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Managing the Time Zone of your Platform

Last Updated
Docebo Module
  • Learn
Reading Time
User Level
  • Administrators
  • End Users
  • Power Users

Introduction

Your platform allows you to deploy online and blended training all over the world, which is why every platform uses the Time Zone feature, allowing you and your users to manage different time zones.

Find out more about the supported time zones.

Managing Time Zone Options

Begin by accessing your platform as the Superadmin, then move the Admin Menu from the gear icon in the top right corner of your platform. Select the Advanced Settings item in the Settings section and move to the Date and Time tab. 

In the Time Zone section, you can set a default time zone for your platform using the corresponding dropdown menu. 

As an option, you can let users select their own time zone by enabling the Let the user choose their own time zone option. When enabling this option, users will keep the platform default time zone until they manually change it in the Preferences tab of the My Profile area.

If you select this option, make sure that the Hide the Preferences tab in the My Profile area for users and Power Users option is disabled in the platform Advanced Settings menu, or users won’t be able to set their time zone as the Preferences tab will not be visible in the My Profile area.

Setting_the_time_zone.gif

Now, move to the Date Format section to customize the date format in the platform. Select among the following options:

  • Use Selected Language. The date format will be set up according to the platform language of each user.
  • User Selected. Each user can choose the date format from in the Preferences tab of their My Profile area.
  • Force Date Format. You, as the Superadmin, can select a default date format from the dropdown menu below.

Once you're finished, press Save.

Time Zones for ILT (Instructor-Led Training) Courses

When the Let the user choose their own time zone option is enabled (as described in the Managing Time Zone Options chapter of this article), users will see the date and time of the sessions and the events composing ILT (Instructor-Led Training) courses according to the timezone they’ve set in My Profile area, or that the Superadmin has chosen for them.

This configuration impacts the way date and time are displayed in the events and sessions composing ILT (Instructor-Led Training) courses on the course page, both when the user is already enrolled and in catalogs (including the catalog’s calendar view) and in the Catalogs widget before the enrollment, in the My Calendar widget and in the My Calendar page.

Date and time details for events and sessions are always followed by their time zone  (e.g. GMT +01:00 Europe/Rome) to avoid date and time misunderstandings.

When the Let the user choose their own time zone option is disabled, date and time details for events and sessions are always displayed in the platform’s default time zone in the My Calendar widget, on the My Calendar page, and in catalogs in Calendar View mode (both on the Course Catalog page and in the Catalogs widget).

Events

Events’ date and time are displayed according to the following rules:

  • classroom events (event type = Venue) take place in physical locations, so their time zone depends on where the venue is located. The date and time details are thus displayed in the timezone selected for the event. If the event timezone is different from the timezone selected by the user enrolled in the event, then date and time are displayed both in the event time zone and in the user timezone. 
  • webinar events (event type = Video Conference Tool) take place online, they are not strictly linked to a timezone. The event date and time details are displayed in the user timezone. If the Let the user choose their own time zone option is not active, then the date and time will be displayed in the timezone selected for the event.
  • mixed events (event type = both Venue and Video Conference Tool) include classroom events, and the date and time display rules are the same as classroom events.  

Sessions

Sessions may be made up of different types of events,  possibly set up in different time zones. For this reason, date and time details for sessions are always shown in the time zone selected by the user. If the user hasn’t selected a time zone, then the platform's default time zone will be used. 

Setting the Time Zone as a User

Users can configure their time zone when they self-register into the platform, but also after registration from their My Profile area.

In order to activate the time zone selection at the self-registration time, make the following configuration:

  • Enable the Let the user choose their own time zone option in the platform Advanced Settings as described in the Managing Time Zone Options chapter of this article
  • Disable the Hide the Preferences tab in the My Profile area for users and Power Users option in the platform Advanced Settings as described in the Managing Time Zone Options chapter of this article

Both at self-registration time or in the My Profile area, users can choose their time zone from the Time Zone dropdown, selecting among the options pre-populated according to their browser’s time zone. 

Users are free to use the time zone already selected in the field, to choose another one among those listed, or to use the platform default time zone ( “-” option in the dropdown), which is the one that you as a Superadmin set in the Advanced Settings Date and Time tab Time Zone section as already explained in this article.

Setting_the_time_zone_as_a_user.gif

Users will find the time zone they set during self-registration on their My Profile page, where they can change it also after registering into the platform. 

If users are allowed to customize their time zone, when they move to a location having a different time zone, the platform will prompt them to adjust their time zone according to the one detected by the browser. When users click on Update in the pop-up, the platform will update the time zone on their behalf. Otherwise, they can manually change their time zone in the My Profile page, or dismiss the prompt permanently by checking the Don’t ask me again button, or temporarily with the Remind Me Later button.

The prompt is always displayed for Superadmins, only if the Let the user choose their own time zone option is enabled.