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In Outlook, a feature called Scheduling Poll helps minimize the back and forth emails when scheduling meetings by letting you send a poll to meeting attendees inside and outside your organization. The poll allows attendees to vote on which meeting times work best for their schedule.
Scheduling Poll can be accessed through Outlook for Windows, Outlook for Mac, and Outlook on the Web. Click the button below to view specific instructions for using Scheduling Poll in each Outlook application:
Outlook for Windows (Classic)
In Classic Outlook for Windows, you can access Scheduling Poll in Mail and in Calendar.
Accessing Scheduling Poll in Mail:
1. In Outlook from Mail, you can access Scheduling Poll as follows:
a. Select Reply with Scheduling Poll on the Home tab when an email is open in the reading pane.
b. Click New Email to create a new message or click reply or forward from an existing message. List required recipients in the To field and optional recipients in the Cc field. On the Message tab, select New Scheduling Poll.
Accessing Scheduling Poll in Calendar:
1. In Outlook from Calendar, you can access Scheduling Poll by either clicking New Meeting from the Home tab to create a new meeting event or by opening an existing meeting. List required attendees in the Required field and optional attendees in the Optional field. Click New Scheduling Poll under the Meeting tab.
Creating a Scheduling Poll in Windows (Classic):
1. Once you've accessed Scheduling Poll and have selected your meeting attendees, select the meeting settings.
a. View all your polls: Click this link to view and manage all the polls created by you.
b. Time zone: Select the time zone dropdown menu to change the time zone for the meeting (it will default to your organization's time zone, so for Auburn, it will show Central Time).
c. Duration: Select a meeting duration from the list.
d. Meeting hours: Leaving the default toggle to "on" checks available meeting times during workdays and working hours only.
e. Date picker: The date picker allows you to choose different dates to see time availability. You can add times from different dates to a poll. Use the left and right arrow buttons to go to the previous or next day and use the calendar icon (between the arrow buttons, as shown in the screenshot below) to jump back to today.
2. Scheduling Poll looks through the attendee's schedules and suggests a list of suitable meeting times. Any external calendars that are not associated with a Microsoft 365 account will show attendee's availability as unknown.
a. People Icons: Hovering over the person icon will show participants' availability and whether they are required or optional.
i. Underlined: Organizer
ii. Green: Available
iii. Red: Busy
iv. Purple: Out of Office
v. Gray: Unknown
b. Expand/Collapse button: Will allow you to see a detailed list of participants' availability and whether they are required or optional for a given time suggestion.
3. Select a few suitable meeting times. The Next button will be enabled if you select one or more options.
4. Click Next. You will be presented with the list of selected times and poll settings before you can finish creating the poll.
a. You can now delete any selected meeting times by clicking the delete icon in the Selected times list.
b. You have the option to add a meeting location.
c. Online meetings are enabled by default. Click the Online Meeting checkbox to disable it.
d. Use the expand/collapse button to view options under Manage poll settings.
i. Schedule when attendees reach consensus: A calendar event is automatically scheduled if all required attendees have voted in favor of a specific time option. If multiple options are available, the earliest option will be scheduled.
ii. Hold selected times on my calendar: A tentative event is placed on your calendar for each time option you propose. All holds are removed when the meeting is scheduled, or the poll is canceled.
iii. Notify me about poll updates: You'll receive an email each time an attendee votes. The message includes the current poll status and an option to schedule.
iv. Require attendees to verify their identity: To help prevent anonymous voting, attendees will be required to authenticate before voting.
v. Lock poll for attendees: Attendees will not be able to suggest new times or edit other attendees.
5. Click Create poll. Scheduling poll inserts the poll details into your email body which includes a link to the voting page and a link to all the polls you've created so far.
6. Click Send to send the email and start the voting process.
Additional information on Scheduling Poll can be found on Microsoft's Access Scheduling Poll Support Page and Microsoft's Create a Scheduling Poll Support Page.
Outlook for Windows (New)
In New Outlook for Windows, you can access Scheduling Poll in Mail and in Calendar.
Accessing Scheduling Poll in Mail:
1. In Outlook from Mail, create a new email or select an email to reply to. In a new email, list required attendees for the meeting in the To field and optional attendees in the Cc field. Select Scheduling poll in the Message tab.
Accessing Scheduling Poll in Calendar:
1. Create a new meeting event or select an existing event to edit it. List required attendees in the Invite attendees field and click the optional button to add optional attendees. Select Scheduling poll in the Event tab.
Creating a Scheduling Poll in Windows (New):
1. Once you've accessed Scheduling Poll and have selected your meeting attendees, select the meeting settings.
a. View all your polls: Click this link to view and manage all the polls created by you.
b. Time zone: Select the time zone dropdown menu to change the time zone for the meeting (it will default to your organization's time zone, so for Auburn, it will show Central Time).
c. Duration: Select a meeting duration from the list.
d. Meeting hours: Leaving the default toggle to "on" checks available meeting times during workdays and working hours only.
e. Date picker: The date picker allows you to choose different dates to see time availability. You can add times from different dates to a poll. Use the left and right arrow buttons to go to the previous or next day and use the calendar icon (between the arrow buttons, as shown in the screenshot below) to jump back to today.
2. Scheduling Poll looks through the attendee's schedules and suggests a list of suitable meeting times. Any external calendars that are not associated with a Microsoft 365 account will show attendee's availability as unknown.
a. People Icons: Hovering over the person icon will show participants' availability and whether they are required or optional.
i. Underlined: Organizer
ii. Green: Available
iii. Red: Busy
iv. Purple: Out of Office
v. Gray: Unknown
b. Expand/Collapse button: Will allow you to see a detailed list of participants' availability and whether they are required or optional for a given time suggestion.
3. Select a few suitable meeting times. The Next button will be enabled if you select one or more options.
4. Click Next. You will be presented with the list of selected times and poll settings before you can finish creating the poll.
a. You can now delete any selected meeting times by clicking the delete icon in the Selected times list.
b. You have the option to add a meeting location.
c. Online meetings are enabled by default. Click the Online Meeting checkbox to disable it.
d. Use the expand/collapse button to view options under Manage poll settings.
i. Schedule when attendees reach consensus: A calendar event is automatically scheduled if all required attendees have voted in favor of a specific time option. If multiple options are available, the earliest option will be scheduled.
ii. Hold selected times on my calendar: A tentative event is placed on your calendar for each time option you propose. All holds are removed when the meeting is scheduled, or the poll is canceled.
iii. Notify me about poll updates: You'll receive an email each time an attendee votes. The message includes the current poll status and an option to schedule.
iv. Require attendees to verify their identity: To help prevent anonymous voting, attendees will be required to authenticate before voting.
v. Lock poll for attendees: Attendees will not be able to suggest new times or edit other attendees.
5. Click Create poll. Scheduling poll inserts the poll details into your email body which includes a link to the voting page and a link to all the polls you've created so far.
6. Click Send to send the email or event and start the voting process.
Additional information on Scheduling Poll can be found on Microsoft's Create a Scheduling Poll Support Page.
Outlook for Mac
In Outlook for Mac, you can access Scheduling Poll in the New Outlook for Mac through Mail. New Outlook for Mac requires macOS version 10.14 (Mojave) and later. In Legacy Outlook, Scheduling Poll is branded as FindTime Scheduling Poll.
Accessing Scheduling Poll in Outlook for Mac from Mail:
1. In Outlook for Mac from Mail, click New Mail to create a new email or select an email to reply to. In a new email, list required attendees for the meeting in the To field and optional attendees in the Cc field. Click the three dots in the mail message and click Scheduling poll.
Creating a Scheduling Poll in Outlook for Mac:
1. Once you've accessed Scheduling Poll and have selected your meeting attendees, select the meeting settings.
a. View all your polls: Click this link to view and manage all the polls created by you.
b. Time zone: Select the time zone dropdown menu to change the time zone for the meeting (it will default to your organization's time zone, so for Auburn, it will show Central Time).
c. Duration: Select a meeting duration from the list.
d. Meeting hours: Leaving the default toggle to "on" checks available meeting times during workdays and working hours only.
e. Date picker: The date picker allows you to choose different dates to see time availability. You can add times from different dates to a poll. Use the left and right arrow buttons to go to the previous or next day and use the calendar icon (between the arrow buttons, as shown in the screenshot below) to jump back to today.
2. Scheduling Poll looks through the attendee's schedules and suggests a list of suitable meeting times. Any external calendars that are not associated with a Microsoft 365 account will show attendee's availability as unknown.
a. People Icons: Hovering over the person icon will show participants' availability and whether they are required or optional.
i. Underlined: Organizer
ii. Green: Available
iii. Red: Busy
iv. Purple: Out of Office
v. Gray: Unknown
b. Expand/Collapse button: Will allow you to see a detailed list of participants' availability and whether they are required or optional for a given time suggestion.
3. Select a few suitable meeting times. The Next button will be enabled if you select one or more options.
4. Click Next. You will be presented with the list of selected times and poll settings before you can finish creating the poll.
a. You can now delete any selected meeting times by clicking the delete icon in the Selected times list.
b. You have the option to add a meeting location.
c. Online meetings are enabled by default. Click the Online Meeting checkbox to disable it.
d. Use the expand/collapse button to view options under Manage poll settings.
i. Schedule when attendees reach consensus: A calendar event is automatically scheduled if all required attendees have voted in favor of a specific time option. If multiple options are available, the earliest option will be scheduled.
ii. Hold selected times on my calendar: A tentative event is placed on your calendar for each time option you propose. All holds are removed when the meeting is scheduled, or the poll is canceled.
iii. Notify me about poll updates: You'll receive an email each time an attendee votes. The message includes the current poll status and an option to schedule.
iv. Require attendees to verify their identity: To help prevent anonymous voting, attendees will be required to authenticate before voting.
v. Lock poll for attendees: Attendees will not be able to suggest new times or edit other attendees.
5. Click Create poll. Scheduling poll inserts the poll details into your email body which includes a link to the voting page and a link to all the polls you've created so far.
6. Click Send to send the email or event and start the voting process.
Additional information on Scheduling Poll can be found on Microsoft's Access Scheduling Poll Support Page.
Outlook on the Web
In Outlook on the web (owa.auburn.edu), you can access Scheduling Poll in Mail and in Calendar.
Accessing Scheduling Poll in Mail:
1. In Outlook from Mail, create a new email or select an email to reply to. In a new email, list required attendees for the meeting in the To field and optional attendees in the Cc field. Select Scheduling poll in the Message tab.
Accessing Scheduling Poll in Calendar:
1. Create a new meeting event or select an existing event to edit it. List required attendees in the Invite attendees field and click the optional button to add optional attendees. Select Scheduling poll in the Event tab.
Creating a Scheduling Poll in Outlook on the Web:
1. Once you've accessed Scheduling Poll and have selected your meeting attendees, select the meeting settings.
a. View all your polls: Click this link to view and manage all the polls created by you.
b. Time zone: Select the time zone dropdown menu to change the time zone for the meeting (it will default to your organization's time zone, so for Auburn, it will show Central Time).
c. Duration: Select a meeting duration from the list.
d. Meeting hours: Leaving the default toggle to "on" checks available meeting times during workdays and working hours only.
e. Date picker: The date picker allows you to choose different dates to see time availability. You can add times from different dates to a poll. Use the left and right arrow buttons to go to the previous or next day and use the calendar icon (between the arrow buttons, as shown in the screenshot below) to jump back to today.
2. Scheduling Poll looks through the attendee's schedules and suggests a list of suitable meeting times. Any external calendars that are not associated with a Microsoft 365 account will show attendee's availability as unknown.
a. People Icons: Hovering over the person icon will show participants' availability and whether they are required or optional.
i. Underlined: Organizer
ii. Green: Available
iii. Red: Busy
iv. Purple: Out of Office
v. Gray: Unknown
b. Expand/Collapse button: Will allow you to see a detailed list of participants' availability and whether they are required or optional for a given time suggestion.
3. Select a few suitable meeting times. The Next button will be enabled if you select one or more options.
4. Click Next. You will be presented with the list of selected times and poll settings before you can finish creating the poll.
a. You can now delete any selected meeting times by clicking the delete icon in the Selected times list.
b. You have the option to add a meeting location.
c. Online meetings are enabled by default. Click the Online Meeting checkbox to disable it.
d. Use the expand/collapse button to view options under Manage poll settings.
i. Schedule when attendees reach consensus: A calendar event is automatically scheduled if all required attendees have voted in favor of a specific time option. If multiple options are available, the earliest option will be scheduled.
ii. Hold selected times on my calendar: A tentative event is placed on your calendar for each time option you propose. All holds are removed when the meeting is scheduled, or the poll is canceled.
iii. Notify me about poll updates: You'll receive an email each time an attendee votes. The message includes the current poll status and an option to schedule.
iv. Require attendees to verify their identity: To help prevent anonymous voting, attendees will be required to authenticate before voting.
v. Lock poll for attendees: Attendees will not be able to suggest new times or edit other attendees.
5. Click Create poll. Scheduling poll inserts the poll details into your email body which includes a link to the voting page and a link to all the polls you've created so far.
6. Click Send to send the email or event and start the voting process.
Additional information on Scheduling Poll can be found on Microsoft's Access Scheduling Poll Support Page.