Tip 985: Do 'something' when an Outlook reminder fires

Today's tip is two handy macros that run when Outlook's reminders fire.

Open a web page using a task reminder

The first macro is triggered by Task reminders and loads a web page when the reminder goes off. With a little tweaking, you could use it to open almost any file type.

To use, create a task with the web page url in the Subject field. Set the reminder time and date and assign the category "Open Page".

When a reminder goes off, the code checks to see if it's a Task reminder and if so, if it is assigned the category named "Open Page". If so, it opens Internet Explorer and navigates to the URL that is the Task Subject.

Get this code sample at Open a webpage when a Task reminder fires.

Send email using an appointment reminder

The second macro sends an email when an appointment reminder fires.

To use, create an appointment with the recipient's email address in the Location field and the message in the Appointment body. Assign the "Send Message" category and save and close.

When a reminder fires, the code checks to see if its an appointment reminder and if so, if it has the category "Send Message". If it finds the category, it copies the email address in the location field to the To line of a new message and copies the appointment body to the email message body and sends it.

Because the message is composed from the appointment and sent immediately, the time stamp is "now", which makes it a nice replacement for Outlook's other methods for sending messages later.

A second macro on this page sends an email to one address (such as to your cell phone) when any reminder fires.

Get these code samples at Send an email when an Appointment reminder fires.

Published May 8, 2012. Last updated on May 8, 2012.