How to set the PHP time zone in an .htaccess file

This article describes how to change the PHP time zone setting by using the date.timezone directive in an .htaccess file.

The information in this article only applies to certain types of hosting accounts. To determine whether or not the information below applies to your account, please see this article.

This article assumes that you have already set up a custom .htaccess file. If you have not already set up a custom .htaccess file, please read this article first.

Using the date.timezone directive

By default, A2 Hosting's servers are set to use the US Eastern Standard Time zone. You can change the time zone that PHP uses for your scripts by setting the date.timezone directive in an .htaccess file.

For a complete list of supported time zones in PHP, please visit http://www.php.net/manual/en/timezones.php.

To set the time zone, follow these steps:

  1. Log in to your account using SSH.
  2. Use a text editor to add the following line to the .htaccess file. Replace Region/Zone with your own time zone: 
    php_value date.timezone 'Region/Zone'
  3. Save the changes to the .htaccess file and exit the text editor.
  4. To verify that the new setting is active, create a PHP test file that contains the following code in the same directory where the .htaccess file is located:
    <?php phpinfo(); ?>
  5. Load the test file in your web browser, and then search for the name of the directive. The Local Value column should display the new setting that you specified in the .htaccess file.

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Article Details

  • Level: Intermediate

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