Scheduling Appointments

Use appointments to schedule blocks of time on a specific date or range of dates.

You can use Busy Search to check for a time when all the users and resources you want for an appointment are available.

This section contains the following topics:


Scheduling an Appointment for Other Users

  1. Click Appointment icon on the toolbar.

  2. In the To box, type a username, then press Enter. Repeat for additional users. In addition, include any resource IDs (such as conference rooms) in the To box. If necessary, type usernames in the CC and BC boxes.

    or

    To select usernames or resources from a list, click Address on the toolbar, double-click each user, then click OK.

  3. To change the From name (to another account or proxy), click From drop-down button, then click a name.

  4. Type the place description in the Place box.

  5. Specify the start date.

    or

    Click Date icon to specify a date or auto-date for your appointment.

  6. Specify a start time and duration. Duration can be in minutes, hours, or days.

  7. Type a subject and message.

    If you want, change the font of the message text. For information, see Changing the Font of Items You Send.

  8. If you want to make sure the people and resources for the appointment are available, you can do a busy search by clicking Busy Search on the toolbar. See Checking When Everyone Is Available.

    You can specify many options, such as making this appointment a high priority, requesting a reply from recipients, and more, by clicking the Send Options tab.

  9. Click Send on the toolbar.


Rescheduling an Appointment

If you want to make sure the people and resources for the appointment are available, you can do a busy search by clicking Busy Search on the toolbar.

  1. Click the Sent Items folder in the Folder List.

  2. Click the appointment to reschedule.

  3. Click Actions, then click Resend.

  4. If the original appointment was an auto-date appointment, click This Instance or All Instances.

  5. Make your changes, then click Send on the toolbar.

  6. Click Yes to retract the original item.

To reschedule an appointment for a new time on the same day, open your Calendar and drag the appointment to the new time.


Rescheduling Recurring Appointments

  1. Click the Sent Items folder in the Folder List.

  2. Click the appointment you want to select.

    If you are rescheduling just one appointment in a series of recurring appointments, select the appointment on the day you want to reschedule.

  3. Click Actions, then click Resend.

  4. Click All Instances for all appointments in the recurring appointment.

    or

    Click This Instance for only one appointment in the series of recurring appointments.

  5. Make your changes, then click Send on the toolbar.

  6. Click Yes to retract the original item.

To reschedule an appointment for a new time on the same day, open your Calendar and drag the appointment to the new time.


Canceling an Appointment

You can cancel an appointment if you scheduled it or if you have the necessary Proxy rights to the scheduler's Mailbox.

  1. Click the Sent Items folder in the Folder List.

  2. Click the appointment you want to cancel.

  3. Click Edit, then click Delete.

  4. If the original appointment was an auto-date appointment, click This Instance or All Instances.

  5. Click All Mailboxes, then click OK.


Scheduling an Appointment for Yourself

If you are not available for meetings, schedule a posted appointment for those times. When another user includes you in an appointment and does a busy search, the user can see you are not available at those times, but can still schedule over your appointment.

Posted appointments are placed in your Calendar on the date you specify. They are not placed in your Mailbox or in any other user's Mailbox.

  1. On the toolbar, click the arrow on the New appointment icon button, then click Posted Appointment.

    or

    In your Calendar, open a view with an Appointments List, click a date, then double-click a time in the Appointments List.

  2. (Optional) Type a subject and a place.

  3. Specify the start date and start time if you haven't already done so.

  4. If necessary, click Date icon to specify a date or auto-date for your appointment.

  5. Specify a duration. Duration can be in minutes, hours, or days.

  6. (Optional) Type a message.

    You can specify many options, such as making this appointment a high priority and more, by clicking the Options tab.

  7. (Optional) Specify a Show Appointment As type by clicking Actions, clicking Show Appointment As, then clicking a type.

  8. Click Post on the toolbar.


Checking When Everyone Is Available

Use Busy Search to find a time when all the people and resources you want to schedule for a meeting are available.

This section contains the following topics:


Performing a Busy Search

  1. In an appointment you are creating, specify usernames and resource IDs in the To box.

  2. Specify the first possible day for the meeting in the Start Date box.

  3. Specify the meeting's duration.

  4. Click Busy Search on the toolbar.

    The legend at the bottom of the Busy Search dialog box shows the meaning of the various Show Appointment As patterns on the grid.

    If Busy Search Information icon appears to the left of the username or resource, you can click a scheduled time across from the username or resource on the Individual Schedules tab to display more information about the appointment in the box below. However, the user or resource owner must give you appointment Read rights in their Access List before the Busy Search Information icon icon appears. See Adding and Removing Proxy Names and Rights in Your Access List.

    To exclude a username or resource from the search without deleting it, click the Available Times tab, then click the check box next to the user or resource to deselect it. Excluding a person or resource from the search is useful if a user (like a CC recipient) should be invited to a meeting but does not necessarily need to attend. To include a user or resource name that has been excluded, click the check box next to the user or resource to select it.

  5. To remove a user or resource from the Invite to Meeting list after the search, click the Available Times tab, click the username or resource to remove, press Delete, then click Yes.

    This is useful if you want to include several conference rooms in the search to find one that is available, then eliminate those you do not want.

  6. Complete and send the appointment.

    If you want to do a busy search before creating an appointment, click Tools, then click Busy Search. Specify information in the Busy Search dialog box, then click OK to perform a busy search. When you find a time you want for a meeting, click Request Meeting to transfer the information to a new appointment view, then complete the appointment.

    You can change the search range for one appointment by scheduling the appointment with Tools > Busy Search and changing the number in the Number of Days to Search box.