How-to guides
Checking Availability (Free/Busy)
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Table of contents
Overview
The recommended method to check a person’s availability is to use the Calendar Scheduler Zimlet, available on the left side on the page in SFU Connect (under Zimlets). You may also view the Schedule tab while creating an appointment. Both the Calendar Scheduler and Schedule tab provide a cumulative free/busy view of all calendars of the attendees, locations or resources in a proposed meeting. This lesson will show you the steps of using the Schedule tab as a final check for conflicts or availability while proposing a meeting.
Note that even if someone has shared one or more of their calendars with you, you will need to verify with them that they do not have any other non-shared calendars that also report free/busy information.
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Navigate to the Calendar tab in SFU Connect.
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Click the 'New' button on the top left of the screen.
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Click on the Schedule tab.
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Choose the desired start/end date and time.
Adding Attendees, Locations and Resources
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Add attendees by typing in their e-mail addresses or names. You can also go to the Find Attendees tab to search for people.
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To choose a location or resource, you can click on the triangle beside the ‘Attendee’ icon. Next, begin typing in the location or resource name. Note: It is recommended to go to the Find Locations or Find Resources tabs to search for available locations or resources and add them from the search results.
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The attendees’ free/busy schedules will then be displayed. The green line indicates the proposed start time and the red line indicates the proposed end time.
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See the 'All Attendees' row for a consolidated view of the availability of all of the attendees, resources and locations you’ve added.
Adjust Start/End Date and Time
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You may adjust the start and end dates/times to suit the availability of all attendees, locations and resources. The vertical green line (indicating start time) and the vertical red line (indicating end time) will update accordingly.
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Here is an example of a time slot that suits all attendees, locations and resources, where there is a white space between the green vertical and the red vertical line.
