How many times have you experienced indecision when scheduling a meeting? It’s difficult enough to set one up, but it gets more complicated when everyone’s schedules simply don’t align. Sometimes, colleagues who are always on the move become almost impossible to track down to a particular time, even for a virtual meeting.
FindTime is a free add-in for Outlook that helps you schedule the perfect meeting time for everyone. With FindTime, you will be able to propose your selected times and share those with all attendees so that everyone can vote and determine their preferences or the most favorable available meeting times.
Once everyone has reached a consensus, FindTime sends out the meeting invite on your behalf. This makes it easier and gets rid of the time going back-and-forth to find the best meeting time.
The FindTime add-in for Outlook is back! Thank you for your feedback. Download it here to make scheduling meetings a breeze: https://t.co/Jb2Cnqwh6W pic.twitter.com/pcrZcq2aOK
— Microsoft Outlook (@Outlook) November 9, 2017
Requirements and installation
The good thing to know is that invitations can be sent to any email address. This includes people who don’t have the FindTime add-in. They can simply vote for the meeting hours.
First, you will need to have an Outlook 365 work or school subscription. Unfortunately, Outlook 365 Home is currently not supported. It also requires having Exchange Online. On-premise, dedicated, or hybrid exchange configurations are also not supported right now. There are different ways to install this add-in, so let’s get right down to it.
Find it for free in the Microsoft Office Store
-
- Once you are in the store, type “FindTime” in the search box.
- Click the “Get it now” button to start the download.
- Sign in to your account with your email address.
- Follow the instructions.
- Restart Outlook or refresh the Outlook page on the web.
Going through the FindTime page
-
- In the FindTime page, you should hit the “Install For Free” blue button.
- When you see a FindTime announcement, hit the “I’m ready!” option.
- Sign in to your account with your email address.
- Follow the instructions.
- Restart Outlook or refresh the Outlook page on the web.
Get it from Microsoft Office 365
-
- For those who are subscribed, open Outlook.
- Open the apps navigation bar that shows all available apps. Scroll down until the Office Store.
- Type “FindTime” into the search box and click the result.
- Click the “Get it now” button to start the download.
- If you have permission to install add-ins, the process should go straightforward using default settings.
Now that FindTime is installed, when you open Outlook you will see a new toolbar icon, “Reply with Meeting Poll”. The first time you use FindTime, you must link it to your Office 365 account. This is done for any of the above-mentioned ways. All you need to do is click the “Link now” button.
Install FindTime for all users in your organization
Installing an application across an organization. Thankfully, administrators can install FindTime for business users through the Exchange Administration portal. From there, they can select Applications, then select New +. This would let them choose a location from the following which it will be installed.
-
- Office store: Select FindTime, and hit Add.
- URL: Enter the full URL of the manifest file of the application you want to install.
- File: Select Browse, and then go to the location of the manifest file of the application you want to install.
Start scheduling
To start, simply compose an email with your meeting invites. Click the appropriate “New Meeting Poll” button. You should note that the text on the button may vary depending on the Outlook version you have. After you hit the FindTime button, it may ask you to log in.
Once you’re in, choose the duration of the meeting. Change the date if you are looking at a meeting in the future, and it will show you the options as to when your invitees are available. Icons in green or red would signify a person’s availability. You can also add a location for the meeting.
Clicking “Insert to Email” will include the invite in the body of the email and it will email the attendees an inquest so they can choose which times are better for them. Everyone will get an email and will have to vote, and you will get a copy of each person’s vote. FindTime will automatically schedule the meeting based on the time with more votes. After this, you will get replies for who accepts or declines the meeting.
Collaborating with people across the board is indispensable, and FindTime will help in bringing people together. With this add-in available, scheduling meetings will become easier, giving time for more productive work.
YouTube: FindTime – Discover the easiest way to find time to meet across companies
Photo credit: The feature image has been taken by Marvin Meyer. All other images used are owned by Microsoft and were provided for press usage.
