Middlebury

Shared Calendars and Room Resources

Introduction

Within our Microsoft Exchange environment, each user is provided with a calendar for personal use. In addition to these individual calendars, there are "special" types that can be set up. The most important types are mailboxes with shared calendars, and Room Resources.

Mailboxes with Shared Calendars

These work exactly as if the mailbox were a person who had given someone else access to edit their calendar. To use them, follow these instructions:

Room Resources

Room Resources are like regular shared mailboxes, but with the added feature of a "Mailbox Attendant" who can accept and reject meeting requests.

Scheduling a Room Resource

  1. Invite the room by name to a new or existing meeting, as if it were a person.
    • The meeting location will be automatically set to that room.
  2. You can use the Scheduling Assistant to find a time when everyone is available, including the room.
  3. The room will accept the meeting if it’s free, or reject it if there is a conflict. When the organizer sends an update, it gets sent to all recipients, including the room, which will automatically update its calendar.

Viewing a Room Resource

Room calendars can be viewed like any individual's calendar if you know the name of the room you need (e.g. DFL145); see the instructions above for how to open another user's calendar.

FAQ

How do I get a Shared Calendar or Room Resource? What information do I need to provide to make this happen?

Please contact the Helpdesk to make your request. When you do, you will need to know the following:

  • What should the name of the new entity be? Is there an existing shared mailbox that could be used for this purpose?
  • Who can make changes?
  • Who should be the "moderator" (with full access to resolve any conflicts should they occur)?
  • Who can see events others have made?
  • (For Rooms) What is the room capacity? This prevents the room from being overbooked according to the Fire Code.
  • (For Rooms, optional) Who can request to make changes that have to be approved by a moderator? If this option is in place, requests will appear on the calendar as "Tentative" until they are approved.

What if I'm having trouble scheduling meetings or appointments?

If you are having a specific problem, please contact the Helpdesk. Many common issues can be avoided by following our Outlook Calendar Best Practices.

Transitional FAQ

There are currently (Fall, 2014) calendars in Public Folders. These are being phased out to maintain future compatibility. Those who are using Public Folders calendars will need to migrate to use of Shared Calendars and/or Room Resources, which may be shared in a similar way as Public Folders.

Once I have my new Shared Calendar or Room Resource, can I move existing meetings to this new thing?

  • Shared calendar appointments will be moved for you unless you request otherwise. Past events in calendars for room scheduling (that don't have recurring instances in the future) may be moved into Room Resources. Future events, if migrated automatically, can only be modified or rescheduled by room moderators, so depending on your needs, it may be better to recreate the meetings by inviting the Room Resource. See 'How to book a room" under Room Resources.

Can I still use the Public Folders calendar?

  • ITS will work with you to set a transition plan. Once the transition has begun, the Public Folders calendar will be available to view existing events, but may not be editable.

How to View/Add a shared calendar

PC

  • In Outlook,

1. Go to Calendar

2. Click Open Calendar (one of the icons along the top menu)

3. Select “Open shared calendar”

4. Type the name of the shared calendar (e.g. “Library staff calendar")

Mac

See instructions here.

Additional Resources

Our partner institutions have additional documentation for the following tasks:

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