How to Auto Assign a Task to a Specific Person at a Scheduled Time with Outlook VBA

Many users desire that Outlook can automatically assign a specific task to specific people at a scheduled time, like the “Delay Delivery” feature for emails. This article will introduce how to make it realized via Outlook VBA.

As we all know, Outlook permits us to send emails at a scheduled time by means of “Delay Delivery” feature, like the following screenshot:

Delay Delivery for Emails

However, this feature is only available for emails, not for meetings or tasks. Thus, many people are looking forward to a method to send meetings or tasks at a scheduled time. Actually we can realize it simply by adding a reminder to the task and the Application.Reminder event in Outlook VBA. Here are the detailed steps and VBA codes.

Auto Assign a Task to a Specific Person at a Scheduled Time

  1. At the outset, turn to Outlook Tasks pane. Select the source task and click on “Custom” button in “Follow Up” group on “Home” tab.
  2. Then a new dialog box will pop up. In it, you can change the “Flag to” field to “Assign this task”, tick “Reminder” and then set a reminder time, namely the time to assign the task. Lastly click “OK” button.Add a Reminder to the Task
  3. Next you can turn to “Developer” tab and hit “Visual Basic” button.
  4. After that, double click on “ThisOutlookSession” project and then copy the following codes into the “ThisOutlookSession” project window.
Sub Application_Reminder(ByVal Item As Object)
    Dim olTask As TaskItem
    Dim Recip As String
 
    'Replace with your desired recipient email address
    Recip = "shirley@datanumen.com"
 
    If TypeName(Item) = "TaskItem" Then
       Set olTask = Item
    Else
       Exit Sub
    End If
 
    With olTask
        .Assign
        .Recipients.Add (Recip)
        .Send
        .Display
    End With
End Sub

Auto Assign the Task VBA Codes

  1. Subsequently, for the sake of security, you should sign this code.
  • Firstly, use “Digital Certificate for VBA Projects” to create a certificate.
  • Then go back to “Visual Basic” button to sign the certificate to this code.Sign the code
  1. Later you can exit the “Visual Basic” window and change the macro settings to only enable digitally signed macros.
  2. Finally you can just leave the task aside. Outlook will automatically send out the task to the specific recipients when the reminder starts.

Keep Cautious of Malicious Macros

In the current era, viruses and malware have become increasingly rampant. They commonly disguise themselves as innocuous objects, such as emails. Email borne virus is one of the most annoying issues in that they usually are embedded in the seemingly normal emails. But if you click the links or open the attachments in the mail, your data will be infected. For Outlook users, this risk is all around. Thus it is necessary to keep vigilant all the time. Otherwise, once your Outlook data gets attacked, you will have no alternative but to take recourse to Outlook data fix tool, like DataNumen Outlook Repair.

Author Introduction:

Shirley Zhang is a data recovery expert in DataNumen, Inc., which is the world leader in data recovery technologies, including repair SQL mdf file damage and outlook repair software products. For more information visit www.datanumen.com

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