Synchronized bookings with Microsoft Outlook

About synchronizing bookings with Microsoft Outlook

Bookings can be made from the Eptura Engage Outlook add-in, from the Eptura Engage web app via the 'Add to Outlook calendar' option, or directly from an Outlook calendar event - we call this 'Native Exchange booking'.

FAQ

1. How do I know if a booking is linked to an Outlook calendar event?

A booking linked to a Microsoft Outlook calendar event displays the Outlook icon both on the booking grid and on the 'Your bookings' list. The booking form displays a note to say, 'Linked to your Outlook calendar'.

Booking grid

Your bookings   Booking form

2. How do delegates create bookings?
   
   For delegate journeys where the event needs to be placed in another user’s calendar, we recommend using the Eptura Engage Outlook add-in or Native Exchange booking to book the room. This is because bookings created in Eptura Engage create calendar events in the organizer’s Outlook calendar.
    
3. Why don't I see the option to add a booking to my Outlook calendar?
   
   You must have an active calendar subscription to add a booking to your Outlook calendar. If you have subscribed and still don't see the option, then your administrator might have enabled the option by default, which means you don't have to - all bookings will automatically be synchronized with your calendar. You can check if you have subscribed from your user profile. Learn more: Your profile and settings
    
4. If I chose not to add the booking to my Outlook calendar when I created it from the web app, can I add it later?
   
   No. The option to add a booking to an Outlook calendar is only shown in the web app when a booking is created. When the option has been set, it cannot be changed for that booking. Similarly, when a booking is linked to an Outlook event, it cannot be unlinked.
    
5. Is the room equipment associated with a meeting space automatically invited to an event?
   
   Yes, an invitation is sent to the equipment mailbox.
    
6. How do I book the equipment mailbox if I did not add my booking to my Outlook calendar?
   
   The equipment must be booked manually.
    
7. Can we stop Teams-enabled calendar events from being created?
   
   Eptura Engage creates a Teams-enabled Outlook calendar event by default. The Eptura Engage administrator can disable this option globally if you use another online meeting provider. Learn more: Global settings for Microsoft Outlook
    
8. How do we invite virtual/remote attendees?
   
   Invite virtual/remote attendees via the Outlook event - either via the Outlook add-in where you can mark individual attendees as on-site or remote, or directly in the calendar event (Native Exchange booking) where all attendees are assumed to be virtual/remote. Attendees added to the Eptura Engage booking form are assumed to be attending on-site.
    
9. How do I set the host and requestor as attendees?

   The host and requestor must be manually added to the attendee list on the booking form if they are attending on-site, as they are not automatically added.

10. Is the Outlook calendar event canceled when I delete a booking from Eptura Engage?
    
    When the event organizer deletes a booking using the Eptura Engage web app*, they can choose whether to delete only the Exchange room or the entire event from the Microsoft calendar (the option is unchecked by default). However, if the booking is deleted by anyone else (including administrators) or by any other means, only the Eptura Engage meeting space booking and any associated Microsoft Exchange room are deleted; the event remains on the Microsoft calendar and must be canceled separately if required.
    
    *Today page - The option to delete the associated Outlook calendar event is not displayed when deleting a booking via the Today page. The behavior when deleting from the Today page is to keep the existing calendar event. 
    
    
11. When a user is deleted from Eptura Engage, are their bookings deleted from Microsoft Exchange?
    
    When an Eptura Engage user is deleted, their future bookings are deleted from Eptura Engage to make the resources available to others. However, the associated Microsoft Exchange room events are not automatically deleted from the user's calendar. By default, only the Eptura Engage meeting space booking and the associated Microsoft Exchange room event are deleted. The event remains on the Microsoft calendar and must be canceled separately if required.
    
    
12. Is an Outlook calendar event created when I make a booking directly from an Eptura or Condeco room screen?
    
    Yes, if Eptura Engage has access to the user's Outlook calendar, then an event is automatically created when the booking is created and authenticated from a meeting room screen.
     
13. Are bookings marked as 'private' synchronized?
    
    Yes, bookings marked as 'private' in Eptura Engage are synchronized with the user's Outlook calendar, and the corresponding Outlook calendar event is also marked as 'private'. Note that since the Outlook event is marked as private in the user's calendar, any changes to the event title are not synchronized back to Eptura Engage; however, the title can be updated in the Eptura Engage booking, which will update the Outlook event.
    
    
14. What happens if there is a conflict with the Exchange room's availability?
    
    If the selected room is not available in Exchange at the requested time, an email notification is sent to the user, and the booking is not created. When an existing booking is being updated, and a conflict is detected, the Exchange room is automatically removed from the Outlook event. 

Good to know

There are some differences in the way Eptura Engage and Microsoft Exchange behave, so keep in mind the following limitations:

• Maximum number of rooms: The Eptura Engage Microsoft 365 Integration currently supports up to 8 rooms for a single booking. If more than 8 rooms are added to a new booking, the option to add to the Outlook calendar is disabled. Users cannot add more than 8 rooms to existing bookings that are already linked to Outlook calendar events.
• Maximum number of instances: The maximum number of instances supported in a recurring booking series is 450. (The total number of instances is the number of spaces multiplied by the number of occurrences in the series).
• Linked room bookings: The Eptura Engage Microsoft 365 Integration does not currently support linked room bookings. If a linked room is added to a new booking, the option to add to the Outlook calendar is disabled. Users cannot add linked rooms to existing bookings that are already linked to Outlook calendar events.
• Advanced recurrences: Eptura Engage does not yet support some advanced recurrence patterns available in Microsoft Exchange. Unsupported recurrence patterns cannot be edited in Eptura Engage. Other updates are allowed.
• Excluding weekends: The option to exclude weekends for daily recurrences in Eptura Engage has been disabled as Microsoft Exchange does not support it. For similar functionality, users can select Monday to Friday as the recurrence pattern.
• Changing a meeting space: Changing the meeting space of a recurring booking only updates the space for future instances of the series in Eptura Engage, retaining the original space information for the past instances. However, Microsoft Exchange updates the room details for the entire series.
• Private flags: Microsoft Exchange only supports one private flag setting for an entire series of a recurring event; therefore, checking or unchecking the private flag in one instance of a recurring booking in Eptura Engage has no impact on the private flag setting in the Outlook calendar event.