Finding the Time Zones Defined on a Local System

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The TimeZoneInfo class does not expose a public constructor. As a result, the new keyword cannot be used to create a new TimeZoneInfo object. Instead, TimeZoneInfo objects are instantiated either by retrieving information on predefined time zones from the registry or by creating a custom time zone. This topic discusses instantiating a time zone from data stored in the registry. In addition, static (shared in Visual Basic) properties of the TimeZoneInfo class provide access to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and the local time zone.

Note

For time zones that are not defined in the registry, you can create custom time zones by calling the overloads of the CreateCustomTimeZone method. Creating a custom time zone is discussed in the How to: Create Time Zones Without Adjustment Rules and How to: Create Time Zones with Adjustment Rules topics. In addition, you can instantiate a TimeZoneInfo object by restoring it from a serialized string with the FromSerializedString method. Serializing and deserializing a TimeZoneInfo object is discussed in the How to: Save Time Zones to an Embedded Resource and How to: Restore Time Zones from an Embedded Resource topics.

Accessing Individual Time Zones

The TimeZoneInfo class provides two predefined time zone objects that represent the UTC time and the local time zone. They are available from the Utc and Local properties, respectively. For instructions on accessing the UTC or local time zones, see How to: Access the Predefined UTC and Local Time Zone Objects.

You can also instantiate a TimeZoneInfo object that represents any time zone defined in the registry. For instructions on instantiating a specific time zone object, see How to: Instantiate a TimeZoneInfo Object.

Time Zone Identifiers

The time zone identifier is a key field that uniquely identifies the time zone. While most keys are relatively short, the time zone identifier is comparatively long. In most cases, its value corresponds to the TimeZoneInfo.StandardName property, which is used to provide the name of the time zone's standard time. However, there are exceptions. The best way to make sure that you supply a valid identifier is to enumerate the time zones available on your system and note the identifiers of the time zones present on them. The following table lists the time zone identifiers found by default on Windows systems.

Important noteImportant

The time zone identifiers listed in the table are the standard identifiers that are included by default with Microsoft Windows XP and Windows Vista. However, these identifiers may be added, removed, or modified by system administrators, third-party applications, and possibly by Windows updates.

Time zone identifier

Windows XP

Windows Vista

Greenwich Standard Time

X

X

GMT Standard Time

X

X

W. Europe Standard Time

X

X

Central Europe Standard Time

X

X

Romance Standard Time

X

X

Central European Standard Time

X

X

W. Central Africa Standard Time

X

X

Jordan Standard Time

X

GTB Standard Time

X

X

Middle East Standard Time

X

E. Europe Standard Time

X

X

Egypt Standard Time

X

X

South Africa Standard Time

X

X

FLE Standard Time

X

X

Israel Standard Time

X

X

Namibia Standard Time

X

Arabic Standard Time

X

X

Arab Standard Time

X

X

Russian Standard Time

X

X

E. Africa Standard Time

X

X

Georgian Standard Time

X

Iran Standard Time

X

X

Arabian Standard Time

X

X

Caucasus Standard Time

X

X

Afghanistan Standard Time

X

X

Ekaterinburg Standard Time

X

X

West Asia Standard Time

X

X

India Standard Time

X

X

Nepal Standard Time

X

X

N. Central Asia Standard Time

X

X

Central Asia Standard Time

X

X

Sri Lanka Standard Time

X

X

Myanmar Standard Time

X

X

SE Asia Standard Time

X

X

North Asia Standard Time

X

X

China Standard Time

X

X

North Asia East Standard Time

X

X

Singapore Standard Time

X

X

W. Australia Standard Time

X

X

Taipei Standard Time

X

X

Tokyo Standard Time

X

X

Korea Standard Time

X

X

Yakutsk Standard Time

X

X

Cen. Australia Standard Time

X

X

AUS Central Standard Time

X

X

E. Australia Standard Time

X

X

AUS Eastern Standard Time

X

X

West Pacific Standard Time

X

X

Tasmania Standard Time

X

X

Vladivostok Standard Time

X

X

Central Pacific Standard Time

X

X

New Zealand Standard Time

X

X

Fiji Standard Time

X

X

Tonga Standard Time

X

X

Azores Standard Time

X

X

Cape Verde Standard Time

X

X

Mid-Atlantic Standard Time

X

X

E. South America Standard Time

X

X

SA Eastern Standard Time

X

X

Greenland Standard Time

X

X

Newfoundland Standard Time

X

X

Atlantic Standard Time

X

X

SA Western Standard Time

X

X

Central Brazilian Standard Time

X

Pacific SA Standard Time

X

X

SA Pacific Standard Time

X

X

Eastern Standard Time

X

X

US Eastern Standard Time

X

X

Central America Standard Time

X

X

Central Standard Time

X

X

Central Standard Time (Mexico)

X

Mexico Standard Time

X

Canada Central Standard Time

X

US Mountain Standard Time

X

Mountain Standard Time (Mexico)

X

Mexico Standard Time 2

X

Mountain Standard Time

X

X

Pacific Standard Time

X

X

Pacific Standard Time (Mexico)

X

Alaskan Standard Time

X

X

Hawaiian Standard Time

X

X

Samoa Standard Time

X

X

Dateline Standard Time

X

X

See Also

Tasks

How to: Access the Predefined UTC and Local Time Zone Objects

How to: Instantiate a TimeZoneInfo Object

Concepts

Converting Times Between Time Zones

Other Resources

Dates, Times, and Time Zones