OL: Task Time Conversions Seem to Be Incorrect (234260)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Outlook 2000
  • Microsoft Outlook 2002
This article was previously published under Q234260
IMPORTANT: This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry

SYMPTOMS

Time duration values entered into the Total work or Actual work fields of a Microsoft Outlook task record are not converted correctly.

CAUSE

Outlook defines time units for tasks as 480 minutes per day (8 working hours) and 2400 minutes per week (5 working days), rather than 24 hours per day and 7 days per week.

RESOLUTION

To change the default time for tasks to 24 hours per day and 7 days per week, modify the Windows registry entries.

MORE INFORMATION

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

To Modify the Registry Entries for UnitsPerDay and UnitsPerWeek

  1. Click Start, and click Run. Type regedt, and click OK.
  2. Click the UnitsPerDay value under the following key in the registry:

    For Outlook 2002:

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Outlook\Options\Tasks

    For Outlook 2000:

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Outlook\Options\Tasks

  3. On the Edit menu, click Modify, click Decimal, and change the Value data to 1440, and then click OK.
  4. Repeat these steps and select the UnitsPerWeek value. Change it to 10080, and then click OK.
  5. On the Registry menu, click Exit.
  6. Restart Outlook.
NOTE: If there is no Task subkey, you can create one. Open Outlook and on the Tools menu, click Options. On the Other tab click Advanced Options, and click Advanced Tasks. Click OK, OK, and OK.

When you enter a time duration into either the Total work or the Actual work fields on the Details tab of an Outlook task, the duration entered may be converted to what seems to be an incorrect value.

For example: A value of either 1440 minutes or 24 hours will be changed to 3 days even though you might expect a translation to 1 day. This is because Outlook assumes a day value for tasks to be 8 working hours (480 minutes). If you enter a value of 7 days it will remain 7 days, however, if you enter 5 days it will be translated to 1 week because Outlook assumes a week value for tasks to be 5 working days (2400 minutes).
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:5/20/2003
Keywords:kbprb KB234260
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