OL97: How to Customize Outlook Calendar Holidays

 Last reviewed: January 19, 1998
Article ID: Q161587

The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Outlook 97

SUMMARY

This article describes how to customize the pre-defined Calendar holidays in Microsoft Outlook 97. The technique involves modifying the Outlook.txt file that stores the holidays for the active calendar.

MORE INFORMATION

Outlook stores a read-only text file called Outlook.txt in the \Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office folder, which it uses for the Add Holidays feature. The Outlook.txt file lists holidays in the following format: 

   [Country] ###
   Holiday description, yyyy/mm/dd
   Holiday description, yyyy/mm/dd
In the above format, ### is the total number of holidays listed for a particular country. Note that there is a space between the closing bracket and the number as well as a carriage return at the end of the line. On each holiday line, there is a comma and space between the holiday description and the date, as well as a carriage return at the end of the line. For example: 

   [United States] 3
   Independence Day, 1997/07/04
   Thanksgiving Day, 1997/11/27
   Christmas Day, 1997/12/25
To create a custom set of holidays, you can modify the Outlook.txt file by following these steps.

WARNING: MODIFYING THE OUTLOOK.TXT FILE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. Microsoft provides this procedure "as is" without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose.

  1. Quit Outlook if it is running.

  2. Start Windows Explorer, locate the Outlook.txt file, and make a backup copy of the Outlook.txt file.

  3. Using the right-click the original Outlook.txt file and click Properties on the shortcut menu.

  4. Under Attributes, click to clear the Read-only check box, and then click OK.

  5. In Windows Explorer, double-click Outlook.txt to open the file in Notepad or WordPad.

  6. Press CTRL+END to position the insertion point at the end of the file.

  7. Type a new country header and custom holidays using the format described above.

  8. Save and close Outlook.txt in a text-only format.

  9. Switch to Windows Explorer. Using the right-mouse button, click the original Outlook.txt file, and click Properties on the shortcut menu.

  10. Under Attributes, click to select the Read-only check box and click OK.

The next time you run Microsoft Outlook, the new custom holidays will be available for adding holidays to your Calendar.

NOTE: Thanksgiving Day is incorrect in the United States section of the holiday file. It is scheduled for Wednesday rather than Thursday. It can be corrected using the procedures described in this article.

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Outlook 97 for Windows. This problem was corrected in Microsoft Outlook 97 version 8.02 for Windows.

REFERENCES

For more information about adding holidays, type "holidays" in the Office Assistant, click Search, and then click to view "Add holidays for a country to my Calendar." 

Keywords          : GnlCal
Version           : WINDOWS:97,8.02
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbhowto

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Last reviewed: January 19, 1998
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