DateTime.ToLocalTime Method

Definition

Namespace:

System

Assemblies:

netstandard.dll, System.Runtime.dll

Source:

DateTime.cs

Converts the value of the current DateTime object to local time.

C#

public DateTime ToLocalTime();

Returns

DateTime

An object whose Kind property is Local, and whose value is the local time equivalent to the value of the current DateTime object, or DateTime.MaxValue if the converted value is too large to be represented by a DateTime object, or DateTime.MinValue if the converted value is too small to be represented as a DateTime object.

Examples

The following example demonstrates the ToLocalTime method. Note that the exact output depends on the current culture and the local time zone of the system on which it is run.

C#

using System;

class Example
{
    static void Main()
    {
        DateTime localDateTime, univDateTime;
        
        Console.WriteLine("Enter a date and time.");
        string strDateTime = Console.ReadLine();

        try {
            localDateTime = DateTime.Parse(strDateTime);
            univDateTime = localDateTime.ToUniversalTime();

            Console.WriteLine("{0} local time is {1} universal time.",
                                localDateTime,
                                    univDateTime);
        }
        catch (FormatException) {
            Console.WriteLine("Invalid format.");
            return;
        }

        Console.WriteLine("Enter a date and time in universal time.");
        strDateTime = Console.ReadLine();

        try {
            univDateTime = DateTime.Parse(strDateTime);
            localDateTime = univDateTime.ToLocalTime();

            Console.WriteLine("{0} universal time is {1} local time.",
                                     univDateTime,
                                     localDateTime);
        }
        catch (FormatException) {
            Console.WriteLine("Invalid format.");
            return;
        }
    }
}
// The example displays output like the following when run on a
// computer whose culture is en-US in the Pacific Standard Time zone:
//     Enter a date and time.
//     12/10/2015 6:18 AM
//     12/10/2015 6:18:00 AM local time is 12/10/2015 2:18:00 PM universal time.
//     Enter a date and time in universal time.
//     12/20/2015 6:42:00
//     12/20/2015 6:42:00 AM universal time is 12/19/2015 10:42:00 PM local time.

The following example uses the SpecifyKind method to demonstrate how the Kind property influences the ToLocalTime and ToUniversalTime conversion methods.

C#

// This code example demonstrates the DateTime Kind, Now, and
// UtcNow properties, and the SpecifyKind(), ToLocalTime(),
// and ToUniversalTime() methods.

using System;

class Sample
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        // Get the date and time for the current moment, adjusted
        // to the local time zone.

        DateTime saveNow = DateTime.Now;

        // Get the date and time for the current moment expressed
        // as coordinated universal time (UTC).

        DateTime saveUtcNow = DateTime.UtcNow;
        DateTime myDt;

        // Display the value and Kind property of the current moment
        // expressed as UTC and local time.

        DisplayNow("UtcNow: ..........", saveUtcNow);
        DisplayNow("Now: .............", saveNow);
        Console.WriteLine();

        // Change the Kind property of the current moment to
        // DateTimeKind.Utc and display the result.

        myDt = DateTime.SpecifyKind(saveNow, DateTimeKind.Utc);
        Display("Utc: .............", myDt);

        // Change the Kind property of the current moment to
        // DateTimeKind.Local and display the result.

        myDt = DateTime.SpecifyKind(saveNow, DateTimeKind.Local);
        Display("Local: ...........", myDt);

        // Change the Kind property of the current moment to
        // DateTimeKind.Unspecified and display the result.

        myDt = DateTime.SpecifyKind(saveNow, DateTimeKind.Unspecified);
        Display("Unspecified: .....", myDt);
    }

    // Display the value and Kind property of a DateTime structure, the
    // DateTime structure converted to local time, and the DateTime
    // structure converted to universal time.

    public static string datePatt = @"M/d/yyyy hh:mm:ss tt";
    public static void Display(string title, DateTime inputDt)
    {
        DateTime dispDt = inputDt;
        string dtString;

        // Display the original DateTime.

        dtString = dispDt.ToString(datePatt);
        Console.WriteLine("{0} {1}, Kind = {2}",
                          title, dtString, dispDt.Kind);

        // Convert inputDt to local time and display the result.
        // If inputDt.Kind is DateTimeKind.Utc, the conversion is performed.
        // If inputDt.Kind is DateTimeKind.Local, the conversion is not performed.
        // If inputDt.Kind is DateTimeKind.Unspecified, the conversion is
        // performed as if inputDt was universal time.

        dispDt = inputDt.ToLocalTime();
        dtString = dispDt.ToString(datePatt);
        Console.WriteLine("  ToLocalTime:     {0}, Kind = {1}",
                          dtString, dispDt.Kind);

        // Convert inputDt to universal time and display the result.
        // If inputDt.Kind is DateTimeKind.Utc, the conversion is not performed.
        // If inputDt.Kind is DateTimeKind.Local, the conversion is performed.
        // If inputDt.Kind is DateTimeKind.Unspecified, the conversion is
        // performed as if inputDt was local time.

        dispDt = inputDt.ToUniversalTime();
        dtString = dispDt.ToString(datePatt);
        Console.WriteLine("  ToUniversalTime: {0}, Kind = {1}",
                          dtString, dispDt.Kind);
        Console.WriteLine();
    }

    // Display the value and Kind property for DateTime.Now and DateTime.UtcNow.

    public static void DisplayNow(string title, DateTime inputDt)
    {
        string dtString = inputDt.ToString(datePatt);
        Console.WriteLine("{0} {1}, Kind = {2}",
                          title, dtString, inputDt.Kind);
    }
}

/*
This code example produces the following results:

UtcNow: .......... 5/6/2005 09:34:42 PM, Kind = Utc
Now: ............. 5/6/2005 02:34:42 PM, Kind = Local

Utc: ............. 5/6/2005 02:34:42 PM, Kind = Utc
  ToLocalTime:     5/6/2005 07:34:42 AM, Kind = Local
  ToUniversalTime: 5/6/2005 02:34:42 PM, Kind = Utc

Local: ........... 5/6/2005 02:34:42 PM, Kind = Local
  ToLocalTime:     5/6/2005 02:34:42 PM, Kind = Local
  ToUniversalTime: 5/6/2005 09:34:42 PM, Kind = Utc

Unspecified: ..... 5/6/2005 02:34:42 PM, Kind = Unspecified
  ToLocalTime:     5/6/2005 07:34:42 AM, Kind = Local
  ToUniversalTime: 5/6/2005 09:34:42 PM, Kind = Utc

*/

Remarks

The local time is equal to the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) time plus the UTC offset. For more information about the UTC offset, see TimeZoneInfo.GetUtcOffset. The conversion also takes into account the daylight saving time rule that applies to the time represented by the current DateTime object.

Important

On Windows XP systems, the ToLocalTime method recognizes only the current adjustment rule when converting from UTC to local time. As a result, conversions for periods before the current adjustment rule came into effect may not accurately reflect the difference between UTC and local time.

Starting with the .NET Framework version 2.0, the value returned by the ToLocalTime method is determined by the Kind property of the current DateTime object. The following table describes the possible results.

Kind	Results
Utc	This instance of DateTime is converted to local time.
Local	No conversion is performed.
Unspecified	This instance of DateTime is assumed to be a UTC time, and the conversion is performed as if Kind were Utc.

Note

The ToLocalTime method converts a DateTime value from UTC to local time. To convert the time in any designated time zone to local time, use the TimeZoneInfo.ConvertTime method.

The value returned by the conversion is a DateTime whose Kind property always returns Local. Consequently, a valid result is returned even if ToLocalTime is applied repeatedly to the same DateTime.

Notes to Callers

You can use the ToLocalTime() method to restore a local date and time value that was converted to UTC by the ToUniversalTime() or FromFileTimeUtc(Int64) method. However, if the original time represents an invalid time in the local time zone, it will not match the restored value. When the ToLocalTime() method converts a time from UTC to the local time zone, it also adjusts the time so that is valid in the local time zone.

For example, the transition from standard time to daylight saving time occurs in the U.S. Pacific Time zone on March 14, 2010, at 2:00 A.M., when the time advances by one hour, to 3:00 A.M. This hour interval is an invalid time, that is, a time interval that does not exist in this time zone. The following example shows that when a time that falls within this range is converted to UTC by the ToUniversalTime() method and is then restored by the ToLocalTime() method, the original value is adjusted to become a valid time. You can determine whether a particular date and time value may be subject to modification by passing it to the IsInvalidTime(DateTime) method, as the example illustrates.

C#

using System;

public class Example
{
   public static void Main()
   {
      DateTime date1 = new DateTime(2010, 3, 14, 2, 30, 0, DateTimeKind.Local);
      Console.WriteLine("Invalid time: {0}",
                        TimeZoneInfo.Local.IsInvalidTime(date1));
      DateTime utcDate1 = date1.ToUniversalTime();
      DateTime date2 = utcDate1.ToLocalTime();
      Console.WriteLine("{0} --> {1}", date1, date2);
   }
}
// The example displays the following output:
//       Invalid time: True
//       3/14/2010 2:30:00 AM --> 3/14/2010 3:30:00 AM

Applies to

See also

• TimeZoneInfo
• GetUtcOffset(DateTime)
• GetAdjustmentRules()
• ToUniversalTime()