Customizing Aspects of the Calendar

To better suit your needs, you can customize aspects of your calendar from the Calendar tab in the User Preferences screen. For information about using the calendar, see Chapter 11, "Using the Calendar."

This topic contains the following information:

• "Customizing the Length of a Workday"

• "Setting Up Default Calendar Activity Duration"

• "Setting Up Email Prompts for Meetings"

• "Setting Up Default Calendar Formats"

• "Setting Up Another User's Calendar as Your Default Calendar"

• "Setting Up Default Participant Chart Display"

Customizing the Length of a Workday

The calendar shows your default workday, but it might not reflect the hours you are actually at work. By default, your working hours for future dates are denoted by a yellow line that represents the beginning of your workday, and a red line that represents the end of your workday. You can change the start time and the end time of your workday.

Note: If you are viewing the current day, the yellow line will represent the current time, if the current time is later than the value specified in your Working Hours Start At preference setting. Otherwise, the yellow line will represent the value specified in your Working Hours Start At preference setting.

To change the start time and end time of your workday  

1. From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.

   The User Preferences screen appears.

2. On the link bar, click Calendar.

   The Calendar form appears.

3. Enter the calendar start time in the Working Hours Start At field.

4. Enter the calendar end time in the Working Hours End At field.

Setting Up Default Calendar Activity Duration

Each activity you schedule on your calendar has a default duration. You can determine this default duration.

To set up a default calendar activity duration  

1. From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.

   The User Preferences screen appears.

2. On the link bar, click Calendar.

   The Calendar form appears.

3. From the drop-down list for the Appointment Duration field, select the activity length.

Setting Up Email Prompts for Meetings

You might want to be prompted to send email messages to meeting participants when you create a new appointment or modify an existing appointment.

To set up an email prompt for a meeting  

1. From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.

   The User Preferences screen appears.

2. On the link bar, click Calendar.

   The Calendar form appears.

3. Select the check box for the Participant Email Prompt field.

Setting Up Default Calendar Formats

You can set up a default calendar format to appear every time you access the Calendar screen. For example, if you use the monthly calendar all the time, then it helps you if the monthly calendar is set up as the default calendar format.

To set up a default calendar format  

1. From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.

   The User Preferences screen appears.

2. On the link bar, click Calendar.

   The Calendar form appears.

3. From the drop-down list for the Default Calendar field, choose Daily, Weekly, or Monthly.

4. If you select Daily as the Default Calendar, then select the time interval for activity periods in the calendar from the drop-down list for the Time Interval (Minutes) field.

5. If you select Weekly as the Default Calendar, then do the following:

   1. Select the default weekly calendar format from the drop-down list for the Weekly Calendar View field.

   2. Select the time interval for activity periods in the calendar from the drop-down list for the Time Interval (Minutes) field.

   3. Select the first day of the week to appear in the calendar from the drop-down list for the First day of week field.

   4. Select the week days to appear in the calendar from the check boxes for each day of the week.

6. If you select Monthly as the Default Calendar, then select the first day of the week to appear in the calendar from the drop-down list for the First day of week field.

Setting Up Another User's Calendar as Your Default Calendar

If you spend much of your time accessing another user's calendar, then you might want to set up that user's calendar as your default calendar.

To set up another user's calendar as your default  

1. From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.

   The User Preferences screen appears.

2. On the link bar, click Calendar.

   The Calendar form appears.

3. Click the select button in the Default User field.

   The Pick Default User dialog box appears.

4. Select the appropriate user, and click OK.

   That user's login appears in the Default User field, and that user's calendar appears as your default calendar in the Calendar screen.

Setting Up Default Participant Chart Display

In the Gantt chart in the Participant Availability subview, you can choose to display only your work hours or all 24 hours of the day.

To set up a default participant chart display  

1. From the application-level menu, choose Tools, then User Preferences.

   The User Preferences screen appears.

2. On the link bar, click Calendar.

   The Calendar form appears.

3. From the drop-down list for the Participant Chart Display field, choose Working Hours or 24 Hours.