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CharlieZ138's avatar
CharlieZ138
Brass Contributor
Apr 26, 2023

Changing the name of the default Calendar in Outlook?

Whether I'm in Outlook for MacOS (v 16.72.2) or on Office 365, I can change the name of ALMOST any calendar - easy to do, very intuitive. (Steps listed below, just in case you're wondering.*)

 

However, this does not work for my default calendar. It is simply "Calendar" and it cannot be renamed either within the Outlook for Mac app or in the Office 365 browser interface.

 

Is there a way to do this? (And if not, what is the rationale for this? And is anyone listening regarding a suggestion to change this?)

 

* Steps to rename Outlook calendars OTHER than the default:

  • Outlook for MacOS: Either control-click on the calendar name and select Properties, then edit the calendar name in the pop-up Calendar Properties box.
  • Office 365 (browser interface): Click the kebab menu to the right of the calendar name, select "Rename" and then edit the name of the calendar. 
  • thierryelodie70's avatar
    thierryelodie70
    Copper Contributor

    Obligé de passé sur le nouvel Outlook pour le calendrier, je cherche maintenant une autre solution car avec 4 plannings à gérer en même temps pour mes livreurs et un pauvre mail pour s'y retrouver ben avec le téléphone et les personnes qui n'ont pas de patience le temps que je m'y retrouve c'est mes livreurs qui vont pédaler... si vous êtes connaisseur d'un autre calendrier que de passer par cette absurdité nouvelle je suis preneuse ! Merci d'avance.   CharlieZ138 

  • ereidw's avatar
    ereidw
    Copper Contributor

    CharlieZ138 Same problem – using outlook calendar on work machine bc 365 integration and just discovered this 'quirk' when getting it to sync w/ my other calendar clients. Can't rename it unlike every single other service.

     

    Created this account just to express my disbelief that you can't change the top-level calendar name and that the proposed solutions involve either creating a whole separate calendar (on a work machine with a ton of integrations!) and resetting it as your default or external applications that risk severely altering my (again, work) computer configurations. Such a minor thing that's so horribly annoying to manage with multiple calendars. Add to the perpetual chagrin at MS's corporate capture I never seem to escape...

  • Peter_Drabble's avatar
    Peter_Drabble
    Copper Contributor

    CharlieZ138 

     

    Hi, I spoke with Business support via live chat on 24th April 2024 and they said this . . . 

     

    Thank you. I am fairly sure that you can't change the name of the default calendar but a workaround might be to create a new calendar with whatever name you wish and then set that to be the default calendar - https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/set-default-calendar-7c546486-0c7c-4870-964a-0d6eb4de83e0#:~:text=1 Click File > Info > Account Settings,Close. The default calendar now ... See More. - would that work for you?

     

    I can confirm that my suspicions were correct and the default calendar name can't be changed.

     

    I'm not 100% sure it will work. But my suggestion was to create a new calendar and name it as you wish and then see if you can set that calendar as the default calendar suing the instructions that I sent

     

    I saw that article. It is possible to raise this with our engineers if you would like to. To do so go to your admin center and then click on the grey feedback button - this will go to the engineers for consideration. Is that OK?

     

     

     

     

    • Stevek1311's avatar
      Stevek1311
      Copper Contributor
      As others have said this is just a daft restriction by Microsoft. I want to rename the Calendar as 'Our Calendar' to cover things both my wife and I do or want to know about and have that distinct from my 'Steve's stuff' calandar which has all sorts of (boring to her) sports events etc.

      Can I do this? No.
    • CharlieZ138's avatar
      CharlieZ138
      Brass Contributor

      Peter_Drabble  Thanks for your work on this issue. Unfortunately, this doesn't look like it will do the job, as it seems to set the default account (making that account's primary calendar the default calendar), rather than allowing you to set the default calendar from among multiple calendars within the default account. 

       

      Zalop I may give MFCMAPI a try, but it doesn't appear to be available for Macs. I would have to find a PC on which to set up Outlook and then run  MFCMAPI.

       

      Really, Microsoft just needs to allow us to rename the default calendar within Outlook, just like other calendars can be renamed! (I'll look for that Feedback button...)

    • Zalop's avatar
      Zalop
      Copper Contributor
      As i already mentioned some while ago, there is the MFCMAPI application. Google to get it. It can change any name you like. And yes also the name of your default calendar. It worked for me.
      I am not associated in any why with this product, just a user.
      And as I mentioned before, please be careful you can mess up your whole system if you do something stupid.
  • ApeyDawn's avatar
    ApeyDawn
    Copper Contributor

    My goodness, how is this still an issue?! This should be such a simple request. 

  • jackiekc's avatar
    jackiekc
    Copper Contributor

    Here we are, it's February 24, 2024 and we still can't change our calendar name in Outlook 365.  CharlieZ138 

    • Jeff_RichStudio's avatar
      Jeff_RichStudio
      Copper Contributor

      I just moved over to Microsoft 365, and dang, this is frustrating. I need to change the default calendar name. Please share any updates that come along on this. 

  • Zalop's avatar
    Zalop
    Copper Contributor

    CharlieZ138 

     

    You can use MFCMAPI. But be careful, you can easily kill you complete outlook environment if you do the wrong thing.

     

  • arjen92's avatar
    arjen92
    Copper Contributor

    I encounter the same problem. This is really bothersome if you have multiple calendars and try to run all of them. It takes extra cognitive power to see that it is the right calendar (by checking the e-mail behind it). It was never a problem for me before, working a multiple companies at the same time, doing volunteering work and having private agendas. 

    Now, I need to take an extra look. 

    I can't imagine having multiple Outlook accounts, as they'll all be named "Calendar", luckily there's Google. But it motivates me to convince everyone I work with not to use Outlook, as it will mess up my calendars and hinder me in my efficiency. 

    • CharlieZ138's avatar
      CharlieZ138
      Brass Contributor

      SWKeck Sorry, I’m still searching for a solution. And nobody from Microsoft seems willing to engage on the topic. (Here or in any other places where I’ve seen it mentioned.)

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