University Computer Help Desk

Managing moderated rooms and equipment in Exchange using Outlook and OWA

Delegates can accept and decline requests to reserve moderated room and equipment resources in Exchange using Outlook 2007, Outlook 2010, Outlook 2011, or OWA.

Before You Begin

Exchange allows you to manage the scheduling and availability of rooms and equipment provided by your department or unit. Rooms and equipment are sometimes referred to as resources.

  • Rooms - Rooms in Exchange can be reserved for meetings and other events. This includes conference rooms and other meeting spaces.
  • Equipment - Equipment can also be reserved through Exchange. This typically includes things like laptops and projectors, but could include any type of equipment.

For more information about room and equipment resources, refer to:

Moderated Resources

This article describes how to manage moderated room and equipment resources in Exchange using Outlook 2007, Outlook 2010, Outlook 2011, and Outlook Web App (OWA). A moderated resource is managed by a person responsible for approving or denying reservation requests. Resources can also be configured to auto-accept requests, but this option is not discussed here.

Delegate for the Resource

To manage a room or equipment resource, you must be a delegate for that resource. When a moderated resource is added to Exchange, one or more delegates for the resource are specified by the person making the request.

As a delegate for a moderated resource, you will receive an email when someone requests to use that resource. For example, when someone creates a meeting and wants to reserve a room you manage, you will receive an email from Exchange, just as if you had personally been invited to the meeting. You would then accept or decline the meeting invitation on behalf of the room.

Exchange Calendar for the Resource

A room or equipment resource has a calendar in Exchange, which is used to manage the dates and times for when the resource has been reserved. As a delegate, you will access the shared calendar for the resource through an Exchange client, such as Outlook 2007, Outlook 2010, Outlook 2011, or OWA. This will allow you to review requests to reserve the resource, as well as to approve or deny them.

Room and equipment resources do not have passwords. You cannot log in to an Exchange client as the resource. Instead, you must open the shared calender for the resource to manage it.

Open Shared Calendar for a Resource

To complete the instructions below, you must be a delegate for the room or equipment resource. These instructions also assume that you are managing a moderated resource.

Outlook 2007 and Outlook 2010

In Outlook 2007 and Outlook 2010, the calendar for a resource you manage will automatically appear in the My Calendars list on the left side of the window. This is due to special access you were granted when you were made a delegate for the room or equipment resource. (This differs from normal delegate access, which does not automatically add the calendar to Outlook for you.)

To view the calendar for a resource you manage using Outlook 2007 or Outlook 2010, do the following:

  1. Open Outlook 2007 or Outlook 2010.
  2. Click Calendar on the left side of the window.
  3. Locate the section labeled My Calendars on the left side of the window.
    • Your personal Exchange calendar is shown here and is named Calendar.
    • Any room or equipment resources for which you are a delegate will appear here too.
  4. Put a check mark next to the calendar you want to display.
    • You can also remove the check mark next to any calendars you want to hide.

The calendar for the resource is displayed. You can hide the shared calendar by removing the check mark next to the calendar's name from the list on the left side of the window. When you view a shared calendar in Outlook 2007 or Outlook 2010, it is displayed next to your other open calendars in a side-by-side fashion.

Outlook 2011

In Outlook 2011, you must open the Delegates window and add the resource you manage. This will cause the shared calendar for the resource to appear in your Shared Calendars list on the left side of the Outlook 2011 window.

To view the calendar for a resource you manage using Outlook 2011, do the following:

  1. Open Outlook 2011.
  2. Click Calendar on the left side of the window.
  3. Click Tools > Accounts...
  4. Select your Exchange account on the left side of the Accounts window.
  5. Click Advanced....
  6. Click Delegates.
  7. Click the plus (+) icon below the box labeled People I am a delegate for:.
  8. Enter the name of the room or equipment resource for which you are a delegate and click Find.
  9. Select the resource from the list of search results. Then click OK.
  10. Click OK again.
  11. Close the Accounts window.

The name of the resource appears on the left side of Outlook 2011 under the Shared Calendars heading. Put a check mark in the box next to the shared calendar's name to display it. When you view a shared calendar in Outlook 2011, it is displayed as an overlay on top of your personal calendar. Each calendar is assigned a color and events on each calendar bear that color.

You may find it useful to hide your personal calendar and any other calendars you are currently displaying so it's easy to tell which events are on the shared calendar for the resource. Remove the check mark next to a calendar name to hide it from view.

Outlook Web App (OWA)

In OWA, you must add the shared calendar for the resource you manage. The shared calendar will then appear in your People's Calendars list on the left side of the OWA window.

To view the calendar for a shared resource you manage using OWA, do the following:

  1. Go to https://owa.illinoisstate.edu/ and log in.
  2. Click Calendar on the left side of the window.
  3. Click Share > Add Calendar... at the top of the window.
  4. Enter the name of the room or equipment resource for which you are a delegate and click OK.
  5. Select the resource from the list of search results. Then click OK.

The calendar for the resource is displayed. You can hide the shared calendar by removing the check mark next to the calendar's name from the list on the left side of the window. When you view a shared calendar in OWA, it is displayed next to your other open calendars in a side-by-side fashion.

Accept or Decline Meeting Invitations

When someone wants to reserve a room or equipment resource, he or she will invite the resource to a meeting (along with other attendees). There are two ways you can approve or deny requests to reserve a room or equipment resource. You can click Accept or Decline in the meeting invitation emails you receive, or you can open the tentative events that appear on the resource's calendar and accept or decline the meeting invites that way.

Meeting Invite Emails

As a moderator (delegate) for a room or equipment resource, you will receive emails for meeting invitations sent to the resource. You can act on these emails to accept or decline the meeting invitations.

Important: Meeting emails for the room or equipment resource will not be delivered to your personal Exchange Inbox. Instead, they will go to the Inbox for the resource.

In Outlook 2007, Outlook 2010, and Outlook 2011, you will see that a new Inbox for the resource is available. This is where you will find meeting emails for the resource.

In OWA, you need to add the Inbox for the resource before you can act on meeting emails it has received. Do the following:

  1. Go to https://owa.illinoisstate.edu and log in.
  2. Right-click on your name on the left side of the window above your Exchange Inbox.
  3. Click Open Other User's Inbox... from the pop-up menu that appears.
  4. Enter the name of the resource in the Name... field.
  5. Click OK.
    • If multiple matches are found, select the desired resource from the list of search results and click OK again.

The Inbox for the room or equipment resource appears on the left side of the window below your personal Exchange account mailboxes. Click the arrow next to the resource's name to expand its mailbox list. When people reserve the resource you manage, meeting invitation emails will be delivered to the resource's Inbox.

After you accept or decline a meeting invitation, the meeting invite email will not go to your Deleted Items folder like other meeting invitations do. Instead, you must manually delete the email.

For example, someone creates a new meeting invitation and invites three people. They need a place to meet, so the meeting organizer also invites the room you are responsible for managing. As the moderator for that room, you will receive an email invitation. After logging in to Exchange, open the Inbox for the resource and click Accept or Decline in the meeting invitation email to allow or deny the meeting organizer to reserve the room.

Tentative Calendar Events

When someone invites a resource you manage to a meeting, a tentative event will appear on the calendar for that resource. Rather than act on the emails you received, you can open the tentative event on the resource's calendar and accept or decline the request.

While this method will work, it is more efficient to act on meeting emails than tentative calendar events. Meetings can be scheduled months in advance (up to 180 days in advance, by default). If someone requests to reserve a resource that far in advance, you won't notice the tentative event on your calendar unless you're actually looking at the calendar's upcoming months.