Tech Bits: Use FindTime to Schedule Meetings in Outlook

Trying to schedule a meeting with a large group of people? To simplify the effort in finding a suitable time for everyone, try the FindTime feature in Outlook.

FindTime suggests available meeting times based on the Outlook calendars of the attendees. You then select a few of these times and send them out as a meeting poll. Attendees then select the times that are best for them. When a consensus is reached, FindTime can automatically schedule the meeting and send out the invites.

Note that before you can use FindTime, you must first go through a quick set up process to install it.

Using FindTime to Schedule a Meeting
To schedule a meeting in the Outlook Desktop App with FindTime:

1. Create a new email and include the required attendees in the To field and optional attendees in the Cc field.

2. In the Message tab, select New Meeting Poll. Then select the meeting duration and click a few dates/times when everyone is available (listed in green). Then click Next.

3. Enter the meeting location. To conduct the meeting in Microsoft Teams, leave the check mark next to Teams Meeting. Otherwise, click the check mark to remove it. Under poll settings, you can also toggle the various settings on or off, such as:

   - Poll update notifications
   - Scheduling upon reaching consensus
   - Holding selected times on calendar

4. Finally, verify the times you selected and click Add to email. Then click Send.

To learn more, see How to create a FindTime poll.

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