Add Sri Lankan Holidays for 2012 into your Outlook 2007 Calender

Copy the following text and paste it on a Notepad or keep it on the clipboard.

Now here is how to modify your Outlook Holidays File found at c:\Program Files\Office12\1033\Outlook.hol. (You may not find the .hol extention - However, the file type will be Microsoft Office Outlook Holidays.) Open it using Notepad and save a backup on your desktop.

Close Outlook if it is running. Modify the Outlook.hol file with Notepad and insert the text on the left into where you find the S section of the list of countries... between Spain & Sweden; infact you may insert it anywhere... but this is more orderly.

Copy and paste the modified Outlook.hol file back into the original 1033 directory. You will be asked administrative permission to continue to replace the existing file. If 'Access is Denied' you can turn the User Access Control to the lowest setting; needs a restart. Remember to put it back to default level after you have saved the file successfully!

Start Outlook and under Options select Calender Options. You could now add the Sri Lankan holidays to your Outlook Calender.

If you aleady have a section for Sri Lanka with the last year's holidays you wish to keep then you could append the new holidays to your existing text but you will need to change the number in the firstline by adding 30 to the number there. Then you will also have to delete the existing holidays in your Calender before adding the appended set, else your last year's holidays will be duplicated.

If you are using Outlook 2003 your Outlook.hol will be located at \Office11\1033.

Now you can buy the hooch well before the Poyaday and while you are at it don't forget to add another bothersome recurring date to your calender... 3rd of October is the World Temperance Day! Cheers!!!

Capt Priyantha A Dias - 14th December 2011