Changing the reminder time on a group of appointments or events is easy. Just use a group by view with the Remind Beforehand field visible and group by it. Then drag items to the group with the reminder time you want them assigned to.
First, when possible create a view with the items you need changed either grouped together or filtered. In this example, we're using the By Category view because we need to change everything in the Anniversary category.
To change the reminder on multiple items at once:
- Make sure at least one of the items has the desired Reminder time set. Times are in minutes.
- Right click on the row of field names and choose Field Chooser.
- Find the Remind Beforehand field and drag it to the row of field names to add it to the view.
- Right click on the Remind Beforehand field and choose Group By Box- this will display the group by region.
- Drag the Remind Beforehand field to the Group By Box so its the secondary group.
- Now drag items from one Remind Before group to another to change their reminder times.
Use the Reminder field to add (or remove) Reminders.
Change the Reminder on Several Appointments Video Tutorial
You can use this method to change many other editable fields, including the Private flag and Company name fields.
More Information
To select several items at once, select the first one with the mouse, hold Ctrl and click on the last item. Hold Select to pick and choose non-contiguous items.
To move everything in a group, grab the Group header (Reminder Beforehand: [minutes]) and drag it to another Remind beforehand group.
The Group By Box is is normally hidden under the Folder name, above the row of fields. Show and hide it by right clicking on the row of field names and choose Group By Box.
Juan says
Excellent video. Question, is it possible to do this, meaning, "change reminder in multiple appointments at once" in newer Outlook client in Microsoft 365 for Enterprise?
Diane Poremsky says
No, you can't do it in the new Outlook or Outlook on the web - only in classic outlook. Sorry.
Jon says
This worked perfectly! You saved me so much time it's unbelievable. Thank you!!
Jerry H says
Absolutely perfect! Needed this for a long time. A lot of people are looking for ways to add reminders to appointments that were missed, this works well for that, and a lot more!
Steve H. says
Thanks! That worked great for changing the Location field in all the Holidays.
Brilliant method, and so simple, but I was surprised that it would work like that, I was afraid I was going to have to resort to some kind of scripting, but I'm not on Exchange at home!
Thanks again.
Steve H.
San Diego, CA
Pascal B says
add-on as I did not find how to edit my reply: I mean 'To-Do List' instead of 'task lists' i.e. the Outlook tasks view that combines tasks and messages with reminders.
Diane Poremsky says
The macro definitely works on the to-do list.
Pascal B says
Hello,
I'm looking for a solution to a similar yet different problem: in task lists, I wish to select multiple tasks (including messages with reminders) and set them to same reminder day/time. Aim is to follow-up on similar tasks at the same time.
So far I could not locate an answer on your site or elsewhere.
Regards.
Diane Poremsky says
Dragging probably won't work but the macro at https://www.slipstick.com/developer/code-samples/working-items-folder-selected-items/ will work. This would be the magic that makes it work:
With obj
' do whatever
Debug.Print .Subject
.ReminderTime = Date + 1
.Save
End With
that sets a reminder for tomorrow, but you can use a specific date there instead.
Diane Poremsky says
Try this macro - https://www.slipstick.com/developer/code-samples/change-reminder-selected-items-to-do-list/
Jarmo says
Otherwise nice method BUT you can not change those to NONE!!
Diane Poremsky says
As long as you have a None group for remind beforehand, you can move appointments into that group. If you are using the reminder field, your choices are Yes or No. You may have some meetings in Reminder:None group - they are in a weird state and just opening and resaving will move them to No.
Vince says
Great Problem Solver Description. Thanks Much
Walt says
Thank you. Worked perfectly. I will put this tip to good use. I prefer using a sound that is meaningful for different reminders. Since moving to outlook 2010 I lost most of them. Now I can correct that situation. It is also a good tutorial in manipulating the outlook database. Thanks again.
Walt says
This worked really well. Great time saver, but the reminder sound went missing. Is there a way to perform a similar operation to change the reminder time to the same sound all at the same time? I tried, several times, and couldn't get it to work.
Diane Poremsky says
It appears to work here - add the Reminder Sound and Reminder Sound File fields to the view and group by them - I grouped by Sound then Sound File. Drag from the no sound file group to the Yes\Sound File group. You need both fields if you want a custom sound file, or only the Reminder sound field if you want to just turn the reminder sound on.
Julie says
Thank you! I recently had to bring everything back to Outlook, but all the reminders were gone. This was a HUGE timesaver, and the video was a big help!
Axel Werner says
I tried exactly as described here. But BIG FAIL! the Appointments i have in the calendars for some reason DO show a reminder value in table view, but if i open a single appointment and check for the reminder parameter, its EMPTY! And so it seems it does not matter to which "group" i drag the appointments. the reminder field DOES NOT CHANGE automaticaly in my case. BUT it does if i open each item and change the reminder field manualy, bit by bit. - SO.... it seems i will need more likely a macro solution to fix all and every appointment item in outlook to get the reminders back working. (PS: my calendar items has been exported from sunbird 1.0 and imported to outlook 2010 by "double click" the ics files.
Solvitor says
I had this same issue. To fix, you can add the "Reminder" and/or "Reminder Sound" fields to the column headings and follow the same steps (in field chooser, select "All Appointment Fields"). What I did since all of them had no reminder set was to open one, set the reminder checkbox to on, then save and I had a new group (picture of a bell") to which I could drag the others.
Michael S. says
Thank you! I wanted to hide/delete the 'location' of every Holiday. Such clear and to the point directions! Well done!
Paul says
Excellent, thank you! I was contemplating the Hell of amending each of 1300 events...!
JimM says
This is an excellent tip. Instructions were a bit difficult to follow as I was unfamiliar with some of the nomenclature, but once I step-by-step'd through it in detail, I got the concept. I wish there was a way to drag a small multiple-selection, say 15 appointment items, up the list rapidly. If you have to wait, hovering above the top line/border while it scrolls at its own sweet pace, then a 1000 line drag-and-drop takes some time.
But ultimately, it was a good tip and I appreciate it.
Thanks,
Jim
Diane Poremsky says
I collapse the groups and only expand the one I'm selecting from - this makes it easier to drag.
You should be able to drag a selection - hold Ctrl as you click to select individual events or Shift + Click to select a range (although I've found that selecting too many usually leads to deselecting all. :( )
kr says
This is amazing! Saved me a huge amount of time