Question or Issue:
How can Scheduling Assistant help me set up a new meeting in Outlook?
Overview:
Outlook tracks meeting requests and blocks out time on each users calendar as they add or accept meeting invitations and enter appointments. Scheduling Assistant shows a view of each person's calendar so you can find a time slot when all the meeting invitees are free.
Instructions:
1. In Outlook, go to the Calendar.
2. Click New Meeting.
3. Click Scheduling Assistant.
4. Type name of each attendee in the All Attendees list. Your name will be in the list automatically because you are the meeting organizer.
As you add each attendee name, the free/busy grid is updated with schedules represented as colored blocks:
- Solid blocks indicate a time slot that the attendee is busy. Blocks with diagonal lines indicate a time slot that the attendee has been invited to a different meeting, but has not responded yet.
- A green vertical line represents the start of the meeting. A red vertical line represents the end of the meeting. You can click and drag the lines to adjust the start and end time.
5. Adjust your meeting time so that it spans a block that most or all of the attendees are free. You can scroll left and right to see schedules on alternate dates.
6. After your attendees are added, click Appointment on the ribbon to switch back to the meeting request.
7. Click Send.