Setting Calendar Options
The Outlook Calendar comes with default settings for many aspects of its operation. As you become familiar with the Calendar, you may want to make changes to these settings to customize the Calendar for the way you work. You access Calendar options by choosing Options from the Tools menu and then, in the Options dialog box, clicking the Preferences tab. The Calendar section of this tab is shown in Figure 30-19.
Figure 30-19. The Calendar section of the Preferences tab in the Options dialog box.
The one option that is shown here relates to reminders for appointments. By default, Outlook reminds you of appointments 15 minutes before the start time (you can change this for individual appointments, of course). To change the default lead time, select it from the drop-down list. You can select any time from 0 minutes to two weeks. If you do not want a default reminder for messages, deselect the Default Reminder option.
Other Calendar options are accessed by clicking the Calendar Options button to display the Calendar Options dialog box, shown in Figure 30-20. The various options available here are divided into several sections. The first section has to do with how Outlook defines the work week, as follows:
Calendar work week: Select days that you want to be considered part of the work week, and deselect those that you do not.
First day of week: Select the day that Outlook uses as the first day of the week for Calendar displays.
Start time/end time: Select the times of day that Outlook uses for the start and stop of the work day.
First week of year: Select how Outlook determines the first week of the year. The options are Starts on Jan 1 (the week that contains Jan 1), the first week with four days in the new year, and the first week that is entirely in the new year.
The next section of the Calendar Options dialog box includes options for a variety of features:
Show “Click to Add” Prompts on the Calendar: Outlook displays prompts on the calendar where you can click to add an appointment.
Show Week Numbers: Outlook displays week numbers (the week of the year) where indicated. An example is shown in Figure 30-21.
Figure 30-21. Outlook can display week numbers in the Date Navigator, shown here, and also in the Month view.
Allow Attendees to Propose: People whom you invite to meetings are allowed to respond by proposing a new time for the meeting.
Use This Response: Select from the list to specify whether new meeting times that you propose are marked as Tentative, Accept, or Decline.
Default Color: Select the color to use for the calendar display.
Use Selected Color: The color you choose is used for all calendars you view, not just your own calendar.
Planner Options: Click this button to display the Planner Options dialog box, in which you can set options for the Meeting Planner and Group Schedule features.
Add Holidays: Lets you copy holidays for one or more specific countries onto your calendar. You select the country or countries from a list.
Finally, this dialog box has a few advanced options, as follows:
Enable Alternate Calendar: Lets you display an alternate calendar in parallel with the default one using the language and calendar structure you select.
When Sending Meeting Requests: Sends meeting requests in the more widely supported iCalendar format instead of Outlook’s proprietary format.
Free/Busy Options: Sets options for publishing your calendar. These options are covered earlier in the chapter.
Resource Scheduling: Sets options for working with meeting requests. These options are covered earlier in the chapter.
Time Zone: Sets the default time zone for your calendar and also permits you to display a second, alternate time zone in the Calendar.