Checking Availability

Performing a Busy Search

  1. In an appointment you are creating, specify usernames and resource IDs in the To field.

  2. Specify the first possible day for the meeting in the Start date field.

  3. Specify the meeting’s duration.

  4. Click Busy Search on the toolbar.

    The legend at the bottom of the Busy Search dialog box shows the meaning of the various Show Appointment As patterns on the grid.

    If Busy Search Information icon appears to the left of the username or resource, you can click a scheduled time across from the username or resource on the Individual Schedules tab to display more information about the appointment in the box below. However, the user or resource owner must give you appointment Read rights in their Access List before the Busy Search Information icon icon appears. See Granting Proxy Rights as a Mailbox Owner.

    To exclude a username or resource from the search without deleting it, click the Available Times tab, then deselect the check box next to the user or resource. Excluding a person or resource from the search is useful if a user (like a CC recipient) should be invited to a meeting but does not necessarily need to attend. To include a user or resource name that has been excluded, select the check box next to the user or resource.

  5. To remove a user or resource from the Invite to Meeting list after the search, click the Available Times tab, click Invite to Meeting, select the username or resource you want to remove, then press Delete, then click OK.

    This is useful if you want to include several conference rooms in the search to find one that is available, then eliminate those you do not want.

  6. Complete and send the appointment.

    If you want to do a busy search before creating an appointment, click Tools > Busy Search. Specify information in the Busy Search dialog box, then click OK to perform a busy search. When you find a time you want for a meeting, click Request Meeting to transfer the information to a new appointment view, then complete the appointment.

    You can change the search range for one appointment by scheduling the appointment with Tools > Busy Search and changing the number in the Number of days to search field.

    This method is useful when looking to schedule recurring appointments or planning appointments that may be further in the future.

Changing Busy Search Options

You can change the search range, time, and days default for all appointments on the Busy Search tab in Date Time Options.

  1. Click Tools > Options.

  2. Click Calendar > Busy Search.

  3. Change the options you want.

  4. Click OK.

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