# Outlook 2003 - Task Reminders and Task "Due Dates"



## discgolfdc (Feb 10, 2009)

Hi, everyone... I have to imagine that others have come across this issue, but I'm not sure I've seen a fix for it. I searched the forums for an answer, but it seems I haven't seen a thread that distinctively addresses it.

First off, I am running Office 2003 SP3, up-to-date on a Windows XP SP3 system, also up-to-date. I have made no modifications to the default configuration of folders/data paths, etc., that Office setup establishes upon install. I'm just your average run-of-the-mill user who doesn't have time to specify that my PST folder should be in some alternate location for some unknown purpose.

My issue seems to be the accuracy of the Task reminders. Here's an example, and I'll include screenshots.

I will set an arbitrary "task" for Valentine's Day, with today being February 10th. Here is how the Task dialog looks...












As you can see, I've set the task to remind me that "It's Valentine's Day" is coming up in what appears to be 4 days. I've set the "reminder" to notify me at 12:20AM on 2/10/09, deliberately just a few minutes in the future for the sake of illustration and, hopefully, getting an answer! :wink: (And, by the way, there is nothing wrong with the program. Someone out there may zero in on the fact that there is no task "Owner," but that's just been edited out with Photoshop).

I then go ahead and click "Save and Close."












There it is in my task list -- due date in the last column and all!

Now, at 12:20AM, I should receive a reminder dialog window telling me that "It's Valentine's Day!!" is due in something like 4 days (or somewhere thereabout)... Instead, with the task as entered as you see above, I get the following at 12:20AM...












Valentine's Day is Now?!?! It comes 4 days early this year, according to Outlook?!?! Did they notify Hallmark?!?! Wait a second... Something is wrong!

Anyway, just to make sure I didn't goof up and nothing got inexplicably changed, I click "Open Item" just to make sure nothing went wrong on my end, and I juxtapose the two windows just to make sure....












As you can see, the task dialog box header bar clearly says that the Task is "Due in 4 days" and the "Due Date" field clearly says "Sat 2/14/2009," but the Task Reminder is saying "Due in: Now"

It seems as though Outlook mistakenly sets the "reminder time" as the "due time" for the purposes of the Reminder. In the reminder box, it clearly says that the task is (somehow) due on February 10th at 12:20AM, the exact time for which I only set the _reminder_, not the due date/time.

Has anyone else experienced this and, if so, found a fix or a workaround?

My *CALENDAR* reminders work perfectly. I'm wondering why the Task Reminders choose to work differently.

Any feedback/suggestions/fixes/registry hacks/blunt force traumatic corrections would be greatly appreciated.


Thank you in advance.

Jayson


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## Geekgirl (Jan 1, 2005)

To me, it looks as if it did what you told it to do. You wanted it to remind you on the 10th @ 12am that Valentines day was the 14th and it gave you the reminder.


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## rbalaji (Dec 12, 2008)

But why is it due now when the task clearly says it is due on the 14th? I think you have uncovered a bug in the outlook task reminder system because if this was set up as a calendar entry reminder, it would clearly say due in 4 days or whatever. But, why should I be surprised?


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## Geekgirl (Jan 1, 2005)

I apologize if I dont understand completely I honestly never used Task reminders but to look at it I would think it worked as it did remind you in the day specified. :4-dontkno


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## discgolfdc (Feb 10, 2009)

*rbalaji has it right.* It is not doing what I asked it to do.

What I asked it to do was to remind me, on the 10th, that the task, "It's Valentines Day!!", is due in four days, not "Now" as the generated reminder mistakenly indicates. 

If you look in the reminder dialog, it states that "It's Valentine's Day!!" is Due: Tuesday February 10th, 2009 (at whatever time). If you open the actual item that it's reminding you about, it says that "It's Valentine's Day!!" is due on February 14th.

Who would, logically, need a task reminder telling them that something that is due in four days is due now? You'd want whatever was due in four days to be indicated as *being due* in four days (with the option of being reminded as the task draws nearer, of course).


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## discgolfdc (Feb 10, 2009)

If it is, in fact, a bug, how would one go about submitting it for review and redress?


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## Geekgirl (Jan 1, 2005)

Have you updated your program recently? Microsoft throws out updates for office periodically


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## discgolfdc (Feb 10, 2009)

I am running Office 2003 SP3, up-to-date on a Windows XP SP3 system, also up-to-date.


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## Geekgirl (Jan 1, 2005)

1. 
Read through this and see if any apply
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/286166


2.


> To begin with, the Outlook program itself controls reminders, and must be running in order to receive those reminders. Make sure your Outlook program is running in order to receive reminders. Also, for a reminder to appear or activate on a reoccurring basis, the associated appointment or tasks would need to be setup as reoccurring.


http://www.outlookpower.com/issues/issue200504/00001521001.html



3.


> Try the cleanfreebusy, the cleanschedplus and the resetfolders switchs.
> 
> Close Outlook
> Click the Start button and select Run
> ...


http://www.experts-exchange.com/Software/Office_Productivity/Groupware/Outlook/Q_22556768.html


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## find47 (Jun 17, 2008)

You are correct in your assessment. Outlook 2003 is/was designed to show the "due in" time on the Reminder window as based upon the reminder date/time.
BAD idea. I always stayed confused, and found it hard to plan when my reminder window was telling me things were due NOW instead of 3 days from now, as my Due Date indicated. 
However, there is good news. I have not yet installed it, but from everything I have read, Outlook 2007 fixed this "problem", and is now working as I believe it should. Amazingly, there are many posts out there of people complaining about this, and wanting it to work the way it did in Outlook 2003. Why, I cannot fathom.


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## goldw (Jan 13, 2010)

It is early 2010. I have exactly the same problem as you. I find it very annoying. It used to work. Is this the millennium+10 bug?


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## goldw (Jan 13, 2010)

None of the special outlook options work for no removing all of the addins. Furthermore even though it is Wednesday it all mail to Last Week. I think it was working better yesterday. I have re-booted, restarted Outlook, updated my system etc.


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## Geekgirl (Jan 1, 2005)

goldw this is discgolfdc's thread and it is an old thread, please start your won.


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