# Internationalization best practices

**URL:** <https://discourse.cakephp.org/t/internationalization-best-practices/1387>\
**Category:** Need Help\
**Created:** [October 27, 2016, 7:27am UTC](https://discourse.cakephp.org/t/internationalization-best-practices/1387 "2016-10-27T07:27:28Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Doshu](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/discourse.cakephp.org/doshu/32/360_2.png) [@Doshu](https://discourse.cakephp.org/u/Doshu)\
**Post date:** [October 27, 2016, 7:27am UTC](https://discourse.cakephp.org/t/internationalization-best-practices/1387/1 "2016-10-27T07:27:28Z")

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Hi,

How do you usually do when you need to create an application with users in differente country with different timezone and date format?  
I know that cakephp date and datetime use the locale settings for formatting, but sometimes this is not enough.  
I need that a user in the frontend could set datetime in his timezone and time format, but internally the whole application could use UTC timezone and en\_US time format.  
The DB use this format too.  
Where and when you convert the date arrived from a form, with the user timezone and format, in the system timezone and format?

What are the best practices for handle localized user input?

I don’t like standard cakephp system, that localize the date db type because it changes the whole application, and not only the user input features.  
Automatic datetime localization, change how a date is displyed not only in a template but in place that you don’t want too.  
For example, if internally i use the yyyy-mm-dd date format, but my user locale is it\_IT, the date format will be dd-mm-yyyy.  
when i create a form with that date field, the field will automatic filled with the entity value, but because of the localization settings, the field will be filled with the date in it\_IT format, and not the system format. So i need to create an automatc conversion system.