Microsoft Outlook is the most widely used email and scheduling platform globally, used for sending or receiving emails, managing contacts, tasks, and calendars. The Outlook calendar enables you to plan meetings, appointments, and reminders in one location. A common issue that can occur and frustrate users is duplicate entries, which can hinder your scheduling, create confusion, and possibly cause one to miss an important meeting. In the blog, we will review the Outlook calendar, why duplicates exist, and what safe ways to remove duplicates without losing valuable data.
What is an Outlook Calendar?
An Outlook Calendar is a built-in tool that helps you arrange and manage your calendar. With an Outlook Calendar, you can:
- Create appointments and meetings, and edit them
- Set reminders for appointments and meetings
- Share calendars with friends or co-workers
- Sync calendars with a mobile device or other email accounts
Every calendar item includes details like the subject (title), date, time, location, and participants. All calendar events are saved in your Outlook data file (PST or OST).
In what ways can duplicate calendar items occur?
Duplicates can occur for a common reason.
Sync errors: When syncing your Outlook account with a mobile device or with a cloud service like iCloud or Google Calendar, sometimes the same item is copied twice.
Importing and exporting: If you’re re-importing calendar data after previously exporting it/without deleting the old calendar items, you can end up with duplicate items.
Corrupted PST or OST files: If your Outlook Data File(s) are corrupted, it can result in duplicate calendar items.
Multiple profiles: If you use multiple Outlook profiles or have multiple accounts connected to the same calendar, you may subsequently add to duplicate events.
Although duplicates can seem harmless, they can make your calendar look cluttered and messy, and usability becomes difficult. However, there are safe and easy ways to remove duplicates.
Safe Manual Methods to Fix Calendar Duplicates:
If you only have a few duplicates, you can delete them by hand.
1. Sort and Delete.
Open Outlook.
- Go to Calendar view.
- Switch to List view:
- Click View ▸ Change View ▸ List.
- Sort by Subject or Start Date to group duplicates.
- Select and delete the duplicate entries.
This method works well when you only have a few duplicates.
2. Use Outlook’s Clean Up Feature (for smaller folders)
Outlook has a “Clean Up” function, but it is designed for email, not for calendars. However, if your calendar items are in email folders, it can sometimes take away related duplicate meeting requests.
- Go to Home ▸ Clean Up ▸ Clean Up Folder
- Then, remove the calendar items manually that are remaining
- This is limited, but it does help alleviate the clutter.
Automated Tools for Safe Removal of Calendar Duplicates
If you have a ton of duplicates or want to save some time, using a professional like the TrustVare Outlook Duplicate Removal tool is a better approach. This software will remove duplicate emails, notes, calendars, tasks, etc., from a PST file without experiencing problems. With this tool, you can identify a great number of duplicate PST files and relieve yourself of the burden of duplicate items. It is compatible with all Windows Operating System versions of 11, 10, 8.1, 8, 7, and it also supports ANSI and UNICODE, and it doesn’t require you to download anything.
Key Feature About This Tool:
- Removes duplicate emails, contacts, calendars, tasks, and notes from PST, OST, and BAK files.
- Enables the addition of multiple Outlook data files and the removal of duplicates from selected folders.
- Determines duplicates using fields such as Subject, Sender, Receiver, Date, and Attachments.
- Provides data safety by removing only duplicate items, which do not affect the original data
- Provides options for deleting, moving, or marking duplicate items after the scan
- Providing a simple, user-friendly interface with a fast processing speed.
- Compatible with all versions of MS Outlook and Windows operating systems
This method is optimal for large mailboxes or business users who cannot afford to make mistakes manually.
How to Prevent Calendar Duplicates in the Future
Fixing duplicates is great, but preventing them is better. Here are a few suggestions:
- Don’t import the same calendar file more than once.
- Make sure you turn off duplicate sync settings on your phone or third-party apps.
- Use only one active sync account for your calendar. Do not connect the same account more than once.
- Compact and regularly repair your PST/OST files to avoid corruption.
- Keep your Outlook up-to-date so you have the latest sync fixes.
Conclusion
Outlook Calendar is a powerful way to keep track of your schedule, but having duplicate calendar entries can affect your productivity and lead to confusion. The best method of removing Outlook calendar duplicates also depends on your duplicates, as well. Some duplicates → Sort by List view, then delete. Lots of duplicates → Use an Outlook duplicate removal. By spending a few minutes cleaning the duplicates, your calendar will be free and organized — and you will not miss important events.
