{"id":2463,"date":"2017-01-31T13:11:15","date_gmt":"2017-01-31T02:41:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/davidkeen.com\/blog\/?p=2463"},"modified":"2025-10-23T10:47:35","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T00:17:35","slug":"time-zone-conversion-in-google-sheets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davidkeen.com\/blog\/2017\/01\/time-zone-conversion-in-google-sheets\/","title":{"rendered":"Time zone conversion in Google Sheets"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Google Sheets does not have a built in way of converting time zone data but by using the power of Moment.js<\/a> and Google’s script editor we can add time zone functionality to any sheet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, we need to add the Moment.js code as a library that can be shared between different documents. This is the javascript library that adds date and time zone manipulation support. A good way to do this is to create it from Google Drive so it can be easily edited and shared with all your sheets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Google Drive, go to New > More > Connect more apps and choose Google Apps Script. Now, create a new Google Apps Script document. This will open the Google script editor. Call the project ‘Moment’ and create two files in the project called moment.js and moment-timezone.js using the moment<\/a> and moment-timezone<\/a> libraries. Make sure you choose one of the moment-timezone files with time zone data. You should end up with a project something like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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View the demo sheet<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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To easily use this in multiple sheets we can publish it as a library. Go to File > Manage versions and save a new version. We are nearly finished here but before we move on go to File > Project properties and make a note of the project key, you will need this to refer to your library in your sheets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our test we are going to use our new library to convert times in a local time zone to UTC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Create a new Google sheet and enter a date in A1 and a time zone in B1, like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Go to Tools > Script editor and create a project called Functions. In the script editor, go to Resources > Libraries and using the project key you made a note of before add your Moment library and select version 1. I prefer to use a shorter identifier like ‘m’. Click save and your library is now accessible to your sheet’s script. We can create a function to convert to UTC like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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