Group Calendar in SharePoint 2010

Probably you have heard about Group Calendar Feature in SharePoint 2010 which enhances the Calendar Functionality. a were specially attracted by the new Resource Management feature in SharePoint to manage Rooms. Customers asked us, if the still can use Room Manager, and to be honest, you will not be happy with the Group Calendar function in SharePoint 2010; because there are many features missing in there. At the End of this Page, you will find a comparison Sheet, between Group Calendar and Room Manager! My First impression is, that Group Calendar is quite clumsy to use, and not usable as a Room Management and Resource Management solution like Room Manager for SharePoint is.

Use a SharePoint Group Calendar

A SharePoint 2010 group calendar enables you to see multiple calendars at the same time. For example, a SharePoint group calendar is helpful when you schedule a team meeting, because you can see the availability of team members and conference rooms.

Configure a SharePoint calendar as a group calendar

In a SharePoint calendar, in the ribbon, click the Calendar tab, and then click List Settings.
Under General Settings, click Title, description and navigation.
In the Group Calendar Options section, set Use this calendar to share member’s schedules to Yes. This enables you to create events in the calendar with attendees.
If you want to use this calendar to scheduled resources, such as conference rooms, as well as people, set Use this calendar for resource reservation to Yes. This enables you to create events in the calendar that include resources, such as conference rooms.

Note If the Use this calendar for resource reservation option is not available, the Group Work Lists feature is not enabled for the site. Contact your administrator..

Click Save.

View multiple users’ calendars in a SharePoint group calendar

Go to the group calendar

In the ribbon, in the Scopes group, click Day Group or Week Group.
In Add Person, type the name of the person or group whose calendar you want to view and then click the check names icon. You can also click the browse icon, and search for the person or group.

Following is an example of a group calendar created using the previous procedure.

Group calendar

Reserve a resource in a calendar

The SharePoint 2010 group calendar enables you to reserve resources, such as conference rooms and audio-visual equipment. For example, you can find out the availability and reserve a conference room when you are scheduling a meeting. You can also reserve just a resource, such as teleconferencing equipment.

Schedule an event and reserve a resource

In the calendar, in the ribbon, on the Events tab, point to New Event, click the down arrow, and then click Schedule and Reservations. If you want to just reserve only resources, such as teleconfering equipment, click Reservations

New calendar event

Note If you do not see these options, reserving resources may not be enabled for the calendar. Contact you administrator.

In the Calendar – New Item dialog,

Type the Title for the event.
In Location, type where the event is going to occur
Set the Start Time and End Time.
In Attendee, type or browse to the people and groups that you want to invite to the event.

In Resources, click the down arrow, and select the group of resources that you need, such as Conf Rooms. Select the resources that you need for the event, and click Add. You can hold down the Ctrl key to select multiple resources at the same time.

Tip If you want which to find out if a type of resource is available, such as conference rooms, add them all to the meeting to find out which ones are available at the time you need.

In Check Double Booking, click Check to refresh Free/Busy.
The availability of people and resources is displayed in FreeBusy.
In the following example, Aamir is scheduling a meeting with Connie and Victor for 11AM. While conference room 100 is busy at that time, conference rooms 200 and 300 are available. Aamir removes conference rooms 100 and 200 from the meeting.
If the resource is the location where the event is taking place, such as a conference room, type the name of the conference room in Location.
Fill in the remaining event properties, as appropriate, and click Save.

Following is an example of the day view for the Team group calendar. Notice the meeting that Aamir scheduled for 11AM in Conf Room 300.

Group calendar with resources

Comparison Sheet "Room Manager" vs. "Group Calendar" in SharePoint 2010

Room Manager for SharePoint Group Calendar SharePoint 2010

Multiple Locations Yes No

Multiple Sites Yes No

Search Cross Multiple Locations
for free rooms Yes No

Double Booking checking Yes Yes (but only for one Calendar)

Integration with Outlook Yes Yes

Integration with "Outlooks Send Meeting
Request" Yes (Ad-in in the Enterprise Edition)
No

Invocing Modul Yes No

Read also some Blogs Entries found about users sharing ideas and experience with Group Calendar in SharePoint 2010

http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en/sharepoint2010general/thread/69eb614c-f55e-40b9-a834-bf3a1bf6b17b

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Search/en-US/?query=group%20calendar&rq=meta:Search.MSForums.ForumID(c28ad644-8c91-47a4-99a6-ec30e30ec2f7)+site:microsoft.com&rn=SharePoint+2010+-+Setup%2c+Upgrade%2c+Administration+and+Operation+Forum

News