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websherpa
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August 16, 2018 at 7:21 am
We are only in a start-up occasional use of Event Espresso 4 despite having a Premium license, however the Time Offset issue comes back to haunt our less experienced users every time we create an event. The times set are always out 4 hours from our WP General Time Setting (Toronto). Our local server time is not the same as our location time.
I keep reading that the problem is related to Theme or other plugins operating incorrectly (which may well be) and to use the offset utility.
But really wonder that if EVERY THEME and EVERY OTHER Plugin except EE4 shows the date / time correctly, why is it that Event Espresso can’t make an accommodation to handle time zone setting in the same way so we don’t always have to monkey with time zone adjustment? For the cost of our licence and the number of complaints I have seen over the years, I wonder why this wouldn’t be addressed as a high priority item? Thank you for your attention to the matter.
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websherpa
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August 16, 2018 at 7:24 am
i should also mention that when we use the Time Offset Utility to adjust the Event times, that does appear to fix the presentation of the event times in most circumstances, however the Ticket Sales Start and End Times remain unaffected and incorrect by our UTC offset.
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Josh
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August 16, 2018 at 9:24 am
Hi,
This actually was addressed as a high priority item, there’s more information here:
https://eventespresso.com/2017/08/important-upcoming-changes-dates-times/
and here:
http://developer.eventespresso.com/upcoming-changes-to-the-date-time-system/
One thing that Event Espresso will not do is override PHP settings. When plugins override PHP timezone settings in order to “make an accommodation”, that has the potential to cause even more problems. So for example if another plugin comes along and does this:
date_default_timezone_set()
It will have an effect because WordPress, and Event Espresso expect the timezone in PHP to stay at GMT+0.
See also:
https://vip.wordpress.com/documentation/vip-go/use-current_time-not-date_default_timezone_set/
and
https://weston.ruter.net/2013/04/02/do-not-change-the-default-timezone-from-utc-in-wordpress/
Have you checked through your plugins to see if any of them are changing the timezone set in PHP?
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websherpa
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August 16, 2018 at 9:29 am
Thank you for your quick response! My question relates to why most if not all other calendar and event plugins seems to be able work around this issue EXCEPT Event Espresso (at least that I have encountered).
Lots of plugins (and WP) use date_default_timezone_set() that I can see.
A work around or fix based on the suggestions made above are reasonable… but for us “Dummies” out there (and my users), I am wondering specifically why there isn’t a more foolproof work-around included IN Event Espresso (or why it doesn’t poll the Time Zone Setting set IN WP General Settings in the first place)?
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Josh
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August 16, 2018 at 9:42 am
Event Espresso does pull in the time zone setting set in WP General Settings. If you go and change the setting right now, you’ll also see the times change in the events.
I’m curious about why you think this isn’t an issue for other plugins. It’s also an issue for Jetpack (the stats module, specifically), among others.
The problem isn’t so much plugins/themes using date_default_timezone_set() in of itself. It’s that they call it but don’t reset to UTC when they’re done. Which is improper use in a WordPress environment.
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websherpa
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August 16, 2018 at 9:47 am
Thanks Josh, that does help clarify a bit more. No doubt there is an errant theme or associated plugin.
I just find it odd that other calendar plugins have some way to work around this as we’ve never encountered the issue before until the installation of Event Espresso.
Maybe the long answer is to provide a separate “default” Time Zone setting for Event Espresso (PLUS an override for individual Events or Tickets – as it is quite logical for an event to have a different time zone location than the actual WordPress installation).
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Josh
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August 16, 2018 at 10:04 am
I can assure you it is a problem for other plugins. You may not have experienced it yourself, but others have. Some examples:
https://wordpress.org/support/topic/set-timezone-and-plugin-conflict/
https://wordpress.org/support/topic/strange-utc-showing-up-on-site/
Maybe the long answer is to provide a separate “default” Time Zone setting for Event Espresso (PLUS an override for individual Events or Tickets – as it is quite logical for an event to have a different time zone location than the actual WordPress installation).
Now that would be a useful feature for those that need their events to have a timezone that’s different than what’s set in WP > Settings > General.
It would not solve the problem at hand though. For example, the Events Manager plugin has the feature you’ve suggested, but it’s not immune to what happens if another plugin is using date_default_timezone_set() to set a different PHP default timezone other than UTC+0.
https://wordpress.org/support/topic/all-events-starting-4-hours-earlier/#post-10109075
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websherpa
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August 16, 2018 at 10:07 am
Ok, I really appreciate your time on this. It has helped provide the most comprehensive approach for my situation. (This client is about to have me introduce a more compatible Theme and Plugin set, so that will likely help.)
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