Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Second Edition

Date & Time

Your Mac’s conception of what time it is can be very important. Every file you create or save is stamped with this time, and every email you send or receive is marked with this time. As you might expect, setting your Mac’s clock is what the Date & Time panel is all about.

Your Free Time-Difference Calculator

You can use the Time Zone pane of the Date &Time panel to calculate the exact time difference between any two points on earth. To do this, you must have the Time Zone pane open and your menu bar clock turned on—set to View as Text, with a digital readout (see the discussion of the menu bar clock in this chapter).

To calculate a time difference, make a note of the current time shown in the menu bar, with the Time Zone correctly set to your own zone. Now drag across the Time Zone map, moving the pointer to a different part of the world. As you drag, notice that the time in the menu bar changes, updating itself as you cross from time zone to time zone. By comparing the original time on your menu bar with the new time that appears when you’ve finished dragging, you can easily determine the time difference between any two locations.

Date & Time tab

Go to the Date & Time pane. Select the correct month and year under Today’s Date by clicking the little arrow buttons next to the month and year labels. Then specify the day of the month by clicking a date on the mini calendar. Click Save.

Note

There’s no need to set the date, time, or time zone on your Mac manually if you use the ...