How To Add Week Numbers to Microsoft Outlook Calendar

122 Comments

1. OscarJJ  

   Never actually knew this existed. Excellent quick tip!
2. Jelena  

   Thanks,

   I spent a lot of time looking for this option.
3. MrGroove  

   Welcome to the site Jelena!

   It’s excellent to see we were able to help.
   • DAve  

     @MrGroove,
     What can I do if the line in step 3 are “grayed out?”
     It won’t let me select it.
     • MrGroove  

       @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.
4. Alnoor  

   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  

     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.
5. MrGroove  

   @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…
6. Stormin  

   fantastic, excellent
7. MrGroove  

   @Stormin – Welcome to the site and Thank you for the feedback!
8. Goddammit  

   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?
9. MrGroove  

   @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… ;)
10. Big Rich  

    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
11. MrGroove  

    @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!
12. Jussi  

    Wish iCal could do the same..
13. Tunc  

    Thank you very much! It simplified my work and cease the confusions of work schedules.
14. Leendert  

    Thanks for the very clear how to.
15. YankiStar  

    Thank you so much. Such a simple thing. Go figure. Appreciate the help.
16. ishu  

    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.
17. Priya  

    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!
18. MrGroove  

    @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/
19. Avshi  

    Thanks! That’s very helpful
20. Matt  

    Thanks! Very useful feature I didn’t know about.
21. Thomas  

    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  

      @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:
      
      http://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
22. Karl  

    Thanks for the tip – been wondering for weeks how to do it!
23. Jimbob  

    Excellent little tip. Stumbled across your site while Googling for ‘week number’ solutions. :-)
    • MrGroove  

      @Jimbob,
      Excellent and Welcome to the site!
24. Carl  

    Thanks Mr. Groove. Grooooooovy!
    • MrGroove  

      @Carl,
      Excellent! Glad it helped you out. Welcome to the site!
25. Isaac  

    Thank you very much! :)
26. Erich  

    Hey man!

    REALLY helpful! I was so in need of it!

    Thanks!
    • MrGroove  

      @Erich,
      Anytime! If you need help with anything else, feel free to post your question in our Free Tech Support Community
      
      See you around!
27. bill  

    thank you thank you thank you
28. Karen  

    Thanks! You should rewrite Microsoft helps site, I couldn’t find this anywhere!
    • MrGroove  

      Thanks for the compliment Karen!
29. Kate  

    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?
30. Sheen  

    Excellent Tip :-)

    Thank you.
    • MrGroove  

      Thanks Sheen! Welcome to the site.
31. Mac  

    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.
32. Jeff  

    A work around for the ISO week number is to change the day the week starts on to Friday.
33. Mac  

    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.
34. Jeff  

    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 ??
35. Mac  

    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”.
36. Gideon  

    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  

      And the bad news….. Outlook 2010 works exactly like Outlook 2007 so no fix there.
37. Mac  

    It's about time certain companies tried to understand what the letters “IS” in ISO mean.
38. Jamil  

    thanks man really needed this for university in netherlands
39. Kari  

    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  

      Thanks for the tip Kari. Knowledge in crowds!!!
40. Kari  

    By the way, it is the same page shown on top here.
    Simply adjust “First week of the year” to “First 4-day week”
41. Henri Hamende  

    Thank you god !!!!!
    • MrGroove  

      @Henri

      I’m guessing the article helped out? Thanks for the feedback!
42. Derek  

    Thank you!
43. Kam  

    Thanks for this – found this via google and its perfect!
    Best to all.
44. lola  

    this is quite helpful. thank you very much!
45. Cor  

    Thanks for the excellent and clear explanation.
    Incredible why this cannot be found in Outlook Help.

    Cor
    • MrGroove  

      @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!
46. d  

    THANKS!
47. Sembygg  

    Thank you so much! I’ve been looking for this :)
48. Molly  

    Thanks – you rock!!!
49. JAC  

    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  

      Yeah…. I think the features are defiantly tied to the Week numbers of calendar year rather than fiscal year. Sorry…
50. Vivi  

    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  

      I’m going to guess yes since the option is not year specific. ???
51. fooristal  

    Thanks,
    This is really good tip for me.
52. sg3707  

    Thanks
53. Kapil Kapoor  

    Thankyou, it was very useful. :-)
54. Richard  

    Thank you, really usefull tip!
    • MrGroove  

      Your welcome Richard! Glad it worked out for ya.
55. Avire  

    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  

      And you would be shocked how popular this article is…. Not easy to find but once you find it, simple to configure!
56. sikander shaikh  

    Thank you for this blog..
    It really helped me.
57. Mr. Dk  

    Anybody knows how to solve the problem with showing week numbers in Outlook in Office 2011 for MAC?
58. TeamLeyner  

    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!
59. Magnus  

    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  

      Yes, please … anybody???
      I would like to see week numbers in office:mac 2011’s Outlook!
      • MrGroove  

        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  

        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
60. m  

    Thanks.. :)
61. liquid84  

    Thank you sooooo much!!!! :D
62. Jesal  

    Thanks…. :)
63. Maria  

    This just made my life soooo much easier! Thank you!
64. Newton  

    THANK YOU !!!
65. Adam  

    Just wanted to say thanks for the great post. Big, big help. Nicely done.
66. Murthy  

    Thanks a million. Very very useful
    • MrGroove  

      You’re welcome and thank you for the feedback.
67. giulia  

    fantastic! u made my day
68. Rowena  

    Thanks for saving me time!!
69. Valentin  

    Perfect help! Thank you!
70. Aidan  

    Very Helpful. Liked the simple way you presented the instructions. Wish all tech advice was so clearly and cleanly deliver.
71. Martin  

    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
72. Benoit  

    Thanks!
73. Leslie Roach  

    Is there a way to add “week number” as a column in the Calendar All Appointments view ??
74. syed  

    Superb thanks for the quick tip
75. João  

    Thank you! very useful help.
76. Crystalline1  

    My work heavily uses week # – your tip increased my productivity. Thank you so much!!
77. Paolo Cruz  

    Hello, cai you help me to find out how to enable this feature on Outlook for Mac 2011? Cheers!
    • Paolo Cruz  

      *can you…
    • Steve Krause  

      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.
78. lala  

    Awesoome!
79. Wesley Bakker  

    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.
80. Paris  

    Thanks! avoid me spending a hour looking for it :)
81. Gary  

    Thanks. This is helpful. Wondering why this is not in the MS Outlook Help though…
82. Chuck  

    Thanks, good information
83. Shai  

    Thank you! Nice, quick, concise response. Truly appreciate your help with this.
    • Steve Krause  

      Yeah you bet! Glad it helped you out and welcome to groovyPost!
84. E  

    Thanks a lot for the quick tip!
85. Thijs ten Raa  

    Got it, very clear. Thank you.
86. mitesh  

    Thanks, very helpful steps.
87. Fadhli  

    Thanks a lot, really helpful.
88. Gro Baanrud  

    Thanks a lot for the help.
    • Austin Krause  

      Anytime! We’re glad to help out!
89. Sri  

    Thank u so much :D
90. Eran  

    DANKE !!!!
91. Bonnie Dasher-Andersen  

    Is it possible to suppress the week number and the week dates? I’d prefer not to have either displayed. Thanks.
92. Maz  

    many thanks for this tip, very useful.
93. Mandy  

    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
94. Jon  

    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
95. Matt  

    Yes!
96. Chris McBean  

    Thanks – just found out I already had it switched on. What an idiot!
97. Ally  

    any way we can have these weeks display when our year starts on 1st August?