Key Features

• Session-based switching - No database modifications
• Systray integration - Easy access from any page
• Auto re-rendering - Datetime fields update immediately
• Persistent preference - Survives page reloads via localStorage
• User default fallback - Gracefully falls back to user's configured timezone
• IANA timezone support - Full pytz timezone database
• Search functionality - Quick timezone lookup
• UTC offset display - Shows offset for each timezone
• Current time display - Live clock in selected timezone
• Override indicator - Badge shows when using non-default timezone

Basic Usage

1. Click the timezone dropdown in the systray (top-right corner)
2. Search or browse available timezones by region
3. Select a timezone - All datetime fields re-render immediately
4. Reset to default - Click "Reset to Default" button when in override mode

Features

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Frontend (Browser)                             │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │  Systray Component                        │  │
│  │  - Timezone dropdown UI                   │  │
│  │  - Search & selection                     │  │
│  └───────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │  Timezone Service                         │  │
│  │  - RPC calls to backend                   │  │
│  │  - User context updates                   │  │
│  │  - View re-rendering                      │  │
│  │  - localStorage persistence               │  │
│  └───────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                    │ JSON-RPC
                    ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Backend (Odoo Server)                          │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │  Controller                               │  │
│  │  /web/timezone/switch                     │  │
│  │  /web/timezone/reset                      │  │
│  │  /web/timezone/current                    │  │
│  │  /web/timezone/list                       │  │
│  └───────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │  Session Context                          │  │
│  │  request.session.context['tz'] = 'UTC+5' │  │
│  └───────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                    │
                    ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Database (PostgreSQL)                          │
│  - All datetime fields remain in UTC           │
│  - No user records modified                     │
│  - No timezone data stored                      │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

How It Works

1. User selects timezone in systray dropdown
2. Service calls backend via /web/timezone/switch
3. Backend validates timezone against pytz database
4. Session context updated with tz parameter
5. User context patched via user.updateContext({ tz })
6. Current view reloads triggering datetime re-rendering
7. Preference stored in browser localStorage
8. All datetime fields now display in selected timezone

Key Design Principles

# NEVER does this:
user.write({'tz': 'America/New_York'})

# ONLY does this:
request.session.context['tz'] = 'America/New_York'

// Frontend updates user context (affects rendering only)
user.updateContext({ tz: timezone });

// Backend updates session context
request.session.context = { ...context, tz: timezone };

Selected Timezone (session context)
    ↓ (if not set)
User's Default Timezone (res.users.tz)
    ↓ (if not set)
UTC

Backend Endpoints

{
  "timezone": "America/New_York"
}

{
  "success": true,
  "timezone": "America/New_York",
  "user_context": {
    "tz": "America/New_York"
  }
}

{
  "success": true,
  "timezone": "UTC",
  "user_context": {}
}

{
  "timezone": "America/New_York",
  "is_override": true,
  "user_default": "UTC",
  "session_context": {}
}

{
  "common_only": true
}

{
  "timezones": ["America/New_York", "Europe/London"],
  "grouped": {
    "America": ["America/New_York"],
    "Europe": ["Europe/London"]
  },
  "count": 400
}

Frontend Service

import { useService } from "@web/core/utils/hooks";

const timezoneSwitcher = useService("timezone_switcher");

// Get current timezone
const tz = await timezoneSwitcher.getCurrentTimezone();

// Switch timezone
await timezoneSwitcher.switchTimezone("Europe/Paris");

// Reset to default
await timezoneSwitcher.resetTimezone();

// List timezones
const { timezones, grouped } = await timezoneSwitcher.listTimezones(true);

Aviation Operations

Perfect for flight operations spanning multiple timezones:

User in London (GMT) viewing:
- Flight departure: Los Angeles 10:00 PST
- Flight arrival: New York 18:00 EST

Switch to PST:
- Departure: 10:00 PST ✓
- Arrival: 15:00 PST

Switch to EST:
- Departure: 13:00 EST
- Arrival: 18:00 EST ✓

Global Support Teams

Support staff can switch to customer's timezone:

Support Agent in India (IST):
Customer ticket timestamp: 2024-12-03 09:00 PST

Switch to PST:
Ticket created: 09:00 PST (customer's local time)

Multi-Region Business

View reports in different regional timezones:

Sales Manager reviewing regional reports:
- APAC sales: Switch to Asia/Tokyo
- EMEA sales: Switch to Europe/London
- Americas sales: Switch to America/New_York

Timezone not persisting after refresh

Cause: localStorage disabled or browser in private mode

Solution: Enable localStorage or accept that timezone resets each session

Datetime fields not updating

Cause: Custom datetime widgets not using Odoo's standard context

Solution: Ensure custom widgets read user.context.tz

Timezone dropdown not appearing

Cause: Asset bundle not loaded

Solution: Clear browser cache and reload: Ctrl+Shift+R

Performance issues with many datetime fields

Cause: Full page reload on timezone switch

Solution: Consider selective re-rendering (advanced customization)