TIMEZONE        Declare time zone offset

In versions prior to v2.0, this behavior was performed using the /tz option on various commands. The /tz option is still supported but the TIMEZONE command now the recommended method for time zone management.

Use the TIMEZONE command to account for differences in time zones between Robo-FTP and the remote site. This is important for accurate file date/time comparisons that occur in commands like SYNC, FILECOMPARETO and GETSITEFILE. It is also important for the SENDFILE and RCVFILE commands when they are used with options like /ifnewer. This option is unnecessary if the /precisetime option of the FTPLOGON command is used (and the remote site supports it) because it causes files to automatically be compared in UTC (GMT) format.

For example, if you are using Robo-FTP in the Central U.S. time zone and the remote site is set up to store file date/time stamps using GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) then there is a six-hour difference between the local file system and the remote site. To account for this, the command would be:

TIMEZONE -6

If you are using Robo-FTP in the Central U.S. time zone and a FTP site returns dates based on the Eastern U.S. time zone then there is a one-hour difference between the local file system and the remote site. In this case, the command would be:

TIMEZONE -1

Finally, if a FTP site returns dates based on the Pacific U.S. time zone then there is a two-hour difference the other way (assuming the Robo-FTP PC is still in Central time.) To allow for this two hours would be added to the remote server time as follows:

TIMEZONE +2

Variables can also be used:

SET tz = "+2"

TIMEZONE tz

You can reset the time zone offset by calling TIMEZONE without the [ tz ] argument:

TIMEZONE

Note: The time zone offset is ignored when Robo-FTP is able to communicate with a remote server using methods that, by definition, always return time in UTC format.  

Related command(s): SYNC, FILECOMPAREFROM, FILECOMPARETO, SENDFILE, RCVFILE

See also: Timezone Differences