Can a shared calendar accept meeting requests automatically?

Question

In our office, we have a shared "Vacation" where people list their off days. The issue is that our personal calendar will need a separate entry to show we are out of the office that day. So, the thought is to create a meeting request in our personal calendar where we invited the shared calendar user ("Vacation") and have it automatically accept meeting requests. Since "Vacation" is a shared calendar, I guess it would need to be a server side option where meeting requests for that shared calendar is automatically accepted and deleted when the meeting is cancelled.

Solution

Assuming your server is Exchange 2007 or above then you can configure a resource mailbox to automatically accept meetings.

Technet

Use the Calendar Settings tab to modify the Calendar Attendant settings for this mailbox. The Calendar Attendant processes meeting requests as they come in, even if users are not currently logged on by means of a client such as Outlook. Meetings are automatically placed on the calendar as "Tentative" so timeslots won't be overbooked. You can use the Calendar Attendant to accept and decline requests for users.

• Enable the Calendar attendant Select this check box to enable the Calendar Attendant or clear the check box to disable it. It is enabled by default. When Calendar Attendant is enabled, the following settings are made available:

• Remove meeting forward notifications to the Deleted Items folder If you select this check box, meeting forwarding notifications are moved to the Deleted Items folder after they are processed by the Calendar Attendant. This setting is disabled by default.

• Remove old meeting requests and responses If you select this check box, the Calendar Attendant removes old and redundant updates and responses. This setting is enabled by default.

• Mark new meeting requests as Tentative If you select this check box, incoming meeting requests are marked as "Tentative" on the calendar. If you don't select this check box, pending requests are marked as "Free". This setting is enabled by default.

• Process meeting requests and responses originating outside the Exchange organization If you select this check box, the Calendar Attendant will process meeting requests that originate outside the Exchange organization. This setting is disabled by default.

Comments

[Raystafarian]

help.utk.edu/kb/index2.php?func=show&e=347 - I don't know how to make that server side. eh, guess you just do it locally community.spiceworks.com/topic/…

[Sun]

The alternative is to just control copy the calendar item to the shared calendar.