Scheduling Resources for Microsoft Outlook

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Scheduling Resources for Microsoft Outlook

If you have resources, such as conference rooms, that you want users to be able to book as they invite people to meetings, you can use several possible methods:

Maintain the resource as an Exchange Server mailbox and ...

... use a server-based script or event sink to accept bookings, or

... set it up as a resource so that Outlook 2000 and later can book it directly

... use a delegate to handle meeting requests automatically or manually, or

... allow at least some users to add and edit items in the resource's calendar directly

Maintain the resource as an Exchange Server public folder holding appointment items

Mailbox + script

For Exchange 2000 and 2003, both free (AutoAccept Sink for Exchange) and commercial (Exchange Resource Manager) event sinks can automatically accept and decline meeting requests for resource mailboxes.

For Exchange 5.5, the AutoAccept Utilities by Robert Strong handle recurring meeting requests, allow you to restrict access to a particular resource through a distribution list and perform optional diagnostic logging to a folder in the resource's mailbox. Custom attributes on the resource mailbox control the optional features. A setup wizard is included. If you have installed Exchange 5.5 Service Pack 4, you probably also need the fix detailed in this article:

XADM Recurring Appointments Created by CDO Are Not Added to Local Free-Busy Map

If you are booking the resource with a script, you should not open the Calendar folder directly. Doing so may cause the free/busy information for the folder to become corrupted. See XCLN: Resource Calendars Display Incorrect Free and Busy Times.

Outlook 2000 and later (direct booking)

Outlook 2000 and later versions allow users to directly book resources without the need for a script or delegate.

To set up a resource calendar folder for direct booking, create an Exchange mailbox for the resource, then use Outlook 2000 or later to log directly into the resource mailbox and set the Resource Scheduling options in Tools | Options | Calendar Options. Create a single item in the calendar to make sure that something shows up in its free/busy time for you to check. Also grant the Author role on the Calendar folder to everyone you want to be able to book the resource. The easiest way to do this is with a distribution list or security group in the Global Address List.

The clients must book all appointments with a specific Outlook technique: On the Attendee Availability tab of a meeting request, click Invite Others to add one or more resources to the Resources box. Make sure you add them as resources. If you add them as required or optional attendees, the resources will not be automatically booked.

TIP: Using your Exchange Server administration tool, set the mailbox to not accept messages from anyone. (A distribution list or security group is good for this.) That way, if users forget and add the resource as a required or optional attendee, the request will bounce back to them from the resource mailbox.

If you choose more than one resource -- such two comparable conference rooms -- you can click AutoPick and have it find the next available time for either resource.

Also see:

(CW) Direct Booking of Resource Without a Delegate Account

How to Use Offline Booking of Resources

OL2000 (CW) How to Disable Direct Booking

OL2002 Direct Booking Accepts Appointments Even If the Availability Cannot Be Confirmed -- fix in SP2

Using and Configuring Outlook Direct Booking

OL2002 Error Message You Cannot Schedule a Meeting with Resource Name Because You Do Not Have the Appropriate Permissions

Mailbox + direct creation

Direct creation simply means that you grant certain users Editor access to the resource's Calendar folder. They can then create meetings directly in the resource's Calendar. See:

OL97: Direct Booking of a Resource without a Delegate Account

If you use the direct creation method, see How do I keep from sending a mail message to someone on the Attendees list for a meeting? for a technique to prevent yourself from getting a meeting request message for meetings you are creating for someone else.

Mailbox + delegate

With Outlook 97 and 98, if you are not using an autoaccept script or event sink and want an Outlook resource to accept meeting requests automatically, the resource must be assigned to a delegate, and that delegate account must be running Outlook and stay logged into the Exchange Server at all times.

Don’t worry; this doesn’t mean that you need a dozen systems running Outlook just to book the dozen conference rooms. A single computer running Outlook all the time, perhaps that of your receptionist, can act as the delegate for several resource accounts.

Detailed instructions are provided in the Office Resource Kit, MSKB and TechNet:

Microsoft Office 97 Resource Kit - Group Scheduling

OL97: How to Create a Resource Account in Outlook

For best results, on the Attendee Availability tab of a meeting request, click Invite Others to add the resource to the Resources box.

How do you keep unauthorized people from requesting a meeting in the room? In the Microsoft Exchange Administrator program, you can use the Delivery Restrictions tab on the Properties dialog for the conference room’s mailbox to allow only certain people to send messages to the conference room. Anyone else trying to send a meeting request to the conference room will get a non-delivery report with the distinctly unfriendly message, “A restriction in the system prevented delivery of the message.” This method could result in administrative headaches if too many users try to book the room and then call you to find out what that message means.

An interesting alternative is to create two rules on the delegate's Inbox that look for the Meeting Request form -- one rule for requests from valid users that just stops processing subsequent rules and a second rule that sends a reply back to the sender or moves them into another folder. You'll need Outlook 98 to do this, because Outlook 97 doesn't allow you to create a rule for items that use the Meeting Request form.

If you still have Schedule+ on at least one machine, you can try setting up the resource account with Schedule+ rather than Outlook. According to a microsoft.public.exchange.clients newsgroup posting by Amiri Jones (author of the Exchange Server Admin FAQ), if you go this route, you will not need to add the account to an Outlook profile; the resource will automatically accept meetings on its own. (I was not able to get this to work myself, but a few people have reported success.)

Public folder (direct creation)

Maintaining a resource in a public folder is a variation on the direct creation theme. Users who want to schedule the resource make appointments directly in the public folder. Use permissions on the folder to restrict who has access to the resource.

The two disadvantages of this method are that the folder resource's availability is not shown in the Meeting Planner, where you see the free/busy times for everyone else, and you cannot invite the folder resource to a meeting. You must book it directly by making an entry in its folder.

If you want to explore a web-based approach, check out ADSI and CDO Programming with ASP. One of the sample applications in this book is a web-enabled resource scheduling program for a public folder.

Tools

About:Time for Exchange Server	Scheduling enhancement for Exchange 2000 to optimize resources by managing by activity (such as scheduling a series of interview rooms for an employment prospect's visit), balancing resource use, and accounting for travel times in building schedules. Uses Outlook or Outlook Web Access as the client. Also exposes scheduling information as XML Web Services for integration with Office XP and other applications. A separate version is also available for Microsoft Small Business Server 2003.
AutoAccept Sink for Exchange	Free open source Exchange 2000 event sink to automatically accept and decline meeting requests for resource mailboxes.
Calendar Browser for Outlook	Calendar Browser for Outlook is a solution for booking resources of any kind within an organization � from meeting rooms, cars and projector equipment to personnel. Search for free resources, see descriptions and book, all in one tool. Graphical WYSIWYG html editor. Integrated statistics tool. Groupware, for both public folders and mailboxes. Works with Outlook 2000�2007.
Exchange Resource Manager (ERM)	A server-based resource management extension allowing IT departments to better manage corporate conference rooms and resources in an Exchange environment. It is compatible with Exchange 2000 and Exchange 2003.
Resource Central	Identify your room/resource and order additional services such as catering, AV-equipment, and/or transportation when you book your Outlook resources.
SimPhonE	SimPhonE provides integrated device management and control through the touchscreen and keyboard interface of an IP Phone or in room touchscreen. Can be configured to work with Exchange server.

More Information

Folder Cleanup Script -- Useful if you want to delete all messages in the Sent Items folder that are generated if the resource mailbox sends a response to the originator of an appointment

Schedule Management Tools -- Utilities to help manage conference rooms and other resources, adding workflow, resource balancing, catering requests, etc.

Migrating Special Mailboxes to Exchange 2000 -- e.g., resource mailboxes

Creating Resource Mailboxes in Exchange 2000

OL2002 Error Message You Cannot Schedule a Meeting with Resource Name Because You Do Not Have the Appropriate Permissions

Updated Feb 20 2008