Marketing Cloud Engagement | Import Activity — Timezone Settings When Using Personalize Strings in the File Naming Pattern

The File Naming Pattern supports personalization strings — %%Year%%, %%Month%%, and %%Day%% — to dynamically match file names.

When wildcard characters are used in the file name, the reference timezone differs depending on how the activity is run, as described below.

・When running via Automation

The activity runs using the account (business unit) timezone.

Where to configure: Navigate to [Setup] → [Company Settings] → [Account Settings] → [Time Zone].

Note: After changing the account timezone, it may take up to an hour for the change to take effect. If the activity does not behave as expected after updating the timezone, wait a few hours before trying again.

・When running the activity standalone (manual run)

The activity runs using the user's timezone.

Where to configure: Navigate to [Setup] → [Users] → [Users], open the individual user record, and check the [Time Zone] setting for that user.

When personalization strings are used in the Import Activity's File Naming Pattern, the reference timezone is determined as follows:

• Manual run: Based on the timezone of the user who ran the activity.

  • Example: Run at 6:00 AM Japan time (2021-02-08)

    • User timezone GMT+9:00 → File retrieved: 20210208.csv

    • User timezone GMT+0:00 → File retrieved: 20210209.csv

• Scheduled run / Automation run: Based on the timezone configured in [Admin] → [Account Settings].

  • Example: Run at 6:00 AM Japan time (2021-02-08)

    • Account timezone GMT+9:00 → File retrieved: 20210208.csv

    • Account timezone GMT+0:00 → File retrieved: 20210207.csv

Note: If no file matching the date based on the reference timezone exists, the file with the nearest date to the current date will be imported instead.