Environment
Novell GroupWise 8 Hot Patch 1
Novell GroupWise 8 Hot Patch 2
Situation
Date and time format was once configured to any of European formats in a past and after upgrade of GroupWise backend to GW8 level, the date and time displayed in a mailbox default in US standard.
Resolution
This problem happens only for accounts where end user once went from within his mailbox into Tools | Options | Date & Time (when using GW7 client, for instance). Here in tab Format he had to click on "Set System Format". This instructs the client to look at his Windows environmental settings and use it for "formatting" the date & time information displayed in his mailbox.
The configuration "look at the system environmental settings" is written in the user database. There is no way to set it anyhow centrally for all users as this configuration depends upon workstation configuration of a particular user. Having said that, there is no GWCheck or C1 procedure that can "fix" it and if there shall be one, then only in meaning "forget what once the user configured".
Even the user has configured this setting in the past, this is valid only for his workstation or eventually on other if it was configured with the same environmental settings. Example, if my environmental settings would be set into German and I went for the system format within my GroupWise mailbox, once I would move to another workstation that has US environmental setting, I get US time & date format displayed and this happens regardless the system was or not upgraded.
There has been a change made in design of GroupWise 8 that causes time & date format being changed in US after upgrade although you use still the same workstation that was working "well" whilst the GroupWise backend was at GW7 level. That is a part of "defect". You can fix it easily although not centrally. There is also no need to do it "centrally" as not all users must be affected. If they did not go for the Format settings from the GroupWise client / mailbox, they will be still OK. For those who do not like / are affected by the time & date format, they can repeat the same step inside their GroupWise client as they did in a past and set the format as they like / desire. Based upon a situation they might want to go for either "Set System Format" again or "Set GroupWise to System". Sometimes changing the environmental settings on Windows and then set it back in what you liked made a change, too. After logout & login again, a client seems to get the correct settings.
If there is a fix for this problem, then it would be only in a way of removing a flag from user database to forget what was once configured by a user. And then the end user would need to go into the same Date & Time formatting tab and change it if a default format does not fit him.