Question

How can I format a TimeSpan object to look like a time zone offset, like this:

+0700

or

-0600

I’m using GetUtcOffset to get an offset, and its working, but its returning a TimeSpan object.

Answer 1

If you’re using .Net 4.0 or above, you can use the ToString method on timespan with the hh and mm specifier (not sure if it will display the + and – signs though):

TimeSpan span = new TimeSpan(7, 0, 0);
Console.WriteLine(span.ToString("hhmm"));

If not, you can just format the Hours and Minutes properties along with some conditional formatting to always display the + and – signs:

TimeSpan span = new TimeSpan(7, 0, 0);
Console.WriteLine("{0:+00;-00}{1:00}", span.Hours, span.Minutes);

Reference for TimeSpan format strings: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-gb/library/ee372287.aspx

Reference for numeric format strings and conditional formatting of them: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/0c899ak8.aspx