Sharing a Calendar & Viewing Shared Calendars in Outlook
When a user gives another user permission to view their calendar, using the Delegates tool, it allows that user to view the other user's calendar side by side with their calendar, and to view the details of most events on the calendar. Today's tip will show users how to view a shared calendar and a shortcut to sharing their own calendar with others.
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Before a Calendar Can be Viewed
Here is a link to the March 3, 2006 Computing Tip that covered Delegates and Permissions in Outlook. Reviewing that tip before reading this tip might help those who are not familiar with the concept of delegation of permissions in Outlook.
In order to view another users calendar, that user must delegate permission to review, author or edit their calendar. Again, this process is explained in the March 3, 2006 CTOW. Once they have giving you permission to view their calendar, the process is fairly easy.
Opening a Shared Calendar
In the Calendar Folder the Navigation Pane on the left side of the screen has a link to Open a Shared Calendar. If the Navigation Pane is not visible, go to the View Menu and click on Navigation Pane.
Here is what that pane looks like before any shared calendars are added. (Note: most users will not have multiple calendars listed under "My Calendars")
To Open a Shared Calendar, go to the Calendar Folder and click on the link that is shown outlined in Red in the image to the left. This will open the Open a Shared Calendar dialog box. Either type their user name in the text box or click on the "Name" button. Clicking on the "Name" button will open a dialog box similar to the Global Address Book and allow the user to search for the name. In this example, I am going to add "Conference Room 107", which has a shared calendar that all staff at 780 Regent Street can access.
Once the name of the user is added, click on OK. The calendar will appear next to the user's calendar and is also added to the list of "Other Calendars" in the Navigation Pane. Here are those two views:
Side by side calendars and the Navigation Pane with the new shared calendar listed under "Other Calendars.
When viewing another user's calendar, any events or appointments that have been marked as "Private" might still appear. It is important to understand that even though you have marked something as private others might see it if you share your calendar with them. The one way to guarantee that private events remain private is to create a second calendar for personal events and put those items on that calendar. That calendar cannot be shared. We'll cover how to do that next week.
Sharing Your Calendar
If one takes a close look at the Navigation Pane in the Calendar Folder, there is a second link, Share My Calendar. This is a second way to share a calendar without going through the Options Dialog Box. Clicking on the "Share My Calendar" link opens the Calendar Properties dialog box. Click on the Add button to search for the name of the individual the calendar will be shared with.
Then they are added to the list of names. At this point, users can set the Permission Level - Reviewer, Editor, Author, etc. By selecting a Permission Level the settings below the Permission Level drop down box will be a filled in with the appropriate permissions. Users can also start with a default permission level and then modify it by clicking on any of the options to create a custom permission level.
Once the Permission Level is set, click on OK and your calendar can be opened as a shared calendar by that user.
Finally, the user can chose to show or not show the shared calendar by checking or un checking the check box in the Navigation Pane next to that user's name.
Next week's tip will cover creating additional calendars for personal or project use.