OL97: Task Time Conversions Seem to Be Incorrect (234598)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Outlook 97
This article was previously published under Q234598
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 an 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 time unit for tasks to be 24 hours per day and 7 days per week, modify the Windows registry entries, UnitsPerDay to be 1440 minutes, and UnitsPerWeek to be 10080 minutes.

MORE INFORMATION

When you enter a time duration into either the Total work, or the Actual work fields on the Details tab of a 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 conversion to 1 day. This is because Outlook assumes the 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 converted to 1 week because Outlook assumes a week value for tasks to be 5 working days (2400 minutes).

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

  1. Click Start, and click Run.
  2. In the Open box, type regedit.
  3. Select the following key in the registry:

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\8.0\Outlook\Options\Tasks

  4. On the Edit menu, point to New, and click DWORD Value.
  5. Type UnitsPerDay as the name for the new entry.
  6. Double-click the new entry, click Decimal and type 1440 for the Value data, and then click OK.
  7. Repeat these steps to create an entry for UnitsPerWeek, assign it a value of 10080, and then click OK.
  8. Quit the Registry Editor.
  9. Restart Outlook.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:6/11/2002
Keywords:kbprb KB234598
©2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.