Condeco Outlook add-in for Smart Calendar
Bookings created in your Outlook calendar using the Condeco Outlook add-in are automatically synchronized with Condeco and you can view and amend them using Condeco on the web. However, bookings created using Condeco on the web or the Condeco mobile app are not visible in your Outlook calendar and must be viewed and amended in Condeco.
The behavior of Condeco Outlook add-in can differ slightly from the Condeco web application. Read on to learn more.
General:
Making and editing bookings:
- Booking form
- Booking type
- Seating styles and setup/clean-down periods
- Services
- Mandatory booking information
- Cost codes
- Appointments in the past
- Moving appointments to new dates
- Moving appointments when they are in progress
- Recurrences
- Condeco mobile app
Group types:
Managing bookings:
Multiple and linked meeting spaces:
Default location
The default location initially set in the Condeco Outlook add-in is retrieved from the user’s profile, however, subsequent changes to the defaults set in Condeco Outlook add-in do not update the user’s profile on the web application.
Email notifications
Smart Calendar generates email notifications for the following events:
- One-time-key user registration: When a user starts the Condeco Outlook Add-in for the first time, an access code is sent to the user via email.
- Automatic alternative (single instance): If an alternative meeting space is selected by Smart Calendar when a meeting is moved on the Outlook calendar, the organizer and attendees are notified via email.
- Automatic alternatives (recurrence): If alternative meeting space(s) are selected by Smart Calendar when the chosen meeting space is not available for all the dates of a recurring meeting, the organizer and attendees are notified via email.
- Booking declined: If a requested booking is declined by an administrator, the organizer is notified via email.
- Room services email: If a meeting space providing services is booked, the meeting organizer is sent an email listing the available services and containing a direct link to request the service items from the Condeco web app.
Good to know
- Emails generated by Smart Calendar cannot be customized.
- Booking confirmation emails are not sent from Condeco when a successful booking is made using the Condeco Outlook add-in, however, Condeco will send a notification if an alternative meeting space has been automatically applied to a booking, or if a booking is not able to be completed for any reason.
- Email notifications about services are only sent if the booked meeting space offers additional services.
Permissions
Only meeting spaces the user has permission to book are shown in the Condeco Outlook add-in search results.
Booking form
Certain functions on the Condeco booking form are disabled when bookings are created using the Condeco Outlook add-in:
- The meeting creator becomes the ‘Host’ and ‘Requestor’ on the booking form and this cannot be changed.
- Visitors cannot be added.
- Additional meeting spaces cannot be added.
Booking type
The default booking type (set for the group) is automatically selected and cannot be changed using the Condeco Outlook add-in.
Seating styles and setup/clean-down periods
When a meeting space is booked using the Condeco Outlook add-in the default seating style for the meeting space is applied, along with the default setup and clean-down times. These options can be changed from the booking form in the Condeco web app.
Services
When a meeting space offering services is booked, the meeting organizer is sent a Room Services email containing a link to the Condeco booking form where services can be requested. Although notification periods and other rules are enforced when services are added to the booking via the booking form, rules are not enforced if a user changes an appointment directly in their calendar
Mandatory booking information
Booking information set as mandatory in the web application, such as cost codes, custom fields, attendee details, etc., is not required when making bookings using the Condeco Outlook add-in.
Cost codes
Cost codes cannot be entered from the Condeco Outlook add-in but they can be added to the booking through the Condeco web application.
Appointments in the past
- A meeting space booking cannot be added to an appointment in the past.
- If an appointment with a meeting space booking is moved from the past to a future date/time, Condeco creates a new booking in the same meeting space, if available. If the meeting space is unavailable at the new time, Condeco will suggest an alternate meeting space matching the booking requirements.
- If an appointment with a meeting space booking is moved from the future to a date/time that has passed, the meeting space booking is canceled.
- If a meeting space is added to an appointment series where some instances are in the past, the meeting space will only be added to future instances of the series. Instances in the series that have passed are individually marked as ‘out of series’.
Moving appointments to new dates
If business rules are breached when an appointment is moved to a new date on an Outlook calendar, the booking is automatically canceled. The organizer is sent an email notification and the meeting space information is removed from the Outlook appointment.
Moving appointments when they are in progress
We do not recommend moving bookings that are in progress. If an appointment is moved on the calendar when the meeting status is ‘in progress’, the appointment is closed and a new booking is created at the new time. Services selected on the original booking and available at the new time are created in the new booking, but booking rules may prevent some services from being created.
Recurrences
When searching for a meeting space for a recurring appointment, the Condeco Outlook add-in lists meeting spaces available on the first date in the series. Once a meeting space is selected, it is booked on all subsequent dates in the series where available. If the meeting space is unavailable on any of the dates in the series, an alternative meeting space is automatically selected and booked for those dates, and the corresponding instances in the series are updated. If no alternative meeting space is available for a particular date, no meeting space is booked for that instance of the series.
Condeco mobile app
Currently, when using the Condeco mobile app you cannot edit bookings created using the Condeco Outlook add-in, you can only view them.
Managed meeting spaces
- Managed meeting space bookings require approval and show as Pending approval in the Condeco Outlook add-in. Once the booking is approved or rejected, the user is notified by email.
- Meeting spaces in Managed groups show the Request button on the add-in regardless of whether the organizer has administrator access to the group (and would therefore normally see the Book button rather than the Request button). However, when an administrator of the group clicks Request, the request is automatically approved and the meeting space is immediately booked.
Blind managed meeting spaces
Blind managed meeting spaces are not supported by the Condeco Outlook add-in and will not show in the search results.
Waitlist
Waitlist bookings are not supported by the Condeco Outlook add-in.
Meeting bumps
When a booking is not started within the assigned period, it is bumped by Condeco and the meeting organizer notified by email. The appointment remains in the Outlook calendar but the meeting space is removed from the location.
Multi-room and conference bookings
Currently, only one meeting space per appointment can be booked using the Condeco Outlook add-in.
Linked meeting spaces and multiple meeting spaces
Linked meeting spaces and multiple meeting spaces are not currently supported.
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