10 Minute Guide to Schedule+ for Windows 95 - Lesson 18 - Sending Meeting Requests on a Network   In this lesson, you will learn how to send out meeting invitations and manage responses to the requests on your network. Calling a Meeting Once you find an appropriate time to have the meeting (see Lesson 17), youíre ready to invite the attendees. You need to use the Meeting Request form. Mind you, everybody you invite has to be hooked up to a mail server and the Microsoft Exchange system in order to receive your invitation. (This includes people youíre inviting who are outside of your network environment, such as colleagues at other companies.) Although Schedule+ automates scheduling and tracking of meetings, all attendees do not have to have Schedule+ to receive invitations to your meeting. If you meet these requirements, youíre ready to start sending out meeting requestsóthe actual invitations to attend the meeting. You can use Schedule+ís Meeting Wizard to help you call a meeting. You can also use the Request Meeting button on the Planner tab. When you set up a meeting, you must identify all the people whom you are inviting, choose a meeting time, send out request messages, and receive responses to the messages. First, take a look at the Meeting Request form. Sending Out Invitations with the Meeting Request Form To invite the attendees yourself, you can fill out the Meeting Request form and e-mail it to the people you want to attend. Follow these steps to use this feature: 1. From the Planner view tab, click on the Request Meeting button in the Attendees box. 2. The Meeting Request dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 18.1. If youíve already determined the names of the people attending and their appropriate categories, you notice that Schedule+ fills in the top portion of the form with this information. If not, you need to fill in the text boxes indicating where you are holding the meeting and who needs to attend (fill in the To and Cc boxes). Figure 18.1 The Meeting Request form. (It looks like a typical e-mail from.) 3. Next, click inside the Subject text box and type a description of the meeting. This description appears in the schedules of the attendees. 4. Use the large text box to add any notes about the meeting or to type a meeting memo. 5. If you need to attach files to the message or prioritize message importance, use the toolbar buttons to do so. (You use these same toolbar buttons on the network e-mail system.) 6. When youíre ready to send the message, click on the Send button on the toolbar. This sends the e-mail request and exits the form. Using the Meeting Wizard An easier way to send invitations is with the Meeting Wizard. The Meeting Wizard button appears on your Schedule+ screen if youíre using group-enabled mode. Take a look at Figure 18.2 to find the button. To use it, click on the Meeting Wizard button on your toolbar and follow the prompts that appear. The Meeting Wizard leads you through all the steps and coordinates a time and date for the meeting. All you have to do is answer its questions and click on the Next buttons to proceed from dialog box to dialog box. Keep in mind that each wizard dialog box focuses on a particular aspect of the meeting, such as who to invite or where to hold the meeting.  Figure 18.2 The Meeting Wizard button appears on your toolbar if youíre using group-enabled mode. To use the Meeting Wizard, follow these steps: 7. Click on the Meeting Wizard button on the toolbar (see Figure 18.2), or open the Tools menu and select Make Meeting. 8 .The Meeting Wizard dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 18.3. Select the categories of people you want to attend and click on the Next button. Figure 18.3 The first Meeting Wizard dialog box. 9. The second Meeting Wizard dialog box prompts you to select the names of your attendees. You can type the names directly or select them from your network Address Book (click on the Pick Attendees button). After selecting names, click on the Next button to continue to yet another wizard dialog box. 10. The next wizard dialog box gives you the option of selecting a location in which to hold your meeting. Make your selection and click on Next to continue to another wizard dialog box. 11. In the next Meeting Wizard dialog box, you can select a duration time for the meeting. You can even factor in driving time if you are holding the meeting off-site. Make your selections and click on Next. 12. The next wizard dialog box asks you to choose an acceptable time range and potential days for holding your meeting. Make your selections and click on Next. Warning! A warning box appears if Schedule+ cannot find information about a requested attendee. This only happens if you choose an attendee who is not using Schedule+ on your network, or if the person isnít using Schedule+ in group-enabled mode. 13. In the next wizard dialog box, you can see the available free and busy times of the attendees youíre inviting, and Meeting Wizard enables you to find out which dates, times, and locations are good for all attendees. If you donít like the time the Meeting Wizard chooses, click on the Pick Next Time button to have Meeting Wizard locate another time. Click on Next to continue to another wizard dialog box. 14. When you make it through all of the Meeting Wizardís questions, it prompts you to send a Meeting Request form. Click on the Finish button, and the Meeting Request form appears on-screen (refer to Figure 18.1). 15. The Meeting Request form lists all the attendees whom you want to invite, and the time and location of the meeting. Fill in the rest of the form and click on the Send button on the toolbar to send out the invitations. Tracking Responses As each attendee responds to your meeting request, the responses show up in your Inbox (part of your network e-mail system). You can easily identify the responses by symbols. Youíre Invited If you happen to receive an invitation, open it up by double-clicking on the meeting request message; Schedule+ coordinates the request with your schedule and lets you know if you can make it or not. To automatically reply, click on the Accept, Decline, or Tentatively Accept button. This opens a mail window in which you can respond to the originator. The originator of a meeting request can track responses to the invitations and find out whoís coming to the meeting and whoís not. If youíre the one doing all the inviting, hereís how to track the attendeesí responses: 1. Open your schedule to the Daily view tab and double-click on the meeting slot in your appointment book to open the Appointment dialog box. 2. Click on the Attendees tab to bring it to the front. 3. As each attendee responds to the request, her name appears in the list with a symbol next to it. The symbol indicates the attendeeís status regarding your meeting. Table 18.1 shows what each symbol means. 4. To close the dialog box, click OK. Table 18.1 Identifying Responses to Meeting Invitations Symbol Meaning Accepts invitation Declines invitation Tentatively accepts invitation Accepts and includes a message response Declines and includes a message response Tentatively accepts and includes a message response No response yet Need Extra Help? To learn more about using Schedule+ in a network environment, have your network administrator give you a few lessons. In this lesson, you learned how to arrange meetings with other users on your network. In the next lesson, youíll learn how to customize your Schedule+ program.

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