Many professionals want a calendar view focused solely on their Monday-to-Friday work schedule. Seeing Saturday and Sunday can clutter the display and make weekly planning less efficient. Outlook provides a simple setting to hide weekend days from its calendar views. This article explains how to enable this setting in different versions of Outlook and manage the resulting view.
Key Takeaways: Hide Weekends in Outlook Calendar
- View > Change View > Work Week: Shows only Monday through Friday in a condensed, multi-day format.
- File > Options > Calendar > Work time: The foundational setting that defines which days are considered part of your work week.
- Right-click calendar grid > Other Settings > Show week numbers: A related setting to customize your calendar’s appearance after hiding weekends.
Understanding the Work Week View and Calendar Options
Outlook uses two related concepts to manage your calendar display: the active view and your work time settings. The ‘Work Week’ view is a predefined layout that automatically excludes Saturday and Sunday from the display. It is distinct from the standard ‘Week’ view, which shows all seven days.
Your work time settings, found in Outlook’s global options, define which days and hours are considered your standard work schedule. This setting influences the shading in the Day and Work Week views and is used by features like scheduling assistant. Hiding weekends typically involves first switching to the Work Week view, as it is the primary method for achieving a weekday-only display.
Steps to Hide Weekends in Your Calendar
The process is quick and applies to the Outlook desktop application for Microsoft 365, Outlook 2021, 2019, and 2016. The setting is per-computer and does not sync across devices.
- Open the Calendar module
Launch Outlook and click the calendar icon in the bottom-left navigation pane or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+2. - Switch to the Work Week view
Go to the ‘View’ tab on the ribbon. In the ‘Arrangement’ group, click ‘Work Week’. Your calendar will immediately change to show only Monday through Friday. - Verify your work week days
For the view to be correct, ensure your work days are set properly. Go to File > Options > Calendar. Under ‘Work time’, confirm the ‘Start week on’ dropdown is set to ‘Monday’ and that only the checkboxes for Monday through Friday are selected. - Adjust time scale if needed
In the Work Week view, you can change the time increments. Right-click on the time scale on the left side of the calendar and select a different interval, like 15 or 30 minutes.
Using the Scheduling Assistant Without Weekends
When you create a new meeting, the scheduling assistant grid respects your work time settings. If you have hidden weekends in your calendar view, they will also be excluded from the assistant’s free/busy grid, making it easier to find weekday slots.
Common Mistakes and View Limitations
Weekends Reappear After Switching Views
If you switch from ‘Work Week’ view back to ‘Week’ or ‘Month’ view, weekends will reappear. The ‘Work Week’ view is a specific filter. To permanently see a weekday focus, you must stay in that view. The ‘Month’ view always shows all days of the month.
Printing the Calendar Still Shows Weekends
When printing, you must select the print style that corresponds to your desired view. In the print preview pane, under ‘Settings’, choose ‘Work Week’ style. If you select ‘Weekly’ or ‘Monthly’ style, the printout will include weekend days.
Mobile App Shows a Different Layout
The Outlook mobile app for iOS and Android does not have an identical ‘Work Week’ view. It typically shows a continuous list of days. You cannot hide weekend days in the mobile app’s week view, though they may be visually minimized depending on the app version.
Calendar View Comparison: Week vs Work Week
| Item | Week View | Work Week View |
|---|---|---|
| Days Displayed | All 7 days (Sunday to Saturday) | Only your defined work days (typically Mon-Fri) |
| Primary Use | Personal planning, viewing full week | Professional scheduling, business focus |
| Print Style Name | Weekly | Work Week |
| Time Scale Customization | Yes, via right-click | Yes, via right-click |
| Availability in Mobile App | Yes, as standard week view | No dedicated view |
You can now view your Outlook calendar without weekend clutter. Use the Work Week view for a clean Monday-to-Friday layout. Next, try color-coding your calendar categories for even quicker visual scanning. For advanced control, use the Ctrl key with the mouse scroll wheel while in any calendar view to zoom the time scale in and out.