST5CDT
6	CST	CDT	Central Standard Time		CST6CDT
6	EST	EDT	Easter Island Standard		EST6EDT
7	MST	MDT	Mountain Standard Time		MST7MDT
8	PST	PDT	Pacific Standard Time		PST8PDT
9	AKS	AKD	Alaska Standard Time		AKS9AKD
9	YST	YDT	Yukon Standard Time		YST9YST
10	HST	HDT	Hawaii Standard Time		HST10HDT
11	SST		Somoa Standard Time		SST11
-12	NZS	NZD	New Zealand Standard Time	NZS-12NZD
-10	GST		Guam Standard Time		GST-10
-10	EAS	EAD	Eastern Australian Standard	EAS-10EAD
-9:30	CAS	CAD	Central Australian Standard	CAS-9:30CAD
-9	JST		Japan Standard Time		JST-9
-9	KST	KDT	Korean Standard Time		KST-9KDT
-8	CCT		China Coast Time		CCT-8
-8	HKT		Hong Kong Time			HKT-8
-8	SST		Singapore Standard Time		SST-8
-8	WAS	WAD	Western Australian Standard	WAS-8WAD
-7:30	JT		Java Standard Time		JST-7:30
-7	NST		North Sumatra Time		NST-7
-5:30	IST		Indian Standard Time		IST-5:30
-3:30	IST	IDT	Iran Standard Time		IST-3:30IDT
-3	MSK	MSD	Moscow Winter Time		MSK-3MSD
-2	EET		Eastern Europe Time		EET-2
-2	IST	IDT	Israel Standard Time		IST-2IDT
-1	MEZ	MES	Middle European Time		MEZ-1MES
-1	SWT	SST	Swedish Winter Time		SWT-1SST
-1	FWT	FST	French Winter Time		FWT-1FST
-1	CET	CES	Central European Time		CET-1CES
-1	WAT	 	West African Time		WAT-1
WinVN Documentation created by Jim Dumoulin / NASA - Kennedy Space Center.
HyperTexted by Michael Downs / NASA - Kennedy Space Center.