How To Add Week Numbers to Microsoft Outlook Calendar
Learn how to add Week Numbers to Microsoft Outlook for Windows and Mac with this simple step-by-step tutorial with screenshots.
At work, I interact with Europeans on a daily basis. When building schedules for project planning, they often refer to “Week Numbers.” Before I found this calendar option in Outlook, it was a little annoying. However, now I’ve been converted. It’s super helpful, so I figured I would share it with all my readers.
A quick note about the instructions below: I originally discovered this little gem in Outlook 2007; however, I’ve kept this article updated as new versions of Outlook are released. The steps and screenshots below were done using Microsoft Outlook for 365 version 2402. AKA – the latest version of Office as of April 2024. If you’re a Mac user, drop to the end, where I cover the steps for Outlook for Mac version 16.77.
How To Add Week Numbers to Microsoft Outlook
1. Right-click the Calendar Icon and Click Options.
(Note: You can also click File > Options > Calendar)
2. Scroll down to Display options. Check the box Show week numbers in the month view and in the Data Navigator.
3. Click OK a few times, and you’re done. Pretty simple.
As mentioned in the Options menu, the week numbers will be displayed both in the Date Navigator and Month Views. Here’s an example for my calendar.
I highlighted the Week numbers using the red boxes. Personally, I never use the Month view, so having the numbers show up in the Date Navigator is perfect.
Outlook for Mac
Outlook for Mac has come a long, long way. For the most part, it has feature parity with its Windows counterpart. It’s mostly the same…
To enable week numbers in its calendar, Click Outlook > Preferences > Calendar and check the box Show week numbers.
Unfortunately, the Mac version of Outlook doesn’t show the week number in the Date Navigator (as of April 2024). That being said, it does display it above the calendar on move calendar views, including the monthly view summary, which is fine.
Questions? Comments? I love hearing from my readers here on the blog. If I missed something, feel free to drop a comment below.
122 Comments
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OscarJJ
September 5, 2007 at 8:34 am
Never actually knew this existed. Excellent quick tip!
Jelena
September 25, 2007 at 12:10 am
Thanks,
I spent a lot of time looking for this option.
MrGroove
September 25, 2007 at 7:12 am
Welcome to the site Jelena!
It’s excellent to see we were able to help.
DAve
September 9, 2009 at 8:21 am
@MrGroove,
What can I do if the line in step 3 are “grayed out?”
It won’t let me select it.
MrGroove
September 9, 2009 at 8:59 am
@DAve,
Is this a work computer? I’m guessing your system administrator might have blocked it with Group Policy. Let me know if this isn’t a company pc.
Alnoor
May 5, 2008 at 8:18 am
On Outlook 2003, there is a bug as January 1st 2008 up to January 6th 2008 is considered as Week 53 by Microsoft.
How can I solve this issue?
Thanks
Regards
Alnoor
onceinalifetime
June 21, 2011 at 1:32 am
In Outlook 2010 this is easy…In europe we donn’t start from jan 1st. Go to Outlook, File, Options, Working Time section, then change teh drop down for when the year starts. Doesn’t allow complete freedom (e.g. for university year) but does suit variations of year start.
MrGroove
May 5, 2008 at 9:51 am
@Alnoor – Welcome to the site!
That’s very odd. I’m looking at one of my machines running Microsoft Outlook 2003 and I don’t have a week 53. Week 1 starts as normal (12/30/07 – 01/05/08). Please start a thread in the FORUM and explain how your calendar is setup, specifically: What timezone are you in? What does did you set the Week to begin? What OS? Etc…
Stormin
May 9, 2008 at 5:31 am
fantastic, excellent
MrGroove
May 10, 2008 at 12:47 pm
@Stormin – Welcome to the site and Thank you for the feedback!
Goddammit
June 9, 2008 at 9:41 am
I have Outlook 2003. When I go to Calendar Options, I only have the option to show week numbers in the Date Navigator. The text doesn’t match what you have in the screen shot. Is there some place is the system registry that I could go to enable the option to show it in the Month View as well?
MrGroove
June 10, 2008 at 12:38 pm
@Goddammit – The screenshot was taken from Outlook 2007 so you are correct, your options WILL look a little different in Outlook 2003.
Additionally, Outlook 2003 does not support the Week number in the Month view. Only Outlook 2007 does this hence the difference in the “Check” box Language. If you enable the Check box in Outlook 2003 however, you will have the week numbers in the date navigator (the little calendar on the left side of your calendar views) as shown in the screenshots at the END of my article.
Sorry for the confusion. When I get a chance I’ll update the article to reflect this information.
BTW – Welcome to the site! Nice name btw… ;)
Big Rich
July 9, 2008 at 2:30 am
This is very useful.
However, I work in a University and week 1 is the 1st September, and I would like to display these week numbers
Any suggestions?? I use outlook 2007
Big Rich
MrGroove
July 9, 2008 at 8:35 am
@Big Rich – Welcome to the site!
You ask an interesting question. I did some quick searching and what I’ve found “so far” is that Microsoft doesn’t support changing when in the year Week 1 Starts. Take a look here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/196567
I keep digging but it doesn’t look very promising. Perhaps one of our readers has move info?
Thanks!
Jussi
October 13, 2008 at 5:30 am
Wish iCal could do the same..
Tunc
October 16, 2008 at 12:28 am
Thank you very much! It simplified my work and cease the confusions of work schedules.
Leendert
October 21, 2008 at 2:23 am
Thanks for the very clear how to.
YankiStar
November 6, 2008 at 7:16 am
Thank you so much. Such a simple thing. Go figure. Appreciate the help.
ishu
November 17, 2008 at 3:33 pm
I’ve been looking for this option in the Outlook help forever. This is a lifesaver for me as otherwise I’ve to always refer to my desk calendar.
Priya
December 8, 2008 at 6:51 am
Thanks a lot!!! I’ve been trying to display the week numbers for ages. Couldn’t find the topic on the help (F1) and was quite annoying as I work in Europe where people use these all the time. Great tip!
MrGroove
December 8, 2008 at 6:57 am
@Priya – Excellent! Thank you for the feedback and welcome to the site! If you ever have an IT question, feel free to use of Community Forum – https://www.groovypost.com/forum/
Avshi
March 2, 2009 at 3:05 am
Thanks! That’s very helpful
Matt
March 3, 2009 at 6:12 am
Thanks! Very useful feature I didn’t know about.
Thomas
March 15, 2009 at 5:51 am
Does anyone know of a way to automatically change this setting on a great number of pc’s? Ie. a registry setting I can import, a script I can run or some Group Policy setting?
Thanks in advance!
MrGroove
March 15, 2009 at 4:38 pm
@Thomas – You can do it via the registry or GPO. I would reccomend the GPO of course.
First you need to grab the 2007 Office system Administrative Template files. You can find that here:
https://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=92d8519a-e143-4aee-8f7a-e4bbaeba13e7&displaylang=en
One you have those just set the GPO.
GPO Path
User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Microsoft Office Outlook 2007\Tools | Options\Preferences\Calendar Options\Calendar week numbers
Once you set it to enabled and assign it to the Group or OU, you should be golden.
If you want to roll it out a script and registry, here’s the corresponding key however if you had AD and your rolling this out to domain joined systems, use the GPO.
Registry Key
HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Outlook\Options\Calendar\WeekNum – 1 Enabled, 0 Disabled
Karl
July 15, 2009 at 11:31 pm
Thanks for the tip – been wondering for weeks how to do it!
Jimbob
July 24, 2009 at 1:42 am
Excellent little tip. Stumbled across your site while Googling for ‘week number’ solutions. :-)
MrGroove
July 27, 2009 at 12:45 pm
@Jimbob,
Excellent and Welcome to the site!
Carl
August 18, 2009 at 4:03 am
Thanks Mr. Groove. Grooooooovy!
MrGroove
August 18, 2009 at 10:45 pm
@Carl,
Excellent! Glad it helped you out. Welcome to the site!
Isaac
September 9, 2009 at 1:39 am
Thank you very much! :)
Erich
September 10, 2009 at 10:19 am
Hey man!
REALLY helpful! I was so in need of it!
Thanks!
MrGroove
September 11, 2009 at 1:00 pm
@Erich,
Anytime! If you need help with anything else, feel free to post your question in our Free Tech Support Community
See you around!
bill
September 16, 2009 at 10:31 am
thank you thank you thank you
Karen
October 21, 2009 at 7:50 am
Thanks! You should rewrite Microsoft helps site, I couldn’t find this anywhere!
MrGroove
January 11, 2010 at 6:29 pm
Thanks for the compliment Karen!
Kate
October 26, 2009 at 3:56 am
Thanks for this. I too searched the Outlook help – I knew this feature had to be available – but couldn’t find it. You gave me the answer and in very clear steps. I’m a tech writer; I appreciate well-written instructions. Hello, Microsoft! Are you listening?
Sheen
November 6, 2009 at 4:43 am
Excellent Tip :-)
Thank you.
MrGroove
January 11, 2010 at 6:30 pm
Thanks Sheen! Welcome to the site.
Mac
January 6, 2010 at 6:54 am
One problem here is the Microsoft doesn't seem to follow the ISO standard when it comes to week numbering. At the moment (6th jan 2010) MS thinks this is week 2 when according to the ISO standard it should be week 1. I haven't figured out how to get around this yet.
Jeff
January 6, 2010 at 8:17 am
A work around for the ISO week number is to change the day the week starts on to Friday.
Mac
January 6, 2010 at 9:23 am
Jeff, where would you set that? I checked under Regional Settings but didn't spot it. I can solve it in Outlook but changing the “first week of year” but it's wrong in Excel too.
Jeff
January 6, 2010 at 9:41 am
Mac, I ended up changing the “first week of year” as well, instead of changing “first day of week”. Location
Tools -> Options -> Preferences -> Calendar Options -> Calendar work week (Outlook 2003).
as for Excel ??
Mac
January 6, 2010 at 9:47 am
I changed it the same way (Outlook 2007) but couldn't find any setting in Excel. It can be done in Excel using some formulas but using only “Weeknum” returns the incorrect week.
You'd think it should be possible to change it via the control panel and let it apply to all programs. :(
I can't find any such setting under “Date & Time” or “Regional & language Settings”.
Gideon
January 11, 2010 at 4:24 am
problem is that if you change the 'first week of year' to 'first full week' then 2009 is incorrect as according to ISO the week beginning 28 Dec 2009 is week 53.
MrGroove
January 11, 2010 at 9:51 pm
And the bad news….. Outlook 2010 works exactly like Outlook 2007 so no fix there.
Mac
January 11, 2010 at 4:28 am
It's about time certain companies tried to understand what the letters “IS” in ISO mean.
Jamil
February 1, 2010 at 7:38 am
thanks man really needed this for university in netherlands
Kari
February 4, 2010 at 4:23 am
All Outlook 2007 settings could be adjusted from outlook:
tools-options-calendar options.
Like said earlier, based on ISO first week of the year is: First 4-day week!
From the same page you could also set outlook to “Show week numbers…”
Restart outlook, and problems are solved :)
MrGroove
February 4, 2010 at 9:35 am
Thanks for the tip Kari. Knowledge in crowds!!!
Kari
February 4, 2010 at 4:27 am
By the way, it is the same page shown on top here.
Simply adjust “First week of the year” to “First 4-day week”
Henri Hamende
March 2, 2010 at 3:32 am
Thank you god !!!!!
MrGroove
March 2, 2010 at 10:17 am
@Henri
I’m guessing the article helped out? Thanks for the feedback!
Derek
April 27, 2010 at 6:44 am
Thank you!
Kam
April 29, 2010 at 1:13 am
Thanks for this – found this via google and its perfect!
Best to all.
lola
May 5, 2010 at 7:39 am
this is quite helpful. thank you very much!
Cor
May 11, 2010 at 3:33 am
Thanks for the excellent and clear explanation.
Incredible why this cannot be found in Outlook Help.
Cor
MrGroove
May 11, 2010 at 8:24 am
@Cor – I also added the steps (starting on step 5 I think???) regarding how-to add the week numbers to the outlook calendar for outlook 2010 so hopefully that helps you out once you upgrade!
d
June 4, 2010 at 2:12 am
THANKS!
Sembygg
June 14, 2010 at 1:54 am
Thank you so much! I’ve been looking for this :)
Molly
July 10, 2010 at 8:50 am
Thanks – you rock!!!
JAC
August 6, 2010 at 6:31 am
do you know how to change the first week of year date? i.e. to tie in with our financial year not the calender year? (all options seem to be for 1st jan, 1st full week in jan etc..)
thanks
MrGroove
August 6, 2010 at 9:36 pm
Yeah…. I think the features are defiantly tied to the Week numbers of calendar year rather than fiscal year. Sorry…
Vivi
August 12, 2010 at 10:19 am
Hi, thanks for the great tool look up shared. For year 2010, I find that I can align the outlook week with the ISO week by choosing the option to have the first week start at the First 4-day week. Does anyone know if this option would always make the outlook calendar align with the ISO weeks for future years?
MrGroove
August 12, 2010 at 10:28 am
I’m going to guess yes since the option is not year specific. ???
fooristal
August 20, 2010 at 6:31 pm
Thanks,
This is really good tip for me.
sg3707
September 8, 2010 at 9:09 pm
Thanks
Kapil Kapoor
November 27, 2010 at 10:10 pm
Thankyou, it was very useful. :-)
Richard
November 29, 2010 at 7:47 am
Thank you, really usefull tip!
MrGroove
November 29, 2010 at 11:05 am
Your welcome Richard! Glad it worked out for ya.
Avire
January 19, 2011 at 11:34 pm
Amazing, years on and this info is still not easely available on the outlook help file, but a google search on the exact same terms gives this site as #1 :)
MrGroove
January 20, 2011 at 12:28 am
And you would be shocked how popular this article is…. Not easy to find but once you find it, simple to configure!
sikander shaikh
February 2, 2011 at 9:29 am
Thank you for this blog..
It really helped me.
Mr. Dk
February 6, 2011 at 2:36 am
Anybody knows how to solve the problem with showing week numbers in Outlook in Office 2011 for MAC?
TeamLeyner
March 2, 2011 at 10:44 am
Awesome! Thanks for the easy to follow tip. 20 minutes to hunt this down in 2010 with no success. Gotta start here in the future!
Magnus
April 12, 2011 at 1:51 am
Would like to know how to do it in Office for MAC 2011. It does not seem to have this feature. Will there be any patch for this anyone?
Carsten
May 16, 2011 at 8:17 am
Yes, please … anybody???
I would like to see week numbers in office:mac 2011’s Outlook!
MrGroove
May 16, 2011 at 9:56 pm
Ah! Very good idea. My MAC is at work tonight so I’ll take a look in the morning and post a brand new How-To for ya ok Carsten!
MrGroove
May 23, 2011 at 4:22 am
Bad News – MAC Office 2011 does NOT support the ability to add week numbers to your calendar. This is as of 5/23/2011. I’ll keep everyone updated if they add it in a future release… sorry
m
May 16, 2011 at 7:34 am
Thanks.. :)
liquid84
May 26, 2011 at 4:17 am
Thank you sooooo much!!!! :D
Jesal
June 17, 2011 at 7:51 pm
Thanks…. :)
Maria
July 13, 2011 at 5:39 am
This just made my life soooo much easier! Thank you!
Newton
August 25, 2011 at 5:54 am
THANK YOU !!!
Adam
September 12, 2011 at 10:18 am
Just wanted to say thanks for the great post. Big, big help. Nicely done.
Murthy
September 21, 2011 at 2:02 am
Thanks a million. Very very useful
MrGroove
September 21, 2011 at 7:24 am
You’re welcome and thank you for the feedback.
giulia
October 4, 2011 at 12:20 am
fantastic! u made my day
Rowena
October 5, 2011 at 2:06 am
Thanks for saving me time!!
Valentin
October 6, 2011 at 1:40 am
Perfect help! Thank you!
Aidan
February 9, 2012 at 9:06 am
Very Helpful. Liked the simple way you presented the instructions. Wish all tech advice was so clearly and cleanly deliver.
Martin
February 15, 2012 at 3:29 am
What fries my tits is, I cannot see what day it is when scrolling through week view in Calendar, I cannot see what day it is. I rarely know the date so I’ve research to do before i can add an appointment.
Mart
Benoit
March 8, 2012 at 11:43 am
Thanks!
Leslie Roach
March 12, 2012 at 4:39 pm
Is there a way to add “week number” as a column in the Calendar All Appointments view ??
syed
March 21, 2012 at 5:33 am
Superb thanks for the quick tip
João
June 5, 2012 at 7:29 am
Thank you! very useful help.
Crystalline1
June 13, 2012 at 4:02 am
My work heavily uses week # – your tip increased my productivity. Thank you so much!!
Paolo Cruz
June 21, 2012 at 5:52 am
Hello, cai you help me to find out how to enable this feature on Outlook for Mac 2011? Cheers!
Paolo Cruz
June 21, 2012 at 4:53 am
*can you…
Steve Krause
June 21, 2012 at 7:41 am
Hi Pablo,
Unfortunately the feature is not available yet on Mac Office 2011. I’ve been waiting for it and will write about it once it is added.
lala
July 19, 2012 at 10:06 am
Awesoome!
Wesley Bakker
September 10, 2012 at 1:16 am
Just a thanks. Was looking in view settings and couldn’t find it. A quick google search showed me your post and now I’ve got my week numbers.
Paris
September 14, 2012 at 2:50 am
Thanks! avoid me spending a hour looking for it :)
Gary
September 18, 2012 at 1:53 am
Thanks. This is helpful. Wondering why this is not in the MS Outlook Help though…
Chuck
February 28, 2013 at 8:22 am
Thanks, good information
Shai
February 28, 2013 at 10:58 am
Thank you! Nice, quick, concise response. Truly appreciate your help with this.
Steve Krause
February 28, 2013 at 1:57 pm
Yeah you bet! Glad it helped you out and welcome to groovyPost!
E
March 8, 2013 at 9:43 am
Thanks a lot for the quick tip!
Thijs ten Raa
April 2, 2013 at 1:47 am
Got it, very clear. Thank you.
mitesh
July 22, 2013 at 6:40 am
Thanks, very helpful steps.
Fadhli
August 11, 2013 at 5:51 pm
Thanks a lot, really helpful.
Gro Baanrud
August 22, 2013 at 7:37 am
Thanks a lot for the help.
Austin Krause
August 22, 2013 at 8:00 am
Anytime! We’re glad to help out!
Sri
August 28, 2013 at 11:52 pm
Thank u so much :D
Eran
September 2, 2013 at 2:06 am
DANKE !!!!
Bonnie Dasher-Andersen
October 13, 2013 at 5:43 am
Is it possible to suppress the week number and the week dates? I’d prefer not to have either displayed. Thanks.
Maz
January 12, 2014 at 7:21 pm
many thanks for this tip, very useful.
Mandy
July 29, 2015 at 8:31 pm
This year 2015, i need to show my calendar with week 53 starting 28Dec and Week 1 starting 4Jan16… Can anyone help me to do this in Outlook 2010. Thanks
Jon
August 28, 2015 at 3:42 am
Awesome, a post from 2007 just helped me out!
Top job. I really should have known how to add the week number, but I didn’t!
Cheers
Matt
April 1, 2016 at 1:57 am
Yes!
Chris McBean
September 4, 2016 at 5:39 am
Thanks – just found out I already had it switched on. What an idiot!
Ally
July 10, 2017 at 4:17 pm
any way we can have these weeks display when our year starts on 1st August?