OL97: New Appointment Date Initialized to 8/27/96 (175043)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Outlook 97
This article was previously published under Q175043

SYMPTOMS

When creating a new appointment in Microsoft Outlook 97 the date may be incorrectly intitialized to 8/27/96.

CAUSE

The new appointment date will be incorrectly initialized to 8/27/96 when you use the following steps to create the appointment:
  1. On the Outlook Bar, click Inbox.
  2. On the File menu, point to New, and then click Choose Form.
  3. Select Templates in File System in the Look In list, click Appointments, and then click Open.

RESOLUTION

To create an appointment with the date initialized to the current date, use one of the following methods:
  • On the File menu point to New, and then click Appointment.

    -or-
  • On the Outlook Bar, click the Calendar icon; on the Calendar menu, click New Appointment.

    -or-
  • Press CTRL+SHIFT+A.

Additional Resolution

The Appointment.OFT file is an Outlook Template File (OFT). When a template is created for items that have associated Start Date/Time fields (such as Appointments, Tasks, and Journal Entries), the date the item was created is automatically filled in.

To create a new Outlook Template File (which has a current Start Date/Time date), follow these steps:
  1. With an Item open, click the File menu, and click Save As
  2. select Outlook Template (.OFT) as the format.
  3. Create your template and close the window.
Any items created after a template file is created will reflect the Start Date/Time of the original template file.

This behavior is by design.

WORKAROUND

You can work around this designed behavior if you set the initial value for the Start Date/Time field of the item to NOW(), and then save the file in the OFT format to replace the original item. You must be in Design Mode of the form to make this modification.

To Set the Initial Value

  1. Create an Item based on the Appointment.OFT file.
  2. On the Tools menu, select Forms, and then click Design This Form.
  3. Click to display page P.2.
  4. Using the Field Chooser, drag the Start field to the P.2 page.
  5. Right-click on the Text Box control (the area that displays the Date/Time information), and select Properties.
  6. On the Value page, check the Set the initial value of this field to: option.
  7. Type Now()in the text box immediately below that option, click OK, and then click OK again.
  8. On the Form menu, clear the Display this Page option. The page name should display as (P.2).
  9. From the File menu, choose Save As, and move to the directory where your current Appointment.OFT file is located.
  10. Verify that the Save As Type field is set to Outlook Template (.OFT).
  11. Select Appointment.OFT from the window (or type Appointment) in the File Name field.
  12. Click Save,and then click Yes if you are prompted to replace the existing file.
  13. Close the item that is in Design-Mode without saving it.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Outlook 97. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION

For more information on appointments, please see the following article(s) in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

173015 How to Create an Appointment that Links to a Contact

171960 How to Change the Default Duration of Appointments

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:10/26/2000
Keywords:kbbug KB175043
©2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.