Microsoft KB Archive/161478

= OL97: Conditions That Affect Display of Free/Busy Time =

Article ID: 161478

Article Last Modified on 1/19/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Outlook 97 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q161478





SYMPTOMS
After you make an appointment in your active Calendar, other people may not immediately see that time as busy. This condition may also occur when someone attempts to invite you to a meeting.



CAUSE
There are three possible causes for this behavior:


 * By default, Outlook updates your free/busy time every 15 minutes. If the update is not complete, others will not see your appointment as busy time.
 * By default, Outlook publishes your free/busy time for only two months - the current month and the next month. If your appointment is beyond the published limit, others will not see your appointment as busy time.
 * If the appointment Show Time As property is set to Free, others will not see your appointment as busy time. By default, this value is set to Busy.

The unavailability of Free/Busy information appears as black hatched lines in the availablity dialog.



Updated Free/Busy Time
If the cause is how often Outlook updates free/busy time, follow these steps:
 * 1) On the Tools menu, click Options to open the Options dialog box.
 * 2) In the Options dialog box, click the Calendar tab, and then click the Advanced Scheduling button to open the Advanced Scheduling dialog box.
 * 3) In the "Update free/busy information on the server every <15> minutes" box, type how often you want the server to update.
 * 4) Click OK twice to return to Outlook.

Published Free/Busy Time
If the cause is how far ahead Outlook publishes free/busy time, follow these steps:
 * 1) On the Tools menu, click Options to open the Options dialog box.
 * 2) In the Options dialog box, click the Calendar tab, and then click the Advanced Scheduling button to open the Advanced Scheduling dialog box.
 * 3) In the "Publish <3> month(s) of Calendar free/busy information on the server" box, type how far ahead you want the server to publish free/busy time.
 * 4) Click OK twice to return to Outlook.

Appointment Property Not Set Correctly
If the cause is that the Appointment Show Time As property is not set to Free, follow these steps:
 * 1) Double-click to open your appointment.
 * 2) Click the Appointment tab.
 * 3) In the Show Time As list, click Busy or Out Of Office to indicate that you are not available during the appointment.
 * 4) On the Standard toolbar, click Save And Close.

