The Exchange 2007 Scheduling Assistant in action

by Scott Lowe MCSE | Apr 19, 2007 12:00:00 AM

Tags: Scott Lowe MCSE, E-mail Administration Tips Newsletter, Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, Screen, Scheduling Assistant, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Office, Groupware, Office Suites, Software, Enterprise Software

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Takeaway: The Scheduling Assistant eases the burden of tracking down meeting invitees' schedules.

How often do you use Exchange 2003/Outlook 2003's meeting request capabilities, only to find that you still need to scroll all over the place to find a time that works for all participants? And then you need to book a conference room. Exchange 2007, when used with Outlook 2007 or Outlook Web Access 2007, makes handy work of this task with the Scheduling Assistant.

The Scheduling Assistant takes a look at the calendars of everyone you've invited to a meeting and checks to see if they are all available. That�s nothing new. Exchange has done that for a long time. Exchange 2007, however, takes things one step further and suggests to you what days and times work best for everyone you�ve invited, also taking into account the location you�ve picked for the meeting. Exchange then color-codes each day on a calendar to let you know which days are good and which are not. Figure A shows an example. A dark blue day is very poor; in other words, your attendees are mostly busy. A light blue day is a little better. A white day means that your chosen attendees are mostly free. Note that Figure A is a screen shot from Outlook Web Access. The screen looks a little different in Outlook 2007.

Figure A