Sharing is caring: how to seamlessly integrate a colleague’s calendar into your Outlook
Ever wished you could see your colleague’s schedule right alongside your own in Outlook? It’s easier than you think! Whether it’s to check their availability for a meeting or simply to coordinate schedules, to add someone’s calendar to Outlook is a breeze. It fosters better communication, eliminates scheduling conflicts, and keeps everyone on the same page.
How to view your colleague’s calendars:
Open the calendar tab of Outlook
Right click the My Calendars heading and select Add Calendar -> From Address Book
Find the target colleague’s email address from the list, Click Calendar to add them to the list and click OK.
You can add several colleagues’ calendars at the same time.
Your colleagues’ calendar will now be listed under your visible calendars.
How to control what your colleagues can see from or do with your calendar.
Now you know how to add someone’s calendar to Outlook, how do you control what others can do with it?
Please note that for your colleagues to see anything, they’ll need to follow the steps above to add your calendar to their list.
These options will give you more control over who can see what you’re doing, and possibly give them access to book new or re-arrange old meetings and appointments.
Start by Right Clicking your calendar from the menu on the left and go to Sharing Permissions
which will bring up the calendar permissions page.
In the top section of this menu you can see who has access to your calendar already and what they can do with it. By default this is set so that anyone in your organization can see when you have appointments or meetings set, but these will only show up as times that you are “busy”
You can click on Add to open your address book.
Use this to add any people or groups that you’d like to grant more or less visibility of your access.
Simply find your target audience in the address book and click Add.
You can add multiple people or groups at the same time, when you’re done, click OK to confirm.
You can now set the level of info you’d like this newly set up group to be able to see from your calendar. The options are as follows:
None: These people cannot view your calendar at all. Please note that this can make it more difficult for others to book meetings with you, as they’ll have no visibility of your existing meetings and availability.
Can view when I’m busy: People set to be able to view when you’re busy will be able to see the scheduled events themselves in your calendar, but wont be able to see any of the information about them.
Instead, they will only see the time that you’re unavailable for as “busy”
This is the default for people within your organization, as it grants enough information for others to book in meetings with you without revealing any sensitive information.
Can view titles and locations: will let anyone with this level of access see the name of the meeting, and where it’s taking place, but they wont be able to open the meeting notes and read any of the details.
Can view all details: People with this level of access will be able to open your calendar events and read all of the details in them.
Can Edit: If you grant anyone access to edit your calendar, they will be able to see everything in your calendar and make changes as if the calendar was their own.
This setting should only be enabled for secretaries or managers who want to directly manage the calendars of their staff.
Conclusion
With these simple steps to add someone’s calendar to Outlook, you can easily integrate colleagues’ calendars into your Outlook view, streamlining collaboration and scheduling. Whether you’re managing a team project, coordinating meeting times, or simply staying informed about your colleagues’ availability, Outlook’s calendar sharing features have got you covered.
Remember, mastering Outlook’s calendar features can significantly enhance your productivity and communication at work. So, don’t hesitate to experiment with different views, sharing options, and customization settings to find what works best for you and your team. With a bit of practice, you’ll be an Outlook calendar pro in no time!
I hope you liked this quick how to guide on how to add someone’s calendar to Outlook. If you have any suggestions and feedback, or if you’d like us to write a guide on something else for you, please get in touch.
