Reminder defaults ignored

[SteveTetch]

I have a User on Outlook 2003 (under Windows XP Pro SP1) whose calendar reminders weren't working at all. I tried the /CleanFreeBusy and the /CleanReminders parameters on the Outlook shortcut but neither worked and I ended up recreating her Exchange profile and she's now working fine - or, at least, the reminders are now appearing when they should.

During the course of creating a few test appointments to check that the reminders were being fired off, (both before and after the profile recreation), I noticed that the default reminder time for new appointments was showing as 18 hours. She suggested that, while this was relevant for some of the less frequent regular meetings she has, most of her appointments should have reminders set closer to the appointment time. I checked her Outlook options (Tools|Options, then the "Default Reminder" time drop-down in the Calendar section) and it was set to 15 minutes.

Is there anything that can override this 15 minute setting and, if so, how can I revert it? Any and all suggestions welcomed.

Many thanks.

[JohnBF]

[quote name='SteveTetch' post='772885' date='29-Apr-2009 08:22']the default reminder time for new appointments was showing as 18 hours. ...most of her appointments should have reminders set closer to the appointment time. Tools|Options, then the "Default Reminder" time drop-down in the Calendar section ... was set to 15 minutes.

Is there anything that can override this 15 minute setting and, if so, how can I revert it? Any and all suggestions welcomed.[/quote]
Typically, All-day Events are set to an 18 hour reminder no matter what the Meeting default is. Is it possible that she is setting Meetings up as All-day Events? If so, each All-day Event must have its Reminder time adjusted when it is created. (Which is an Outlook Annoyance to me.)

[SteveTetch]

Thanks for your response, John.

Something I'd overlooked in the initial fact-find was that all of her appointments default to all-day ones. This is because her default view of her calendar is "Month", the smallest daily unit visible on which is a whole day. Thus, any appointment made by double-clicking on a particular day defaults to an all-day event.

Not exactly what I'd call intuitive but it makes a kind of sense when the penny drops.

Thanks again.

[DaveA]

I use the Monthly display as my default. It has never defaulted to "All Day" entry.

I have even tried to force a all day appointment, but am NOT able to.

What are the settings in the calendar options?

[JohnBF]

I use the Monthly display as my default. It has never defaulted to "All Day" entry. What are the settings in the calendar options?

[/quote]
Steve, Dave raises an important point - when I put Outlook in Month View and click in to create an appointment, I get a default 30 minute appointment starting at 8:30 AM. See if this user has these two settings:
Tools | Options | Calendar | Start Time set for appropriate work hours, such as 8:30 AM - 5:30 PM (my settings).
View | Arrange By | Current View | Customize Current View | Other Settings | Time Scale drop down less than 60 minutes. I have no idea if this effects the Month View defaults, but it becomes the default duration for a "click into Calendar" meeting.

[SteveTetch]

Hmmm, interesting. My setup works the same as my User's - appointments made by double-clicking in the 1-day or 5-day view default to 30 minutes with a 15 minute reminder; those made in the same way on the Week or Month view default to all-day events with an 18-hour reminder. I checked my settings and they're the same as yours, John, apart from my working day is listed as 08:00 to 17:00 and the Time-scale is set to 30 minutes. I changed it to 60 minutes but it didn't change the default all-day appointments suggested by double-clicking on a day in Week or Month view. File|New|Appointment, however, does default to creating an appointment that reflects the time-scale, as does File|New|Meeting Request, irrespective of the chosen view.

The default view I have is Day\Week\Month. I've used the "reset Current View" button on the View | Arrange By | Current View | Customize Current View dialog, but it doesn't change the appointment defaults.

It's not a show-stopper if we know what the defaults are, but it suggests someone tweaked the default Outlook settings when the app was packaged for roll-out. I find this surprising because none of the other Office 2003 apps appear to have been customised. I'll compare it with my settings on my Outlook 2003 client at home, which I know I haven't altered but which is a POP3 account rather than the Exchange Serve account I have in the office, (if this makes a difference).

Thanks for your feedback, chaps.

[HansV]

Outlook's default behavior is to tick the All-day event check box if you create an appointment by double-clicking in the calendar in a view that doesn't display the timescale, such as the Week and Month views.

You can, however, right-click on a day and select 'New appointment' from the popup menu. This will create an appointment that starts at the beginning of your workday and with the default duration and reminder time.