After yesterdays tip for Outlook 2007, several readers wanted to know if it would work for Outlook 2003. Sorry, no, it only works with Outlook 2007. You can assign labels to completed appointments in Outlook 2002/2003 to mark them off but you are limited in the choice of colors and you can’t mark the full day (using all day events), like you can in Outlook 2007.

You can use the Completed category in older versions to mark or hide completed items. In Outlook 2002/2003 use automatic formatting in views to apply a color label based on Categories or use a filter to hide the appointments with the Completed category (all versions). While its not the same as crossing out a date, if your calendar is ‘full’ the lack of appointments on previous dates helps you focus on today in much the same manner as crossing out a date on a paper calendar does.