Creating a Recurring Appointment in Outlook 2007

Sometimes, once just isn't enough. If you need to keep that weekly appointment with your supervisor or take Scruffy to the groomer once a month, Outlook 2007's Recurring Appointment feature gives you a way to remind yourself.

To create a recurring (meaning regularly scheduled) appointment, follow these steps:

1. Click the Calendar button in the Navigation Pane (or press Ctrl+2).

The calendar appears.

2. Choose Actions --> New Recurring Appointment.

The Appointment Recurrence dialog box appears.

If you simply click OK to accept the preset choices in the Appointment Recurrence dialog box, your appointment will repeat at the same time each week forever. But if you don't plan to go to that meeting every week for the rest of your life, you might want to make your own choices in the Appointment Recurrence dialog box.


3. In the Appointment Time section, click the Start text box and enter the starting time.

Outlook assumes that your appointment is 30 minutes long unless you tell it otherwise by entering an ending time, as well. Click the End box and enter an ending time if you feel the need.

4. On the left side of the Recurrence Pattern section, click the Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Yearly option button to select how often the appointment recurs.

5. On the right side of the Recurrence Pattern section, choose how often the appointment occurs.

6. In the Range of Recurrence section, enter the first occurrence in the Start box.

7. Choose when the appointments will stop.

You can select No End Date, End After (a certain number of occurrences), or End By (a certain date).

8. Click OK.

The Appointment Recurrence dialog box closes, and the Appointment form appears.

9. Click the Subject box and enter the subject.

10. Click the Location box and enter the location.

11. Click Save and Close.

Your appointment appears in your Outlook calendar with a symbol in the lower-right corner to show that it's a recurring appointment. The symbol looks like two little arrows chasing each others' tails, a little bit like people who go to too many recurring meetings. Coincidence? Maybe not.

Even a recurring appointment gets changed once in awhile. Edit a recurring appointment by following these steps:

1. Double-click the appointment you want to edit.

The Open Recurring Item dialog box appears.

2. Choose whether you want to change just the occurrence you clicked or the whole series.

3. Click OK.

The Recurring Appointment dialog box appears.

4. Edit the details of the appointment.

To change the pattern, click the Recurrence button, change the recurrence, and click OK.

5. Click Save and Close.

You may want to enter regular appointments, such as classes or regular recreational events, even if you're sure you won't forget them. Entering all your activities into Outlook can help prevent you from scheduling conflicting appointments.