Scheduling and joining meetings

Schedule a Teams meeting from Teams

From Teams, select the Calendar app from the bar to the left of the Teams window and then click + New meeting.

Provide a succinct title for the meeting by typing it into the Add title text box.

Click into the Add required attendees text box and type the name of your first chosen attendee. When you see them appear in the list of possible attendees, select them.

Repeat this until you have invited everyone you need to attend.

If there are people you would like to attend, click + Optional and list those optional attendees.

Next select a start and end time and date for the meeting.

Any attendees that are coloured with a red tone cannot attend your chosen time. To locate a better time slot, either select one of the suggested times or click Scheduling Assistant and locate a slot that works for everyone.

As soon as you've found a time slot that works for everyone, or as many people as you can, select it and then click Details to return to the meeting details page.

If the meeting to take place is within a specific channel (remember, within Teams, channels are built around specific topics, like “General”, “Team Events” or “R&D” for instance) you don’t need to select attendees, instead select the channel from the Add channel text box. The entire team that can access the channel will then be able to join the meeting by viewing the event in the channel. Any files shared or notes taken within the meeting will then be shared with the channel.

If some meeting participants are coming together in a meeting room or rooms, click into the Add location text box and first select a building and then select a meeting room that is shown as Free.

This not only schedules the room to help avoid double-bookings, it also allows those attendees to access the meeting room equipment in those rooms in which the equipment has been installed.

To add further rooms, click out of the text box and then click back in to it and either select another room in the same building, or navigate back to view all the buildings, select the building and select a room that’s free.

Add whatever notes are appropriate to describe the meeting’s purpose, desired outcomes and any necessary pre-work etc.

When the meeting invitation is ready to be sent, click Send.

Schedule a Teams meeting from Outlook

Launch Outlook and open the Calendar.

From the ribbon, select New Teams Meeting.

Type a succinct meeting title into the Title text box.

To add required or optional attendees, either type their email address into the text box or click the Required or Optional buttons.

Locate either individuals or teams in the list of contacts and add them one at a time to the required or optional attendee lists by clicking either Required or Optional.

When you have built your list of attendees, click OK.

Set the start and end date and time that works for you. Then take a look at the Suggested times panel to see if there are any conflicts for other participants. If there are, use one of the suggested times.

Using the Location button allows you to set a meeting room location. Once selected, make sure there is no conflict and that the room is free.

Note, you’ll need to allow the location to be changed from a Teams meeting to a meeting room, but you can still use Teams to attend the meeting. You will only be able to add one meeting room though. So, if your meeting needs to use multiple rooms, schedule the meetings directly from within Teams.

Don’t edit or delete any of the text between the two lines in the body of the meeting invitation. You can add text above and below the lines and you can add attachments to the invitation if you wish.

When you are ready to send the meeting invitation, click Send.

Tracking meeting invitation responses

If you have organised a meeting, you can check to see how invitees have responded. Open the Teams Calendar and click the meeting that you want to check.

Look to the right side of the window, to view the Tracking information.

Here you can see who has accepted the invitation, declined it or not responded.

Cancel a meeting

To cancel a meeting, open your Teams Calendar and click the meeting that you want to cancel.

Click Cancel meeting.

Add a cancellation message, if you wish, and click Cancel meeting.

Update a meeting time, place or attendees

Open your Teams Calendar and click the meeting that you want to update.

Make whatever changes you need to the attendee list, the date and time, the location and any notes.

When you are done, click Send update. All invitees will be updated with your changes.

Join a meeting

When a meeting is about to start, you’ll be reminded. Simply click the Join option in the reminder.

Alternatively, open your Teams Calendar and click the Join button on the meeting appointment.

When you have set up the video and audio settings as you want them to be, click Join Meeting and moments later, you’ll be in the meeting.