Delegates can accept and decline requests to reserve moderated room and equipment resources in using the Outlook application or Microsoft 365 online.

Before You Begin

Users can manage the scheduling and availability of rooms and equipment provided by their department or unit. Rooms and equipment are sometimes referred to as resources.

• Rooms - Rooms can be reserved for meetings and other events. This includes conference rooms and other meeting spaces.
• Equipment - Equipment can also be reserved, this typically includes things like laptops and projectors, but could include any type of equipment, and is dependent on the department.
  
  

Moderated Resources

This article describes how to manage moderated room and equipment resources using Outlook 2010, Outlook 2011, Outlook 2013, Outlook 2016 and Microsoft 365 (Outlook Web App & Formerly Office 365). 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 Microsoft 365, 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, 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.

Calendar for the Resource

A room or equipment resource has a calendar in Microsoft 365, 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 the Outlook desktop client or online. 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 a Microsoft 365 client as the resource. Instead, you must open the shared calendar 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.

To View a Calendar

In Outlook, 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, do the following:

1. Open Outlook.
2. Click Calendar on the left side of the window.
3. Locate the section labeled My Calendars on the left side of the window.
   3a. Your personal Exchange calendar is shown here and is named Calendar.
   3b. Any room or equipment resources for which you are a delegate will appear here too.
4. Put a checkmark next to the calendar you wish to display.
5. You can also remove the check mark next to any calendars you wish 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 2010/2013/2016, it is displayed next to your other open calendars in a side-by-side fashion.

Microsoft 365 Outlook Web App

In Microsoft 365 online, 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 window.

To view the calendar for a shared resource you manage using Microsoft (Office) 365, do the following:

1. Go to Office365.IllinoisState.edu and log in.
2. Click the Calendar tile to open the Calendar app.
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 checkmark next to the calendar’s name from the list on the left side of the window. When you view a shared calendar online in Microsoft 365, 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, they 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.

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

In Microsoft 365 online, 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 Office365.IllinoisState.edu and log in.
2. Click the Mail tile.
3. Right-click on your name on the left side of the window above your Microsoft 365 Inbox.
4. Click Open Other User’s Inbox from the pop-up menu that appears.
5. Enter the name of the resource in the Name field.
6. Click OK.
   6a. 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.

How to Get Help

• Technical assistance is available through the Technology Support Center at (309) 438-4357, by email at SupportCenter@IllinoisState.edu, or by Live Chat at Help.IllinoisState.edu.