Download update of public holidays in Outlook

Thread view:

Enable EMail Alerts

Start New Thread

Thread rating:

Solarize_uk - 03 Oct 2005 13:45 GMT

New versions of Outlook (or a patch?) should provide a facility whereby users
can update their public holiday information by downloading the information
from a central server. The 3-4 years of public holiday information soon runs
out, so this would be a useful facility. It should also enable people to
specificy a web address where this information can be downloaded, as this
would enable third parties (such as the relevant national authority) to
provide the information in a data file.

Reply to this Message

Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook] - 03 Oct 2005 22:22 GMT

Talk to your local (or national) authority about it then. Microsoft does
not control public holidays, depending on who you talk to. There are
several other sources for holidays - I suggest you try a google search - it
is very enlightening.

Signature

Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact. All
unsolicited mail sent to my personal account will be deleted without
reading.

After furious head scratching, Solarize_uk asked:

| New versions of Outlook (or a patch?) should provide a facility
| whereby users can update their public holiday information by
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
| button, follow this link to open the suggestion in the Microsoft
| Web-based Newsreader and then click "I Agree" in the message pane.

http://www.microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/default.mspx?mid=cbf6960e-b05d-4
eae-b5b7-cdd2a786921f&dg=microsoft.public.outlook.calendaring

Reply to this Message

Solarize_uk - 03 Oct 2005 23:11 GMT

You obviously haven't read my suggestion properly. It is that Microsoft allow
Outlook to accept third party updates for the public holiday information in
calendar. I'm quite aware that my national authority (the UK Department of
Trade and Industry in my case) provides public holiday information, but I'd
rather not have to enter all this in manually - there are seven or so
holidays per year here, many more in some countries. It would seem like a
logical addition. I'm NOT suggesting that Microsoft has to collate and
provide this information (although they already do for the first three years
so it would seem they already have it).

> Talk to your local (or national) authority about it then. Microsoft does
> not control public holidays, depending on who you talk to. There are
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
> |
> http://www.microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/default.mspx?mid=cbf6960e-b05d-4
eae-b5b7-cdd2a786921f&dg=microsoft.public.outlook.calendaring

Reply to this Message

Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook] - 04 Oct 2005 05:54 GMT

You have not, obviously, read my response to your request properly.

It is up to the local authority - whoever - to provide a transport that will
allow the import into Outlook.

Have them use a .csv or a .txt file for import. Why should Microsoft be
required to do this for ALL local entities? if the entities want their
information available in Outlook, THEY have to make it into a file that can
be imported into Outlook.

Again, look to your local authority to see if THEY have made such a file
available for import.

Signature

| You obviously haven't read my suggestion properly. It is that
| Microsoft allow Outlook to accept third party updates for the public
[quoted text clipped - 36 lines]
||| the button, follow this link to open the suggestion in the Microsoft
||| Web-based Newsreader and then click "I Agree" in the message pane.

http://www.microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/default.mspx?mid=cbf6960e-b05d-4
eae-b5b7-cdd2a786921f&dg=microsoft.public.outlook.calendaring

Reply to this Message

Solarize_uk - 04 Oct 2005 19:16 GMT

OK, let me get this straight. You are suggesting that the current versions of
Outlook enable non-experienced users (ie. 99% of people) to import a file
that would update their calendar information easily and from within Outlook.
This is my point - that it should be made easier to do, not that there's a
problem with providing the information. As I said on my original email, there
should be a facility for easily uploading this information, without having to
amend a registry file or some text file. If the facility were available, I'm
sure 'local authorities' would start to develop files for upload - but to my
knowledge it isn't.

Can anyone else see the obvious logic of my suggestion?

> You have not, obviously, read my response to your request properly.
>
[quoted text clipped - 51 lines]
> ||
> http://www.microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/default.mspx?mid=cbf6960e-b05d-4
eae-b5b7-cdd2a786921f&dg=microsoft.public.outlook.calendaring

Reply to this Message

Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook] - 08 Oct 2005 02:07 GMT

Sigh...

"OK, let me get this straight. You are suggesting that the current versions
of
Outlook enable non-experienced users (ie. 99% of people) to import a file
that would update their calendar information easily and from within
Outlook."

No, I am suggesting that the authorities who want their calendar information
available to their users CREATE A FILE that will be easily imported or
opened in Outlook. And then post the instructions to do it - such as
"double click this file to add it to your Outlook or Lotus Notes Calendar."

Literally thousands of web sites do this already. It is called a .vcs file.
Try Expedia.com to see what happens when you book a flight/hotel/car
reservation and then ask them to add it to your calendar.

The user needs to do nothing. Outlook needs to do nothing. The AUTHORITY
needs to do this for their CUSTOMERS to allow addition to the Outlook
calendar.

How could I make this any plainer???

Signature

| OK, let me get this straight. You are suggesting that the current
| versions of Outlook enable non-experienced users (ie. 99% of people)
[quoted text clipped - 72 lines]
||||| Microsoft Web-based Newsreader and then click "I Agree" in the
||||| message pane.

http://www.microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/default.mspx?mid=cbf6960e-b05d-4
eae-b5b7-cdd2a786921f&dg=microsoft.public.outlook.calendaring

Reply to this Message