OL98: Incorrect Start Time for Appointments Using Custom Form

ID: Q193564

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Outlook 98

SYMPTOMS

You create a custom appointment form in Microsoft Outlook 98 and use it as the default appointment form for your calendar, but when you create a new appointment, the start time of the appointment defaults to the time the form was published, not to the current date and time.

CAUSE

This is a limitation of Microsoft Outlook 98.

The default start time of an appointment typically varies depending on the type of view you are in and how you actually create the new appointment.

Clicking the toolbar button to create a new appointment or double-clicking a time slot on the calendar will always set the default start time to the date and time selected on the calendar.

Two other ways to create a new appointment using a custom form are:

On the Actions menu, click New <formname>

On the File menu, point to New, click Choose Forms, and then select the form.

Both of these methods will set the default start time to the date and time the form was published.

WORKAROUND

Microsoft provides programming examples for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language being demonstrated and the tools used to create and debug procedures. Microsoft support professionals can help explain the functionality of a particular procedure, but they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality or construct procedures to meet your specific needs. If you have limited programming experience, you may want to contact the Microsoft fee-based consulting line at (800) 936-5200. For more information about the support options available from Microsoft, please see the following page on the World Wide Web:

http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/refguide/

You can use the following Visual Basic Scripting Edition (VBScript) code in a custom appointment form as a possible workaround to setting the correct default start time for appointments. This code will set the default start time of a new appointment to the current time, rounded up to the next half hour, if you open a new form from the Actions menu or from the Choose Form window.


   Function Item_Open()
      Dim CurrentDayTime, CurrentDay, CurrentTime, NewTime
      ' Only run this code if it's a new item...
      If Item.CreationTime = #1/1/4501# Then
         CurrentDayTime = Now()
         CurrentDay = Int(CurrentDayTime)
         CurrentTime = CurrentDayTime - CurrentDay
         ' Round time to next half-hour
         NewTime = (Int(CurrentTime * 48) + 1) / 48
         Item.Start = CurrentDay + NewTime
      End If
   End Function

REFERENCES

For more information about creating solutions with Microsoft Outlook 98, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q180826 OL98: Resources for Custom Forms and Programming

Q182349 OL98: Questions About Custom Forms and Outlook Solutions

Additional query words: OutSol OutSol98


Keywords          : 
Version           : WINDOWS:
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: August 8, 1999