SUMMARY

In Outlook 97 you can schedule the use of resources such as conference rooms and AV equipment. To do this you must define an e-mail account for each resource. To reserve these resources you invite them to meetings and activities just like individuals. These resources can be setup to automatically accept or reject scheduling requests or you can assign a delegate to handle these decisions.

This article includes an extract from the Office 97 Resource Kit (ORK), chapter 31, WORKGROUP FEATURES IN MICROSOFT OUTLOOK, Group Scheduling section. It describes the process for setting up and scheduling resources for use in Outlook.

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Scheduling Resources

With Outlook, you can plan schedules not only for workgroup users but also for resources such as conference rooms and AV equipment. This feature makes it easy for everyone in a workgroup to see when resources are available and to reserve the resources in advance. Users can include the resources, along with other attendees, in a meeting request. You can configure each resource account to accept or reject meeting requests automatically, or you can have requests for several resources handled by a single delegate.

To set up a resource on Outlook, first create an e-mail account for each resource, just as you would for a workgroup member. If a delegate is assigned for a resource, you can configure the resource account so that users send meeting requests directly to the delegate.

Unlike Schedule+ resource accounts, Outlook resource accounts cannot be booked directly. To set up automatic booking of Outlook resource accounts, you must configure the resource account so that Outlook automatically responds when meeting requests are delivered to the Inbox. To do this, you must have Outlook running on a computer and logged on to the resource account.

If you want to centralize booking of several resources, you can assign a single delegate to multiple resource accounts and then configure the delegate to respond to meeting requests automatically. All meeting requests sent to the resources are forwarded to the delegate for processing. The advantage to this method is that only one computer is required to handle multiple resources. For example, you can set up a dedicated computer, with Outlook logged on to the delegate account, to handle the booking of several conference rooms at once.

• To assign a delegate to an Outlook resource account.

1. Create an e-mail account with the name of the resource. For example, create an e-mail account with the name Conference Room 3/422.

2. Create an e-mail account for the delegate. You can create a dedicated delegate account, or you can use an existing user account. For example, you may use a receptionist's e-mail account for booking all conference rooms in a building.

3. Start Outlook and log on to the resource account.

4. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Delegates tab.

5. Click Add.

6. In the Add Users dialog box, select the delegate user, click Add, and then click OK.

7. Set the permissions you want the delegate to have, then click OK.

8. On the Delegates tab, select the Send meeting requests and responses only to my delegates, not to me check box. (This option is not available before you add the delegate.)

You can also set up the resource account to handle meeting requests automatically.

• To enable automatic booking of resource requests.

1. Start Outlook and log on to the delegate account.

2. On the Tools menu, click Options, then click the E-mail tab.

3. Select the Process requests and responses on arrival check box.

4. Click the Calendar tab, and then click Advanced Scheduling.

5. Under Processing of meeting requests, select the check boxes that correspond to the options you want to use. Select all three options for complete automatic booking of all meeting requests forwarded to the delegate. If you select only some of these options, you must log on to the delegate account periodically to accept or reject meeting requests.

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