Schedule a Meeting in the Outlook Calendar on Windows


You can use your CUIMC email account to schedule meetings, appointments or events with others. When scheduling a meeting with other accounts or resources ending in @cumc.columbia.edu, @med.cornell.edu, or @nyp.org, you can use advanced features in the Scheduling Assistant (step 5 below) to see free and busy times.

  1. In Outlook, select the Calendar link (or icon) in the bottom left corner of the main window.
    Calendar Link in Outlook
  2. In the left column, select your desired date from the small month view in the top left; it will become highlighted (the current date is highlighted/outlined as well).
    The area to the right will display the Day view by the hour (if not, select the Day button towards the top, rather than Week or Month).
    viewing a Calendar date
  3. From the Day view, double-click into the approximate start time for the meeting request. An Appointment window will open; type in the desired Subject name and adjust any Start or End times as needed - you may also adjust the date if an incorrect date was selected.
    New Appointment Other useful options that can be selected here include:
    • Location - type in manually or select from the Location drop down menu. IMPORTANT: Including the location does not automatically reserve any listed room for the meeting, you must still contact the individual or department managing the room to verify that it can be used.
    • All day event - check the box to the right of the Start and End times.
    • Reminder - select the desired reminder time to the right of the bell icon in the top middle of the Appointment window.
    • Recurrence - allows you to set Daily, Weekly, Monthly or Yearly repetitions of the Appointment.
  4. Invite Attendees ButtonTo invite others to the meeting, select the Invite Attendees icon in the top row of the Appointment tab, then select the To button and find the desired individuals as described in Step 4 of the Send and Receive Messages instructions.
    NOTE: The window's title will change from Appointment to Meeting once you have added others in the To field.
  5. If you are inviting others that have an @cumc.columbia.edu, @med.cornell.edu, or nyp.org account (or resource), you can use the Scheduling Assistant to see available times for each and adjust the meeting time if necessary.
    • IMPORTANT: Do not manually type names or email addresses directly in the To field rather than using the Select Attendees: Global Address List, or their schedule will not appear as described below.
    • Select the Scheduling Assistant icon near the top of the Meeting tab and review the chart that appears to the right of each individual's name.
      Scheduling Assistant
    • Times that have been blocked out as Busy on another's Calendar will appear in blue; Tentative times appear in striped light blue.
    • The topmost bar in the chart shows the collective free and busy times for All Attendees. To change the desired meeting time simply click and drag the side of the vertical bracket that indicates your meeting's start and end times to a different place in the chart. Use the scroll bar at the very bottom of the chart to view more times and dates if needed.
    • Select the Appointment button at the top left of the window to return to the main Appointment view when done.
  6. If desired, type more information about the meeting into the body of the Appointment window.
    Tip: You can also attach files such as Word documents, PDFs, spreadsheets and more to the meeting. These can be saved and/or opened by the other Attendees. Either drag a file from your computer into the body of the Appointment, or select Insert tab, then the Attach File icon from the top row of the Appointment window.
  7. Select the Send button in the upper left corner to send the Meeting request to all of the Attendees.
    When the request has gone out, it will be saved in your Sent Items folder in Outlook.
    When attendees accept and send their replies to your meeting request, the replies appear in your Inbox.
    Accepted meeting request You can track the responses from attendees at any time by double-clicking on the meeting entry in your Calendar and selecting the Meeting tab - Tracking button in its upper left corner. Remember that the Tracking button only appears after the meeting invitation is sent out.
  8. If you need to make any changes to the meeting after it is scheduled, double-click on the Meeting in your Calendar to open it and edit as you normally would. When you are done, select the Send Update button to notify any Attendees of the changes.