Time Zones Feature

Feature Name	Time Zones
Feature ID	CrestApps.OrchardCore.TimeZones

Provides friendly named time zone maps so editors can pick labels like Eastern Time (US & Canada) instead of scanning the full Orchard Core IANA time zone list.

Overview

The module adds:

• an admin UI under Tools -> Time Zones
• a catalog-backed store of unique named time zone maps
• an ITimeZoneSelectListProvider override that replaces Orchard Core's default time zone select-list implementation
• recipe import support through TimeZoneMaps
• deployment export support for time zone maps
• seeded starter mappings for common worldwide time zones

Because this module overrides Orchard Core's ITimeZoneSelectListProvider, enabling Time Zones changes the time zone menus Orchard Core renders anywhere that service is used. Consumers should resolve ITimeZoneSelectListProvider instead of building their own time zone list so the user always sees the mapped, human-friendly names.

Each map stores:

• a unique Name shown to editors
• a TimeZoneId value stored in Orchard Core data
• Author, OwnerId, CreatedUtc, and ModifiedUtc metadata for admin auditing

Admin management

The Tools -> Time Zones screen requires the ManageTimeZoneMaps permission (Manage time zone maps), granted to the Administrator role by default. Names are unique and immutable after creation, and each TimeZoneId can be mapped only once. The admin list shows the mapped TimeZoneId, the author display name, and the latest created or modified timestamp as badges.

Once the feature is enabled, ITimeZoneSelectListProvider returns only the mapped entries, ordered by name. Every menu built from it, including the Orchard Core site Default Time Zone setting and the User Time Zone profile setting, therefore offers only mapped zones; an unmapped TimeZoneId cannot be selected until a map is added. The Omnichannel contact and activity screens use the same provider.

How administrators add maps and set the site and user time zones is described in the User Manual: Time Zones.

Recipe support

Use the TimeZoneMaps step to create or update maps:

{
  "name": "TimeZoneMaps",
  "Maps": [
    {
      "Name": "Eastern Time (US & Canada)",
      "TimeZoneId": "America/New_York",
      "OwnerId": "[js: parameters('AdminUserId')]",
      "Author": "[js: parameters('AdminUsername')]"
    },
    {
      "Name": "India Standard Time",
      "TimeZoneId": "Asia/Kolkata",
      "OwnerId": "[js: parameters('AdminUserId')]",
      "Author": "[js: parameters('AdminUsername')]"
    }
  ]
}

Recipe imports update existing entries by ItemId when provided, then fall back to the unique Name. The step also accepts Author, OwnerId, CreatedUtc, and ModifiedUtc so seeded or deployed entries can preserve audit metadata.

Deployment support

When OrchardCore.Deployment is enabled, deployment plans can export all time zone maps or a selected subset. The exported plan uses the same TimeZoneMaps recipe step shape, so it can be imported directly into another tenant.

The deployment-plan editor groups the TimeZoneMaps export step under the Infrastructure category.

Seeded starter maps

The initial migration runs an embedded partial recipe through Orchard Core's recipe executor and creates a starter set of common worldwide mappings. The seed recipe sets OwnerId from parameters('AdminUserId'), Author from parameters('AdminUsername'), and shares a single utcNow() value through recipe variables so all seeded entries keep consistent audit metadata. The starter mappings include:

• North America: Alaska, Hawaii, Pacific, Mountain, Central and Eastern Time (US & Canada), and Atlantic Time (Canada)
• South America: Brasilia Time
• Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)
• Europe: Western, Central and Eastern European Time, and Moscow Standard Time
• Middle East and Asia: Jerusalem, Gulf Standard, India Standard, China Standard, Singapore and Japan Standard Time
• Oceania: Australian Eastern Time and New Zealand Time

You can edit or delete these entries after the feature is enabled.