How to use Outlook Calendar 'Scheduling Assistant' to find available meeting times

Summary

This guide helps you troubleshoot and resolve: How to use Outlook Calendar 'Scheduling Assistant' to find available meeting times. Follow the steps below to fix the issue.

Common Causes

Coordinating meetings across a small business or home office can be challenging when juggling multiple schedules. The Scheduling Assistant in Microsoft Outlook allows you to analyse the availability of your colleagues in real-time, ensuring you select a time slot that works for everyone without the need for back-and-forth email chains.

How to use the Scheduling Assistant

Creating a New Meeting

1. Open Outlook and navigate to the Calendar view using the icon in the bottom-left or side navigation bar.
2. Click New Meeting (or New Event in the web version) from the top ribbon.
3. In the To or Required field, type the names or email addresses of the attendees you wish to invite.

Accessing the Assistant

1. Once your attendees are added, click the Scheduling Assistant button located in the top ribbon.
2. You will now see a grid view. The vertical axis lists the attendees, and the horizontal axis shows the time of the day.
3. Analyse the grid:
   • Empty white blocks: The person is available.
   • Coloured/Hatched blocks: The person has a conflicting appointment (Busy).
   • Grey blocks: No information is available for this user (they may have restricted their calendar permissions).

Selecting the Best Time

1. Scroll through the timeline to find a vertical column where all attendees have white (available) blocks.
2. Click and drag your mouse across the desired time slot to highlight it.
3. Once the time is selected, click Appointment with Attendees or OK to return to the main meeting window.
4. Add your meeting title, location, and description, then click Send.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

I cannot see my colleagues' availability

If you see grey bars or "No Information" for a colleague, it is usually due to one of the following reasons:

• Permissions: The user has not shared their calendar details with the organisation. They will need to adjust their sharing settings to "Can view when I'm busy".
• External Users: You cannot see the detailed availability of people outside your organisation (e.g., clients or vendors) unless they have explicitly shared their calendar with you via a public link.
• Syncing: If you have recently added a user, it may take a few minutes for the Global Address List (GAL) to sync.

The Scheduling Assistant is missing

If you cannot find the button, ensure you have actually added at least one attendee to the meeting. The Scheduling Assistant is designed for group coordination and may be hidden or disabled if you are creating a solo appointment.

If you continue to experience synchronisation issues with your calendar, please Open a Ticket for further technical analysis.

Still Having Issues?