How to keep calendar from shifting with time zone change.

[borgy]

Very few people must have this concern or there would be more software than just "Correctime" for the problem.
I have had an IPAQ 4700 and just added a Blackberry Pearl. When I travel, I would like to change the time zone to my location but have the appointments in my calendar stay the same wherever I am. I would have thought by now that one could have a "keep calender in X timezone" choice or something. Am I the only traveler that finds these calendar shifts a problem? Don't other travelers prefer enter an appointment for a given time knowing that it applies to the time zone where it is to take place. A 5 oclock appt in LA stays that way, a 5 in Italy stays that way whether I am located in LA or Rome. If I am in LA and make a 5 oclock appt. in Rome, it will be for when I am there in that time zone. If I make it in LA for a call to Rome, it means Pacific time. How hard would that be or am I really the only one who wants this capability?
My last trip, I changed the Blackberry timezone but carried the IPAQ for calendaring. I would really be nice to be able to have my calendar on my phone tooor instead. The IPAQ is getting rickety and I am afraid of losing that callendar.
WebIs purchased 'Correctime' which is the only program I have found that even tries to fix this problem. It is very tricky to use and if you make a mistake setting it up, one can have to fix all your calendar time entries.
Is there anything that I have missed that addresses this problem (for the Blackberry also, if possible)??

[Sven Johannsen]

Nope. Shifting calendar entries when switching timezones has been a 'feature' since Outlook 98, and I have never heard any rumblings about changing it. Windows Mobile, and Pocket PC before that, just carried on the tradition of the desktop app. Probably nobody realized the desktop did this, as few carry their desktop around, and when laptops came into vogue, it was the rare individual who would bother to change the system timezone when travelling. They had wristwatches for the time , and nobody booted their laptop at the airport to check their schedule.

The issue really became noticeable, IMHO, when devices that followed that philosophy became small enough to really be useful as a handheld appointment manager. Then the debates ensued. Be aware there are those that are adament that what it does now is absolutely right. The concept of giving the user a choice has been presented, but at this point there seems to be little movement to provide that. One of those things that falls below the priority line, I guess.

Moving the appointment relative to the timezone is the result of a very valuable feature as it were. Times are stored in a universal format and displayed in accordance with where you say you are. This is how you can send a conference call calendar event to someone on the other side of the world, and it will populate their calendar at the correct relative time.

I had, for the longest time, just changed the time on my PPC when I travelled, and not the TZ, just as I would do on a wristwatch. I entered lunch dates at noon, regardless of whether I was going to be on the east or west coast at the time. That is a viable option.

I had to rethink my process when my SPOT watch, which syncs appointments from Outlook, started picking up the Timezone change on it's own, over the air. Darn. it moved my appointment times, all on it's own. So now I kind of need to enter appointments with a mind to what TZ they happen in. Fortunately, Outlook 2007 has made that easier, as you can specify TZ when you create an appointment. There have always been third party add-ons for the PPC calendar that would allow that on the device. Some of the nicer ones offered that in a tap-and-hold menu option when entering appointment times.

So, no you are not alone, but your issue is not universally shared. It is not a bug, but a feature (and described as such in Knowledge Base articles about it). You can mitigate your issue by changing the time and not the TZ. And while providing the user the option would seem a reasonable solution, don't hold your breath.

[borgy]

I think I'll just carry both devices as I have before. At least now I know now that this annoyance to me is not much of a problem for most. So be it. Thanks. Borgy (I guess this time I'm the ant)

[Brad Adrian]

There are products, like CityTime, that allow you to enter a specific time zone when you enter appointments. They solve the problem (at least most aspects of it), but I've found they make the whole process of entering an appointment much more cumbersome.

Now, if you also travel with a PC and go to a new time zone, everthing can go ker-flooey (That's the official KnowledgeBase term) if you change the time zone on your PC and Pocket PC and then synch. You wouldn't THINK that would mess things up, but I've ended up having to completely restore my Calendar database after doing that.

So, bottom line advice: Make time zone changes very carefully and make sure you've got a good backup before you do.

[pbg]

When I (here in sunny Queensland) import a file with the schedule of Yankees - Red Sox games, I want it to show me when the games are in local time (local to me, that is), so that I know whether to expect live score information when I go to www.mlb.com or not.

I don't care that a game might be scheduled for 7:05pm Eastern - I want to know what time it starts Brisbane time if I am in Brisbane, or Adelaide time if I am in Adelaide.

[xerxers]

This has been a perennial problem with PDA's. MS thought only about desk based PC's that obviously aren't carried in your pocket so changing time zones doesn't matter.

This is an issue where you are dammed if you do and dammed if you don't.

I use Pocket Informant that has the ability to set up appointments in different time zones BUT if for example you create an appt in LAX at 4pm Local LAX time that will show in your diary as a 6pm meeting UNTIL you change time zones and then it will become the 4pm appt.

That sounds confusing and it is but if you use it for long enough you come to understand just how it works.

Another example is the really cool Spb Traveller where you can create a travel itinerary that will transfer the times ito your PIM BUT once again the times don't look right until you change into the departing city time zone of the particular flight.

I would strongly suggest using a PIM like PI so that you can make the appointment at the correct time even though you are in a different time zone.

Xerxers