Another Day, Another Outlook 2007 Crash

Here’s the symptom (Windows Vista, Outlook 2007):

Corrupt Outlook.ost file error message

The Solution: Delete file c:\users\USERNAME\appdata\local\microsoft\outlook\outlook.ost.

When you restart Outlook, it will act as though you are opening the app for the first time.  You won’t lose any of your settings. I take that back – I lost the ‘auto-complete’ list for previously used addresses.

How To: Cancel an Outlook Meeting w/o Notifying the Attendees

One of the things I like about my job (besides the free Methadone) is that every day my clients ask me for instructions on how to perform the oddest tasks…ways to use software that said software’s authors perhaps never imagined. So today’s question was:

How do I cancel an Outlook calendar meeting without notifying the attendees?

Honestly, I never thought anyone would want to do this! Unless you want people to show up for a canceled meeting. Anyway, it’s easy:

1. Open your Outlook calendar and select the meeting item.
2. Delete or cancel the meeting anyway you like.
3. The meeting dialog will open and ask you if you want to send the notification. The attendees’ names are conveniently already entered in the To: field.
4. Delete all the attendees’ email addresses and enter your own (or any other) email address.
5. Mouse-click the Send Cancellation button.

And that’s it. I mean, if you really want to do this. For real.