Using classic Outlook for Windows in business environments
Hi Cindy,
Regarding this time zone concern, your understanding about the affected regions is correct:
- Most of Saskatchewan remains at UTC−6. Alberta is moving to permanent UTC−6, so it will remain aligned with Saskatchewan.
- Most of British Columbia is moving to permanent UTC−7, so it will remain one hour behind Saskatchewan
As of now, Microsoft provides time zone change guidance as interim guidance only, and I cannot find a published release date for the final Windows time zone update covering Alberta and British Columbia.
For reference: Daylight Saving Time & Time Zone Blog.
As a temporary workaround, I suggest that:
- Do not reinstall Outlook. Since classic Outlook normally obtains its time-zone definitions from Windows, removing and reinstalling Outlook would not update the underlying time-zone database.
- Keep the Windows setting "Set time zone automatically" enabled where appropriate.
- In Outlook, verify that Saskatchewan is selected as your primary zone through File > Options > Calendar > Time zones.
- For the additional calendar scales, use temporary custom labels, for example: SK / AB or BC - 1 hour. Outlook allows you to enter your own label for each displayed calendar time zone. The label is only a display name, however, so the underlying Windows time zone rule must still be correct.
Microsoft has acknowledged these changes and provided interim guidance, but there is currently no confirmed public date for the final update. That said, hopefully you can remain patient a little longer until the next Windows cumulative/time-zone update is released and installed. Until then, using the custom labels is the safest temporary workaround that I greatly recommend.
Should you have any further questions, please feel free to share them in the comment below. I'm very happy to help.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.