How to Auto Create Unassigned Copy of a Task when Sending It to Others in Outlook

The tasks assigned to others are not editable. But, you can use “Create Unassigned Copy” button to get an editable copy of task. If you wish Outlook to auto do this, you can read this article. Here we will help you achieve it in a jiffy.

As mentioned in my previous article “4 Rapid Steps to Assign Tasks to Others in Your Outlook“, Outlook allows you to send tasks to someone else. However, after sending a task, you will discover that it isn’t editable. Thus, you cannot make any alterations on this assigned task.

Fortunately, in the open Task window, you can access “Details” page and click the “Create Unassigned Copy” button to get a task copy. In this copy, you can make all kinds of modifications at will. If you are accustomed to creating an unassigned copy after sending a task, why not straightly let your Outlook auto perform it? In the followings, we will teach you to realize it via VBA.

Auto Create Unassigned Copy of a Task when Sending It to Others

1. To begin with, start your Outlook application.
2. Then, access VBA editor by referring to the article – “How to Run VBA Code in Your Outlook“.
3. Next, put the following VBA code into the “ThisOutlookSession” project.

Private Sub Application_ItemSend(ByVal Item As Object, Cancel As Boolean)
    Dim objTaskRequest As Outlook.TaskRequestItem
    Dim objTask As Outlook.TaskItem
    Dim objCopyTask As Outlook.TaskItem
    Dim strTempFolder As String
    Dim objAttachment As Outlook.Attachment
    Dim strFilePath As String
 
    'When sending a task
    If TypeOf Item Is TaskRequestItem Then
       Set objTaskRequest = Item
       Set objTask = objTaskRequest.GetAssociatedTask(True)
 
       'Create a Copy
       Set objCopyTask = objTask.Parent.Items.Add("IPM.Task")
       With objCopyTask
           .Subject = objTask.Subject & " (Copy)"
           .startDate = objTask.startDate
           .DueDate = objTask.DueDate
           .Importance = objTask.Importance
           .Body = objTask.Body
           .Companies = objTask.Companies
      End With
 
      'Copy attachments
      If objTask.Attachments.Count > 0 Then
         strTempFolder = CStr(Environ("USERPROFILE")) & "\AppData\Local\Temp\Task" & Format(Now, "yyyymmddhhmmss") & "\"
         MkDir (strTempFolder)
 
         For Each objAttachment In objTask.Attachments
             strFilePath = strTempFolder & objAttachment.FileName
             objAttachment.SaveAsFile strFilePath
             objCopyTask.Attachments.Add strFilePath
             objCopyTask.Save
         Next
      End If
    End If
End Sub

4. From now on, every time when you assign a task to someone else, Outlook will auto create an unassigned copy, like the following image.

Watch out for All Outlook Errors

Have you ever experienced error messages in your Outlook? In reality, they can occur now and then for various factors. For instance, if your Outlook was closed improperly, next time when you restart Outlook, you may encounter the errors – “your PST file is inaccessible” alike. Without any doubts, such errors are blazing annoying in that it demands you to attempt PST repair. Perhaps you may think of using the inbox repair tool to have a shot. Yet, in honesty, it won’t help a lot in this case. What you can resort to is a more powerful Outlook 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 mdf recovery and outlook repair software products. For more information visit www.datanumen.com