Pop up reminders?

[Al]

I am unable to get pop up reminders on top of the window I am working with.
Using Windows 7 with Office Outlook 2007. Can someone please help? thanks

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

I am unable to get pop up reminders on top of the window I am working with.
Using Windows 7 with Office Outlook 2007. Can someone please help? thanks

The reminder window generally doesn't pop up over the top of the window with
focus. If it were to do that, it would interrupt whatever you were doing at
the time. That's why the taskbar handle flashes - to attract your attention
to the fact there's a reminder. Try not to occlude so much of the desktop
that the reminder window can't be seen.

 

[R Gibson]

I have the same problem. I like that it flashes in the task bar, however,
when I'm focusing on a Word document or other piece of software, often I
don't even see the brief flash in the task bar, and then end up being late
for a meeting.

I would like Microsoft to offer an option to turn on "pop-over" control of
Outlook reminders. It should me MY choice, NOT Microsoft's whether or not the
reminder pops OVER my focused window.

As for "Try not to occlude so much of the desktop that the reminder window
can't be seen." Are you serious? Why would I not maximize my Microsoft Word
window when I'm typing a document? Or did I misunderstand you? It sounds like
you're telling us to keep all of our windows "restored down" to some fraction
of the window size WHILE IN USE, just so I can see a reminder pop up. NOT
GOING TO HAPPEN. Let me CHOOSE to set the reminder to pop OVER my already
maximized window and I'll be happy.

-R

 

[Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]]

Microsoft was heavily pounded for having the Window pop up OVER the active
window where reminders were easily dismissed and important work was
interrupted. Just goes to show, you can't please everyone all of the time.
Personally, I prefer the taskbar option. And I use a less than full size
window when working on documents or Outlook or the Internet, but I have a
wide screen monitor (24") and at home dual monitors.

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact.
ALWAYS post your Outlook version.
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/KB/555375


After furious head scratching, R Gibson asked:

| I have the same problem. I like that it flashes in the task bar,
| however, when I'm focusing on a Word document or other piece of
| software, often I don't even see the brief flash in the task bar, and
| then end up being late for a meeting.
|
| I would like Microsoft to offer an option to turn on "pop-over"
| control of Outlook reminders. It should me MY choice, NOT Microsoft's
| whether or not the reminder pops OVER my focused window.
|
| As for "Try not to occlude so much of the desktop that the reminder
| window can't be seen." Are you serious? Why would I not maximize my
| Microsoft Word window when I'm typing a document? Or did I
| misunderstand you? It sounds like you're telling us to keep all of
| our windows "restored down" to some fraction of the window size WHILE
| IN USE, just so I can see a reminder pop up. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. Let
| me CHOOSE to set the reminder to pop OVER my already maximized window
| and I'll be happy.
|
| -R
|
|
| "Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]" wrote:
|
|| ||
||| I am unable to get pop up reminders on top of the window I am
||| working with. Using Windows 7 with Office Outlook 2007. Can someone
||| please help? thanks
||
|| The reminder window generally doesn't pop up over the top of the
|| window with focus. If it were to do that, it would interrupt
|| whatever you were doing at the time. That's why the taskbar handle
|| flashes - to attract your attention to the fact there's a reminder.
|| Try not to occlude so much of the desktop that the reminder window
|| can't be seen. --
|| Brian Tillman [MVP-Outlook]
||
|| .

 

[Rich Coleman]

Good for you - that's why they are called "options". You are happy, we are
not since I miss meetings all the time now.

 

[jwinters]

How do i fix this? i don't understand? i need my calendar to pop up infront
of anything i am doing. i missed 3 meetings since Win 7 update.

Good for you - that's why they are called "options". You are happy, we are
not since I miss meetings all the time now.

Microsoft was heavily pounded for having the Window pop up OVER the active
window where reminders were easily dismissed and important work was
interrupted. Just goes to show, you can't please everyone all of the time.
Personally, I prefer the taskbar option. And I use a less than full size
window when working on documents or Outlook or the Internet, but I have a
wide screen monitor (24") and at home dual monitors.

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact.
ALWAYS post your Outlook version.
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/KB/555375


After furious head scratching, R Gibson asked:

| I have the same problem. I like that it flashes in the task bar,
| however, when I'm focusing on a Word document or other piece of
| software, often I don't even see the brief flash in the task bar, and
| then end up being late for a meeting.
|
| I would like Microsoft to offer an option to turn on "pop-over"
| control of Outlook reminders. It should me MY choice, NOT Microsoft's
| whether or not the reminder pops OVER my focused window.
|
| As for "Try not to occlude so much of the desktop that the reminder
| window can't be seen." Are you serious? Why would I not maximize my
| Microsoft Word window when I'm typing a document? Or did I
| misunderstand you? It sounds like you're telling us to keep all of
| our windows "restored down" to some fraction of the window size WHILE
| IN USE, just so I can see a reminder pop up. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. Let
| me CHOOSE to set the reminder to pop OVER my already maximized window
| and I'll be happy.
|
| -R
|
|
| "Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]" wrote:
|
|| ||
||| I am unable to get pop up reminders on top of the window I am
||| working with. Using Windows 7 with Office Outlook 2007. Can someone
||| please help? thanks
||
|| The reminder window generally doesn't pop up over the top of the
|| window with focus. If it were to do that, it would interrupt
|| whatever you were doing at the time. That's why the taskbar handle
|| flashes - to attract your attention to the fact there's a reminder.
|| Try not to occlude so much of the desktop that the reminder window
|| can't be seen. --
|| Brian Tillman [MVP-Outlook]
||
|| .


.

 

[jmaxon]

This is annoying me as well. It appears to be an issue with Windows 7 (Win7),
not Outlook. By default, Win7 combines the taskbar buttons. By doing so the
Reminder gets embedded into the "grouping" behind the Outlook icon. This
makes the reminder difficult to notice.

If you change the "Taskbar buttons" setting under the "Taskbar and Start
Menu Properties" to "Never combine," then the grouping separates and the
reminder pops-up in front of whatever else you have open.

However, one of the great new features of Win7 is this nice, clean taskbar
grouping. So it becomes a matter of sacrifice in order to get this to work
correctly.

I'm hoping that Microsoft comes up with a fix for this, as I'm sure more and
more people are going to become annoyed.

How do i fix this? i don't understand? i need my calendar to pop up infront
of anything i am doing. i missed 3 meetings since Win 7 update.

Good for you - that's why they are called "options". You are happy, we are
not since I miss meetings all the time now.

Microsoft was heavily pounded for having the Window pop up OVER the active
window where reminders were easily dismissed and important work was
interrupted. Just goes to show, you can't please everyone all of the time.
Personally, I prefer the taskbar option. And I use a less than full size
window when working on documents or Outlook or the Internet, but I have a
wide screen monitor (24") and at home dual monitors.

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact.
ALWAYS post your Outlook version.
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/KB/555375


After furious head scratching, R Gibson asked:

| I have the same problem. I like that it flashes in the task bar,
| however, when I'm focusing on a Word document or other piece of
| software, often I don't even see the brief flash in the task bar, and
| then end up being late for a meeting.
|
| I would like Microsoft to offer an option to turn on "pop-over"
| control of Outlook reminders. It should me MY choice, NOT Microsoft's
| whether or not the reminder pops OVER my focused window.
|
| As for "Try not to occlude so much of the desktop that the reminder
| window can't be seen." Are you serious? Why would I not maximize my
| Microsoft Word window when I'm typing a document? Or did I
| misunderstand you? It sounds like you're telling us to keep all of
| our windows "restored down" to some fraction of the window size WHILE
| IN USE, just so I can see a reminder pop up. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. Let
| me CHOOSE to set the reminder to pop OVER my already maximized window
| and I'll be happy.
|
| -R
|
|
| "Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]" wrote:
|
|| ||
||| I am unable to get pop up reminders on top of the window I am
||| working with. Using Windows 7 with Office Outlook 2007. Can someone
||| please help? thanks
||
|| The reminder window generally doesn't pop up over the top of the
|| window with focus. If it were to do that, it would interrupt
|| whatever you were doing at the time. That's why the taskbar handle
|| flashes - to attract your attention to the fact there's a reminder.
|| Try not to occlude so much of the desktop that the reminder window
|| can't be seen. --
|| Brian Tillman [MVP-Outlook]
||
|| .


.

 

[bizwizkid]

"The reminder window generally doesn't pop up over the top of the window with
focus. If it were to do that, it would interrupt whatever you were doing at
the time. "

I'm forever puzzled by the 'logic' of this statement - not by you personally
but, by the belief by MS that one doesn't want to have the option to be
'interrupted'. The whole reason I use the calendar and reminder system is to
remind me (not interrupt me). When I'm in the middle of a crazy day the last
thing I want to rely on is yet another blinking annoyance in the taskbar.

Why don't we have the ability to leave the reminder pop-up to stay 'on-top'
like many, many other programs allow (i.e. see WinAmp, gaming software etc.).

I can't think of a longer standing short-sighted decision by MS. They
usually seem to come around, several years late at times, but eventually they
see the light. Apparantly, they're happy with their own internal surveys and
don't see the value. I tried explaining that to the seminar leader who's
session I was late to today because I was working on my computer, with a
calendar alert to notify me and yet again i was not reminded - I was late
again --- grrrr.

Thanks.

 

[bizwizkid]

Actually, it shows one that their users want choice. Of course you can't
please everyone - why do you think a company can. You can however make MANY
MORE happy by not going one way or the other. If it was already working and
MS had to write code to stop it, why not throw a switch in there and let the
user decide?

I use MS 7 but, in my house MS didn't listen to me (lol)

Microsoft was heavily pounded for having the Window pop up OVER the active
window where reminders were easily dismissed and important work was
interrupted. Just goes to show, you can't please everyone all of the time.
Personally, I prefer the taskbar option. And I use a less than full size
window when working on documents or Outlook or the Internet, but I have a
wide screen monitor (24") and at home dual monitors.

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact.
ALWAYS post your Outlook version.
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/KB/555375


After furious head scratching, R Gibson asked:

| I have the same problem. I like that it flashes in the task bar,
| however, when I'm focusing on a Word document or other piece of
| software, often I don't even see the brief flash in the task bar, and
| then end up being late for a meeting.
|
| I would like Microsoft to offer an option to turn on "pop-over"
| control of Outlook reminders. It should me MY choice, NOT Microsoft's
| whether or not the reminder pops OVER my focused window.
|
| As for "Try not to occlude so much of the desktop that the reminder
| window can't be seen." Are you serious? Why would I not maximize my
| Microsoft Word window when I'm typing a document? Or did I
| misunderstand you? It sounds like you're telling us to keep all of
| our windows "restored down" to some fraction of the window size WHILE
| IN USE, just so I can see a reminder pop up. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. Let
| me CHOOSE to set the reminder to pop OVER my already maximized window
| and I'll be happy.
|
| -R
|
|
| "Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]" wrote:
|
|| ||
||| I am unable to get pop up reminders on top of the window I am
||| working with. Using Windows 7 with Office Outlook 2007. Can someone
||| please help? thanks
||
|| The reminder window generally doesn't pop up over the top of the
|| window with focus. If it were to do that, it would interrupt
|| whatever you were doing at the time. That's why the taskbar handle
|| flashes - to attract your attention to the fact there's a reminder.
|| Try not to occlude so much of the desktop that the reminder window
|| can't be seen. --
|| Brian Tillman [MVP-Outlook]
||
|| .


.

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP-Outlook]]

Actually, it shows one that their users want choice. Of course you can't
please everyone - why do you think a company can. You can however make MANY
MORE happy by not going one way or the other. If it was already working and
MS had to write code to stop it, why not throw a switch in there and let the
user decide?

In general, that doesn't seem to be Microsoft's approach.

 

[Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]]

I am constantly amazed by the simple assumption that users make that
programming in an on/off switch is a matter of a simple line of code. If it
were that simple, Microsoft would have done it years ago.

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact.
ALWAYS post your Outlook version.
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/KB/555375


After furious head scratching, bizwizkid asked:

| "The reminder window generally doesn't pop up over the top of the
| window with focus. If it were to do that, it would interrupt whatever
| you were doing at the time. "
|
| I'm forever puzzled by the 'logic' of this statement - not by you
| personally but, by the belief by MS that one doesn't want to have the
| option to be 'interrupted'. The whole reason I use the calendar and
| reminder system is to remind me (not interrupt me). When I'm in the
| middle of a crazy day the last thing I want to rely on is yet another
| blinking annoyance in the taskbar.
|
| Why don't we have the ability to leave the reminder pop-up to stay
| 'on-top' like many, many other programs allow (i.e. see WinAmp,
| gaming software etc.).
|
| I can't think of a longer standing short-sighted decision by MS. They
| usually seem to come around, several years late at times, but
| eventually they see the light. Apparantly, they're happy with their
| own internal surveys and don't see the value. I tried explaining that
| to the seminar leader who's session I was late to today because I was
| working on my computer, with a calendar alert to notify me and yet
| again i was not reminded - I was late again --- grrrr.
|
| Thanks.
|
| "Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]" wrote:
|
|| ||
||| I am unable to get pop up reminders on top of the window I am
||| working with. Using Windows 7 with Office Outlook 2007. Can someone
||| please help? thanks
||
|| The reminder window generally doesn't pop up over the top of the
|| window with focus. If it were to do that, it would interrupt
|| whatever you were doing at the time. That's why the taskbar handle
|| flashes - to attract your attention to the fact there's a reminder.
|| Try not to occlude so much of the desktop that the reminder window
|| can't be seen. --
|| Brian Tillman [MVP-Outlook]
||
|| .

 

[Ken Slovak - [MVP - Outlook]]

Hi Milly,

I generally agree with that, but in this case setting or not setting the
reminders window to always be topmost is perhaps 4 lines of code, including
a test to see whether to do it.

Of course a setting in a dialog to set that would be a few more lines of
code.

But it wouldn't be anything significant, just a call to SetWindowPos() with
an argument of HWND_TOPMOST if always on top of everything is desired.

 

[matcat]

Whoever decided this is part of the out of touch brian dead clan at MS. Geez
who would imagine that users would want the OPTION to have a remider opoup on
top of other windows!?!?!? We would all prefer to have out $300 something
office suite allow us to miss WHATEVER just so it doesn't interupt what we
are working on. (ISN'T THAT WHY WE NEED IT TO POP UP ON TOP?????) I now need
to go out and buy a riminder program that can do what a reminder program is
supposed to do. Maybe free Open Office can do this????

Hi Milly,

I generally agree with that, but in this case setting or not setting the
reminders window to always be topmost is perhaps 4 lines of code, including
a test to see whether to do it.

Of course a setting in a dialog to set that would be a few more lines of
code.

But it wouldn't be anything significant, just a call to SetWindowPos() with
an argument of HWND_TOPMOST if always on top of everything is desired.

I am constantly amazed by the simple assumption that users make that
programming in an on/off switch is a matter of a simple line of code. If
it
were that simple, Microsoft would have done it years ago.

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact.
ALWAYS post your Outlook version.
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/KB/555375

.

 

[matcat]

Listen up MVPs, you could think outside of the box and give some HELPFUL
advice instead of spewing out dumb reasns why MS thought it was a good idea.
MS crippled the remider program when it took away the option to poup on top
of other windows. Not smart period. One possible helpful idea is to change
the remider sound to something a bit longer than the ding sound (maybe ding
was short for what they called the dingbat who decided that we don't need the
on top popup?) If you change the sound (maybe to something different or
longer you will have a chance in hell of hearing it?) Options/other/advanced
options//reminder options. make sure both options are checked and then browse
to any wav extention. (of course you can't play mp3s) Especially if you
navagate to a longer file like a sound track it will be harder to miss
important events. (Just remember to keep the volume low!)

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP-Outlook]]

Listen up MVPs, you could think outside of the box and give some HELPFUL
advice instead of spewing out dumb reasns why MS thought it was a good idea.

Since we don't control what goes into Outlook and are as much subject to
whatever Microsoft designs and implements as you are, the only thing we can do
is tell you why we think it behaves as it does. The reality is that is DOES
behave that way and we can't change it, only explain it as best we can.

 

[gmAN]

Wow, kudos for actually coming up with a solution (thanks to jmaxon as well
for the idea of ticking the "Never Combine" option).

Do people from Microsoft actually moderate these threads? Or are the cries
for change falling on deaf ears here? I dont want to have a discussion about
why Microsoft did what they did, I just want them to fix their blunder.

So, if they do read these threads: GIVE US THE OPTION FOR OUTLOOK REMINDERS
TO POPUP OVER ALL WINDOWS.

If they dont read these threads: This is a waste of time and I'm done with
this.

/thread

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP-Outlook]]

Do people from Microsoft actually moderate these threads?
Nope.

Or are the cries for change falling on deaf ears here?

It's a peer-to-peer newsgroup. We're all users of Outlook like yourself. If
you want Microsoft to fix something, report it on the "Contact Us" link at
http://support.microsoft.com/