Configuring SAP Inventory Manager for the Time Zone of the SAP System

Context

This procedure describes how to configure the SAP Inventory Manager application to use the time zone in which the SAP back-end system resides. Date and time values from the client are converted from their local time zones to the time zone of the SAP system. The conversion is based on the settings by the SAP Inventory Manager application when the values are updated to the SAP system. Conversely, date and time values are converted from the time zone on the SAP system to the time zone on the client when being downloaded to the client by the SAP Inventory Manager application.

Procedure

  1. Open the application in the Cockpit and ensure that you are on the Back End tab.
  2. In the Time Zone Name field, set the following attribute to the time zone that the SAP system is set to: timeZoneName=SAP’s Time Zone Name

    Example: SAP Server Time Zone is: W. Europe Standard Time

    Set timeZoneName As:

    timeZoneName=W. Europe Standard Time

    The time zone name value must match the time zone value on the operating system of the SAP server exactly. The time zone setting can be found in the registry setting of the SAP server: 
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Time Zones

    The “Current time zone” equivalent time zone name can also be used. For example, “Eastern Standard Time” can be used instead of Eastern Time Zone.

  3. Click the App Specific Settings tab to fill out the Time Zone Alias field. Add one entry for each potential time zone where the client devices may be used in the following format:

    client time zone name=server time zone name. For example:

    Central European Summer Time=W.Europe Standard Time

    Where Central European Summer Time is the name the client device reports as its time zone and W. Europe Standard Time is the name the operating system that the runtime of the host system uses for the same time zone. You can add multiple entries to this section as long as the client devices are used in multiple time zones within the same implementation.

    The time zone aliases are used to reconcile the time zone name that the client reports it is in. The time zone name that the client reports may be different from the name used by the runtime environment. It is from the time zone of the client to the time of the SAP system to which the date and time values are converted. For this reason, the SAP Inventory Manager application must know how a time zone is identified by the client device. Therefore, there is a need for time zone aliases. The need for time zone aliases is especially true for client devices running a different operating system from the host system of the runtime client. However, it can also be necessary even when both are in the same operating system family (example: Windows mobile client device and Windows server).

    After a sync, the time zone name of the client can be seen from the user log. Note that Agentry is now using Olsen strings for time zones on Android and iOS clients. The advantage in using Olsen strings is that they are always in English. Olsen strings cut out the need for other language entries that would be required for customers who have multilanguage clients.

    The example shown demonstrates the following scenario: French WPF clients in Eastern Standard Time, multilanguage iOS clients in Central Standard Time, and several WinCE clients in Europe Standard Time and CST.
  4. Click Save to save the SAP Inventory Manager application in the Cockpit.

Results

The time zone alias(es) necessary to perform the proper time conversions are now configured.