Outlook Tip: Direct-book a meeting with a conference room

You can book the meeting at the same time you create the meeting and invite the attendees. The meeting room availability can also be displayed when viewing the attendees information.

To invite individual and reserve space in a conference room, follow these steps.

1. Click on the Calendar folder in Outlook.
2. On the ACTIONS menu, click Plan a Meeting.
3. This will place you in the “Plan a Meeting” window.
4. At the bottom left of the screen is a button called INVITE OTHERS. Choose this button to select the names of the attendees. Double click on the individuals name to be added as a REQUIRED attendee.
5. Select the conference room name to hold the meeting in and then select the RESOURCES button. Automatic booking will not happen if the conference room is in the REQUIRED section.

*NOTE: Individuals should be listed in the REQUIRED or OPTIONAL section. Conference rooms (Resources) MUST be placed in the RESOURCES section.

6. After selecting the names and conference room, click the OK button to close the dialog.
7. The FREE/BUSY information for the attendees and the conference room will now appear.
When someone (or conference room) is not available, it will be listed as a BLUE BLOCK. You can right click on the block to see information about what is scheduled at that time.
8. At the bottom of the “Plan a Meeting” window you can select the date and time for the event. If you would like the system to FIND a time when everyone is available, choose the AUTOPICK button to the left of the date.
9. Once you have chosen the date and attendees, click the MAKE MEETING button at the bottom of the screen. This will RESERVE the time for you in the conference room and the system will send out a message to everyone that you invited.