Most calendars are shared in Outlook by default. While you may not see the details of each event, you can view the availability of most individuals and resource calendars.

Using the Scheduling Assistant is ideal for booking one-off meetings with a group. If you need to check a colleague’s availability, you can map their calendar to view their free times. Similarly, mapping a room’s calendars allows you to see availability, upcoming reservations, and the status of your bookings.

Note 1: As of Outlook 16.89 on macOS (New Outlook on macOS), these instructions do not work. You will have to use Outlook on the Web to map shared calendars.

Note 2: The instructions below are are new Outlook on the Web and for new Outlook in Windows. The instructions are the same for both.

Steps to map and view a shared calendar.

1. Launch the Outlook client or Outlook on the Web and go into the calendar view.
2. Show the Navigation Pane (if not visible) – If you don’t see the left Navigation pane, click on the “Show navigation pane” icon (three horizontal lines) on the upper left corner.
3. Create a new Calendar Group (Optional but Recommended) –  The steps are briefly outlined in Figure 1 below. Right-click on the ellipses next to any existing calendar group(2) and then select “New Calendar Group”

Figure 1.

4. Then click on the “Add Calendar” towards the top of the left Navigation pane. This brings up the Add Calendar dialog.

5. Add a Calendar: The steps are outlined in Figure 2, select “Add from directory”(1),  select your login(2) as the account to search the directory from, search for the calendar you wish you view(3)**, and finally select the calendar group you list to list this calendar under(4).

Figure 2

** – If you are unable to find the room calendar, enter it exactly as shown in our Drop-In Spaces & Reservations list, including with the “iSchool.” prefix.