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#28 Calendaring Part I: Sending Meeting Invitations through Outlook

February 21, 2011

Tired of wasted time and missed appointments? Scheduling meetings with colleagues is a regular part of daily work life. You can use Outlook to send meeting invitations that can eliminate miscommunciation and simplify getting appointments into calendars. This is the first in a four part tip series on using Outlook’s calendaring features to their fullest.

Tired of wasted time and missed appointments? Scheduling meetings with colleagues is a regular part of daily work life. You can use Outlook to send meeting invitations that can eliminate miscommunciation and simplify getting appointments into calendars. This is the first in a four part tip series on using Outlook’s calendaring features to their fullest.

When scheduling appointments with a colleauge, you can use an Outlook Meeting invitation to add an appointment directly to their calendar. Alternatively, you can use an iCalendar meeting invitation when you just want to provide an easy-to-add appointment for an event you are holding.

Outlook Meeting Invitations: 

  • Are ideal for meetings where most recipients are expected to attend.
  • Appear directly in the recipient’s calendar as Tentative.
  • Will automatically update for all recipients when changes are made. These updates will override any changes made to the appointment by recipients.

To send: Click the File menu in Outlook, point to New, and select Meeting Request to get started.

iCalendar Meeting Invitations:

  • Are ideal for announcements for meetings where attendance is optional.
  • Can be added quickly and with little effort if the recipient chooses.
  • Allows recipient’s retain control over how the meeting appears in their calendar. Updates are not automatically applied.

To send: Create and open a regular appointment in your calendar. On the ribbon, in the Actions group, click the down arrow next to Forward and choose Forward as iCalendar.

For more details:

When Sending to Faculty:  When sending a meeting invitation to faculty, you should use the Faculty Calendaring Invitation Preference system that respects the preferences selected by standing faculty members. Tomorrow’s tip will highlight how to use this feature. For more information, visit the Faculty Calendaring Invitation Preferences document.