What's the time, Mr. Wolf?

July 24, 2012 12:20 PM

Is there an automated way for Outlook 2010 (macro, plugin, VBA code) to convert all times I type in the text of an email (e.g., "6:00 am Pacific", or "6:00 am PST") to an expanded form that is relevant to all the recipients (e.g., "6:30 pm IST / 9:00 am Eastern / 6:00 am Pacific"). This is not a question about calendar capabilities - which I have under control, but simply a way to communicate times in email in a way that is easy for each recipient to read and comprehend.
posted by blue_wardrobe to Computers & Internet (3 answers total)

Best answer: If you can't find a script, you could always add individual autocorrect entries for all meeting times during business hours:
Instructions
posted by beyond_pink at 2:07 PM on July 24, 2012 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: @beyond_pink:
this actually worked!

I created all the times with their counterparts in Excel, and constructed them into VBA lines like this:

AutoCorrect.Entries.Add Name:="5:00 am Pacific", Value:="5:00 AM Pacific / 8:00 AM Eastern / 5:30 PM IST"
AutoCorrect.Entries.Add Name:="5:15 am Pacific", Value:="5:15 AM Pacific / 8:15 AM Eastern / 5:45 PM IST"
etc.

Then I put these lines in a VBA public sub in MS Word 2010, and ran it. Then I quit Outlook 2010, restarted it, and all the entries were there, and work. Note the lowercase use of "am" which is what I usually type (I'm a Brit), and the uppercase output being uppercase, because AutoCorrect is case sensitive.
posted by blue_wardrobe at 11:05 AM on July 25, 2012

Response by poster: I am also aware there is a limitation - when the clocks go forward here, but not there, etc.
I will correct the VBA macro at that time and re-run it.
posted by blue_wardrobe at 11:11 AM on July 25, 2012