Outlook 2003 Calendar doesn't save Automatic Formatting

[Guest]

Hi. I'm running Outlook 2003 SP1 on WinXP pro SP2.

I've just upgraded from Office XP where I had automatic formatting set to
give different people's entries different colours (based on text in the
subject - e.g. "Toby: Dentist" shows blue, "Peter: Dentist" shows red etc.)

Since the upgrade the automatic formatting isn't saved between sessions.
I'ce set it up a couple of times and each time I restart I just get a white
background for every entry. Plus the "Rules for this view" box is always
blank - I have to recreate the rules from scratch.

Any ideas on how to get this to work OK?

Thanks for any help

===Toby Wallis===

 

[Pat Garard]

G'Day Toby,

You don't say exactly how you are setting it up.

Try this procedure (copied from Help):
1.. In Calendar, right-click the calendar grid, and then click Automatic
Formatting on the shortcut menu.
2.. Click Add, and then type a name for the rule.
3.. In the Label list, click a color.
4.. Click Condition to specify the conditions under which the color will
be applied.
Note If you manually assign a color to an item, automatic coloring cannot
be used on that item.

 

[Guest]

Hi Pat. That's exactly what I've been doing. It then works fine but when I
exit outlook and restart the settings have been lost.

 

[Pat Garard]

G'Day Toby,

A number of Menu and Commandbar customisations, POSSIBLY
including Calendar Autoformatting, are stored in "outcmd.dat"
located in Folder:
C:\Documents and Settings
\<UserName>
\Application Data
\Microsoft
\Outlook\

With Outlook closed, you may safely delete this file (Outlook will
recreate it), but you WILL have to redo any customisations. Please
try that and see if your Calendar Formatting "sticks"

If that does NOT fix it, you MAY have a corrupt .PST File (that's
where the other "Rules" are located) - and you will need to run the
Inbox Repair Tool:

1. Locate the PST:
View the Folder List
Right-Click the Root Folder (Personal Folders), choose "Properties
On the "General" tab click the "Advanced" button
Note the name and location of the PST ("Filename:" text box)
Cancel
Cancel
Close Outlook

2. Run the Repair Tool:
The Inbox Repair Tool, called "Scanpst.exe", is located in Folder:
C:\Program Files\Common Files\System\MSMAPI\<Locale>
where Locale is a number (1033 in the US).
When you run the tool, you will need to "Navigate" to the file that
you noted in step 1.

Post back and let us know how you go.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

Outcmd.dat contains only toolbar and menu customizations. Deleting it will not affect any view settings.

Calendar autoformatting is stored as part of a view, which is a hidden item in the folder. Starting over with a new custom view might be a good next step.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of
Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[Pat Garard]

G'Day Sue,

I know that Custom Views are merged into the PST folders to which
they apply. (I was not sure about Autoformatting "Rules".)

Hence my advice to repair the PST.
--
Regards,
Pat Garard
Melbourne, Australia
_______________________

Outcmd.dat contains only toolbar and menu customizations. Deleting it will
not affect any view settings.

Calendar autoformatting is stored as part of a view, which is a hidden item
in the folder. Starting over with a new custom view might be a good next
step.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of
Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

Good advice. Scanpst can indeed work wonders, especially if alternated with Scandisk or another disk repair tool 3-4 times.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of
Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

G'Day Sue,

I know that Custom Views are merged into the PST folders to which
they apply. (I was not sure about Autoformatting "Rules".)

Hence my advice to repair the PST.

 

[Guest]

Hi,
I have the same problem as Toby and followed the instructions detailed by Pat.
However, this has not fixed the problem.
Any additional advice?
Thanks

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

As noted earlier, automatic formatting is part of the view settings. Creating a new named view might be the best solution.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of
Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[Guest]

After multiple attempts of fixing this problem, I got frustrated and "reset"
all the views. And subsequently, any further changes were saved. And applied
to all views of the calender.
I have no idea what that worked, but it did.
But thanks for all the help!