Question
How do I share my uConnect calendar using OWA or by configuring email/calendaring client?
Overview
Your uConnect calendar can be shared by following the instructions provided below, using a supported email/calendaring client.
Answer
Sharing your uConnect Calendar from OWA
- Log in to OWA using a supported browser and click Calendar in the navigational bar across the top of the page.
- On the Calendar view, click the Share button in the upper right hand corner.
- A pop-up window will appear on the right hand side, type the name or email address of the person or persons you wish to share your calendar with in the Share to field.
- Customize the Subject (if preferred) and click the Send button.
Sharing your uConnect Calendar from Outlook 2010
- From on the Calendar view, click the Share Calendar button in the ribbon.
- In the pop-up window that opens, type the email addresses you wish to share your calendar with (or search the Global Address List by selecting To…) and click the Send button.
Sharing your uConnect Calendar from Outlook 2007
- From the Calendar view click on the Share My Calendar... link along the left hand side.
- In the pop-up window that opens, type the email addresses you wish to share your calendar with (or search the Global Address List by selecting To…) and click the Send button.
Sharing your uConnect Calendar from Outlook 2011 for Mac
- From on the Calendar view, select your calendar and click the Permissions button in the ribbon.
- In the Folder Properties: Calendar window, click the Add User button.
- In the Select User window, type the person’s loginID, email address, or name into the search field. Select the person you would like to share your calendar with and click the OK button.
Sharing your uConnect Calendar from Apple Calendar (iCal)
- From the Calendar or iCal menu, choose Preferences.
- Click the Accounts button and then select the Delegation tab.
- Click the Edit button in the lower right hand corner.
- Click on the + (plus) button in the lower left and search for the person you would like to share your calendar with. Once you have selected them click the Done button.
Sharing your calendar between Office 365 and uConnect (on-premise)
- Sharing calendars between Office 365 and uConnect on-premise mailboxes is possible up to Reviewer level permissions. If your calendar was shared with another user before you or they were migrated to Office 365 with higher level permissions then they will need to be removed and re-added using one of the methods explained above.
uConnect Calendaring Troubleshooting and Tips
When using uConnect's (Microsoft Exchange) calendaring feature across multiple devices it is sometimes possible that, among other things, recurring calendar items appear and disappear, ownership for an event or meeting changes, and meeting times can be inconsistent amongst attendees. This is usually not a problem with Exchange, but with how varied devices and their software communicate with it. Microsoft licenses what is called ActiveSync to other companies so that they can use it for their hardware to effectively communicate with Exchange. The way ActiveSync is implemented is entirely up to those companies and does not always work seamlessly. Microsoft is aware of this reality and has written extensively about it here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2563324
The following are some measures users can take to minimize calendaring issues:
- Be sure to send notifications for every change made to all in attendance when updating a calendar item.
- It would be wise to include a message about what each update is. If you are an attendee and not an organizer, it would be important to accept or deny each change, instead of simply deleting them if you think they are not relevant. Some clients allow you to forego this and this can cause problems. You may want to set up a rule that filters all of your calendar notifications into a specific folder so they do not flood your inbox and tempt you with mass-deletion.
- Avoid managing your calendar over multiple devices. OWA and Outlook 2010 are most reliable Exchange clients.
- If you have your calendar synced with iOS or Android devices use them for informational purposes. Wait until you can access OWA or Outlook 2010 to accept, deny, and send calendar notifications.
- Make sure all of your devices that read or manage your calendar are up to date.
- Avoid having multiple delegates and people (including yourself) manage your calendar.
- Try to avoid this where possible and only have one delegate. It's not because exchange cannot handle multiple delegates, but that it increases the likelihood of calendaring being done across varied and sometimes unreliable devices.
- Only use the recurring meeting feature if the time and place every week is the same.
- If something changes for one week, cancel that week's meeting and make an entirely new event/meeting, as opposed to modifying that week only. For recurring meetings, Microsoft recommends not scheduling more than six months out. For longer periods, create a new recurring meeting.
- Pay attention to time zones when making meeting times.
- This is particularly important for people who travel extensively for work. Mobile devices will often change time according to what time zone you are in without notifying you.
- You may have the privilege of directly proposing rooms and resources to a meeting but it is best to invite them to your meeting instead.
- Ask the owner of the resource to allow conflicts so that if you are scheduling recurring meetings it will only notify you of conflicts with the specific incident of a recurring meeting, which you can then address according to the recommendations above.
Syncing Google Calendar with an Exchange or Office 365 Calendar is not supported.
If you have any questions or notice any other trends in this known issue you would like to discuss, feel free to send an email to uconnect-help@ucdavis.edu or call IT Express at 530-754-4357.