How to Get Timezone in JavaScript

It is important for web developers to accurately define and display the timezone of users. In this article, we will discuss the different techniques and methods on how to get timezone in JavaScript.

JavaScript provides powerful functions to fetch the timezone information, it allows the developers to create more personalized and localized experiences for their users.

Either you are a experienced developer or a novice, this article will provide you with the knowledge to adequately work with timezones in your JavaScript applications.

Methods to Get Timezone in JavaScript

These are the methods to get the timezone using JavaScript:

Method 1: Using the Date Object

The Date object in JavaScript offers methods to handle dates, times, and timezones.

Let’s see an example of how to get the current timezone using the Date object:

const currentDateSample = new Date();
const currentTimezoneOffset = currentDateSample.getTimezoneOffset();

console.log('Current date:', currentDateSample);
console.log('Timezone offset:', currentTimezoneOffset);

When you run this code, it will print the current date and the timezone offset to the console.

Using the Date Object of How to Get Timezone in JavaScript

Method 2: Retrieving Timezone Information with the Intl Object

The Intl object in JavaScript provides internationalization abilities, including features to work with timezones.

To get the user’s timezone using the Intl object, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Create a new DateTimeFormat object:

Here’s an example code that will create a new DateTimeFormat object:

const dateTimeFormatter = new Intl.DateTimeFormat();

Step 2: Retrieve the resolved options of the DateTimeFormat object:

This is an example code for retrieving the resolved options of the DateTimeFormat object::

const resolvedOptions = dateTimeFormatter.resolvedOptions();

Step 3: Access the resolvedOptions object to obtain the timezone:

const userTimezone = resolvedOptions.timeZone;

Using the Intl object provides a proper method to retrieve the user’s timezone without directly dealing with timezone offsets.

Method 3: Working with Timezone Offsets

In addition to getting the timezone, it is usually essential to work with timezone offsets in JavaScript.

The following example illustrates how to retrieve the current timezone offset and convert it to hours:

Here’s an example code:

const currentDate = new Date();
const currentTimezoneOffset = currentDate.getTimezoneOffset();

// Convert minutes to hours
const timezoneOffsetHours = currentTimezoneOffset / 60;

Remember that the getTimezoneOffset() method returns the offset in minutes, so dividing by 60 provides us the offset in hours.

FAQs

How can I display the user’s timezone in my web application?

To show the user’s timezone, you can apply the methods mentioned above to retrieve the timezone information.

Once you have the timezone, you can integrate it into your application’s user interface or provide a user setting to select the proper timezone.

Can I convert a date from one timezone to another in JavaScript?

Yes, JavaScript offers multiple methods and libraries for timezone conversion. One popular library is Moment.js, which provides extensive functionality for working with dates and timezones.

Conclusion

In conclusion, understanding how to get timezone in JavaScript is very important for developing applications that gratify to users’ specific time requirements.

By using the Date object, the Intl object, and additional libraries, you can exactly retrieve and work with timezones in your JavaScript projects.