Question about "Lock the Time Zone" in the appointment widget

I am using the Appointment Widget and in the Advanced tab, I have the option to "Lock the Time Zone." Just under that setting it says:

Disable time zone selection for users. Users will only see appointments on your time zone.

However, just above that, in the "Default Time Zone" setting, it also says:

Select the time zone for your appointments. Your attendees will see your availability in their local time zone.

So I was a bit confused as to what the user sees on my form when they are selecting the appointment times.

Is the user seeing their own time zone when I lock the time zone or are they seeing my time zone?

Also, although it says "US/Eastern" as my "Default Time Zone", the time is 1 hour behind my actual time. Is that incorrect?

Hi alliphil,

Thanks for using Jotform. I'm sorry for the confusion. If you selected and locked US/Eastern as your default time zone, that will be the default time zone to be followed. Regardless if your users have different account time zones.

You can also check out this related guide on How to schedule an appointment with Jotform.

Let us know if you need any other help.

Hi Allison,

Thanks for reaching out to Jotform Support. Are you talking about the Private 1-on-1s Registration form? It's the one that has the locked time zone for the Appointment field, which is in US Eastern Standard Time (EST). Let me answer your questions 1 by 1:

'Disable time zone selection for users. Users will only see appointments on your time zone.'

That sublabel is for the Lock Time Zone feature. If you enable it, it will show the current date and time for the selected time zone itself. Let's say the user who will fill out your form lives in California which follows US Pacific Standard Time (PST), they will see that the time in your Appointment field is 3 hours ahead of theirs, because it is locked within EST. But if disabled, the time they'll see on the said field (and the date), will be the same as theirs, wherever they are in the world.

'Select the time zone for your appointments. Your attendees will see your availability in their local time zone.'

The next sublabel is for the Default Time Zone dropdown. That goes with enabling/disabling the Lock Time Zone feature for the Appointment field. Because of that, the same logic applies. If locked, the time zone they'll see is for EST. If disabled, the field will follow the form user's current date/time.

As for the question about the time in the Appointment field being 1 hour behind your own time, you may want to check your device's date/time settings to make sure it is in the correct time zone. If it is, try to change the time zone of the appointment field to a different one and put it back to EST to see if it will sync.

Let us know if you have any other questions.

Thank you for the detailed response. Very clear and helpful and very much appreciated.

The default time zone was a bit strange. I changed it to a different selection as suggested then tried to change it back and could no longer find the "US/Eastern" selection, so I chose "America/New York" instead. Not sure why that happened but "America/New York" is the same as my time zone so it's fine.

One quick follow up question: If I did NOT lock the time zone, what time does the user see when they receive the autoresponder response and the automated reminders from the Appointment Widget?

Hi Allison,

The Autoresponder Email is sent almost instantly if you set the email to send to Right Away regardless of the time zone. As for the Reminder Email in the appointment field, keep in mind that you have the option to send it in Minutes, Days, or Hours. The Reminder Email will always be sent before the appointment date and in EST based on the Default Time Zone you have set.

Let us know if there’s anything else we can help you with. 

Hi there,

You may have misunderstood my question. Here it is again:

If I did NOT lock the time zone, what time does the user see when they receive the autoresponder response and the automated reminders from the Appointment Widget?

Meaning... what time do they see inside of the email autoresponder or inside of the automated reminder from the appointment widget.

Hi Allison,

If the time zone is not locked in the Appointment Widget on Jotform, the time that the user sees in the autoresponder response and automated reminders will depend on their own local time zone settings. Jotform typically adjusts the displayed time based on the user's browser settings or IP address location to provide a time that is relevant and accurate to the recipient.

Therefore, if the time zone is not specified or locked in the widget settings, the user will see the appointment time converted to their local time zone when they receive the autoresponder and reminders. This ensures that the information is as useful and clear as possible for the recipient regardless of their geographical location.

Let us know if you have any other questions.

OK, thank you, I'm all set.