Making Meetings: 4 Top Outlook Tips
“If it’s 4:30 pm in Phoenix…”
Have you ever had to plan a meeting for participants across multiple time zones? Outlook can help you out in many cases by allowing you to see more than one time zone or automatically adjusting for different time zones. In this post, we offer tips for time zones and many other issues related to scheduling meetings in Outlook.
Part One: Planning, Changing, Canceling
And, if it’s 4:30 pm in Phoenix, it’s 10:30 am in Sydney — but what day?
Planning a Meeting in Outlook
(Outlook 2002, 2003, 2007)
By Matt Mahoney
The core feature of Outlook is the calendar. This invaluable tool helps you keep track of your appointments and enables you to schedule meetings with colleagues. Here’s how to invite attendees to a meeting.
Outlook 2007:
1. Click the File menu, choose New, and then choose Meeting Request.
2. On the Meeting tab of the Ribbon, click the “Scheduling” button (depending on your mail server configuration, this button may also be called “Scheduling Assistant”), located in the Show group. Then click the “Add Others” button at the bottom (this button may also be called “Add Attendees”).
3. In the “Select Attendees and Resources” window, enter the name of the person or resource you want to add to the meeting, or click a name from the list.
4. Near the bottom of the dialog box, click the Required, Optional, or Resources button to place each name or resource in the appropriate field. Click OK.
5. In the Scheduling tab, you can view free/busy information for the meeting invitees that have made it available.
6. Set the meeting’s start time and end time by using the drop-down arrows near the bottom of the dialog box or by dragging the green and red dividers to signify the start and end times of the meeting.
7. Click the Appointment button in the Show section of the Meeting tab.
8. Review the meeting invitation; type any additional information you might need in the body of the message, then click Send.
Outlook 2002 and 2003:
1. Click the File menu, choose New, and then choose Meeting Request.
2. Click the Scheduling tab, click the “Add Others” button at the bottom, and then click “Add from Address book.”
3. In the “Type Name or Select from List” window, enter the name of the person or resource you want to add to the meeting, or click a name from the list.
4. Near the bottom of the dialog box, click the Required, Optional, or Resources button to place each name or resource in the appropriate field. Click OK.
5. In the Scheduling tab, you can view the free/busy information for the meeting invitees that have made it available.
6. Set the meeting’s start time and end time by using the drop-down arrows near the bottom of the dialog box or by dragging the green and red dividers to signify the start and end times of the meeting.
7. Switch back to the Appointment tab.
8. Review the meeting invitation; type any additional information you might need in the body of the message, then click Send.
Add Attendees to Existing Meeting
(Outlook 2002, 2003, 2007)
By MaryHazel McDermott
When you schedule meetings in Outlook, you need to be aware of a few things. If you need to add attendees to a meeting, you can only do so if you are the organizer or the organizer’s delegate. Anyone can forward a meeting; but if the meeting is changed in any way, those who were forwarded the meeting will not receive the updates. It is better to ask the organizer to add the person to the list of meeting attendees.
Add attendees using the To field:
1. Open the meeting.
2. Click in the To field or click the To button and select additional attendees.
3. Click the Send Update button.
4. Choose to either “Send updates to added or deleted attendees,” or “Send updates to all attendees,” and then click OK.
5. Close the meeting.
Add Attendees using the Scheduling tab:
Outlook 2007:
1. Open the Meeting.
2. Click the Scheduling Assistant button.
3. Type names in the All Attendees column or click the Invite Others button, add people in the appropriate group, and click OK.
4. Choose to either “Send updates to added or deleted attendees” or “Send updates to all attendees,” and then click OK.
5. Close the meeting.
Outlook 2002, 2003:
1. Open the Meeting.
2. Click the Scheduling tab.
3. Type names in the All Attendees column or click the Invite Others button, add people in the appropriate group, and click OK.
4. Choose to either “Send updates to added or deleted attendees” or “Send updates to all attendees,” and then click OK.
5. Close the meeting.
How to Cancel a Meeting
(Outlook 2002, 2003, 2007)
By Matt Mahoney
Canceling a meeting is quite simple in Outlook. Just follow the steps for your version of Outlook below. Please note that only the meeting organizer can cancel a meeting. Attendees can only accept or decline meetings.
Outlook 2007:
1. Open the meeting you want to cancel.
2. Click the Cancel Meeting button, located in the Actions section.
3. Click Send Cancellation to send the cancellation notice. It is very important to send the cancellation notice so that all attendees’ calendars are updated and the meeting is removed.
Outlook 2002, 2003:
1. Open the meeting you want to cancel.
2. On the Actions menu, click Cancel Meeting.
3. Click Send Cancellation and Delete Meeting. It is very important to send the cancellation notice so that all attendees’ calendars are updated and the meeting is removed.
How to show an additional time zone in Outlook
(Outlook 2002, 2003, 2007)
By MaryHazel McDermott
Nowadays, we often work with people in other areas of the country or the world. And then there are the peripatetics, who change time zones on a regular basis. Knowing what time it is when you are setting up a meeting, or even just calling someone, exudes professionalism. Use Outlook’s time zone feature to your advantage.
1. Click the Tools menu, choose Options, and click the Preferences tab.
2. Click the Calendar Options button.
3. Click the Time Zone button.
4. In the Label field, enter a name for the current Windows time zone.
5. Check Show an additional time zone.
6. In the Label field, enter a name for the additional time zone.
7. Choose a time zone from the drop-down list.
8. Click OK three times.
It is a good idea to label the time zones if you need to display more than one. It is better to not change the current Windows time zone unless you travel and need to schedule meetings in the local zone. Also, Outlook is only capable of displaying one other time zone.
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