OL97: Weekday Is Wrong for Dates More than 30 Years Ago

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Outlook 97

SYMPTOMS

When you type a date that has passed in Microsoft Outlook 97, the date may show up on the wrong day of the week. For example, if you type 6/13/47 (a Friday) into a Date field that displays the day of the week, the result is Thursday.

CAUSE

Outlook is evaluating the "47" portion of the date as 2047, not 1947. The weekdays for 6/13/1947 and 6/13/2047 are different. Many date formats use only two digits; therefore, you may not receive the results you expect. In this example, Outlook uses the year 2047.

MORE INFORMATION

When you type a two-digit date in some Outlook fields, Outlook applies an internal calculation to see if the date is more than 30 years in the past. If the date is more than 30 years in the past, Outlook interprets the two- digit date as 20XX instead of 19XX. Outlook makes its internal calculation based on the first day of the current month and year that is set for your computer.

For example, if the current date for your computer is 12/17/1996 and you enter the date 1/1/60 into a date field, Outlook subtracts 1/1/60 from 12/1/1996. Because the difference is more than 30 years, Outlook uses the date 1/1/2060 for the field.

NOTE: Not all Outlook Date fields use this internal calculation. Some fields, such as Birthday and Anniversary fields, do not apply the calculation and always evaluate two digit years as if they were in the past.

To see the 30-year behavior, follow these steps:

1. On the Outlook Bar, click Tasks to open your Tasks folder.

2. On the Task menu, click New Task to open a new untitled task.

3. Under Due date, click to select the Due button.

4. In the Due box, type 1/1/50.

5. Click the arrow to the right of the Due box.

6. Note that the Calendar Picker reflects the year 2050.

REFERENCES

For more information about setting task due dates, type "How do I set the task due date?" in the Office Assistant, click Search, and then click to view "Change the due date for a task."