TOC
BACK
FORWARD
HOME

10 Minute Guide to Microsoft Exchange 5.0

- Lesson 17 -
Scheduling Your Time with Schedule+

 

In this lesson, you learn how to use the Schedule+ features in Microsoft Exchange Client to schedule your time and keep track of appointments.

Microsoft Schedule+ is a powerful software application capable of performing many tasks. It must be specifically installed on your computer as part of the installation of Microsoft Exchange Client. This lesson assumes that the Schedule+ software is installed and teaches you how to keep your schedule of appointments in Schedule+.

Getting to Schedule+

If you are viewing the Microsoft Exchange Client window and want to move to Schedule+, you'll find that you can't get there from here. There is no option for Schedule+ on any of the menu lists. Instead, you have to gain access to the Schedule+ toolbar button. The following steps show you how:

1. Open the Tools menu, choose Customize, and select Toolbar to display the Customize Toolbar dialog box (see Figure 17.1).

2.
Scroll through the Available Buttons list box and click Show Schedule to highlight it. (The Schedule+ toolbar button is called Show Schedule.)

3.
Click Add to move this button to the Toolbar Buttons list box.

Figure 17.1 Use the Customize Toolbar dialog box to put the Schedule+ button on the toolbar.


Use the Shortcut Instead of performing steps 2 and 3, you can double-click the button in the Available Buttons list to add it to the Toolbar Buttons list.

4. (Optional) In the Toolbar Buttons list box, click the Show Schedule button and then choose Move Up or Move Down to position it where you want it on the toolbar. (The dialog box says up and down, but the toolbar stretches left to right. So think of Up as Left.)

5.
Click Close when you finish. The Show Schedule button now appears on the toolbar. Click it to open Schedule+.

Starting Schedule+ for the First Time

To use the features in Schedule+, you have to have a schedule file. So the first time you use Schedule+, you'll be asked to create a schedule file because one doesn't exist. Follow the on-screen directions to complete the process. After that, you can click the Show Schedule button anytime to start the software.

The Schedule+ Window

When you open Schedule+ for the first time, you might think the program window seems a bit busy and complicated (see Figure 17.2). However, it's really just a logical arrangement of views, which are different ways to look at the same information. By default, the window appears in Daily view. To change to another view, click the appropriate tab.

Figure 17.2 The Daily view of the Schedule+ window.

Two of the elements of the window shown in Figure 17.2 are unique to the Daily tab: the Date Navigator and the To Do list. These elements are not universal, so they do not appear in all the available views. (You'll learn more about managing tasks and the To Do list in Lesson 19.)

Entering an Appointment

To keep track of your time, and plan your work, you have to enter your appointments in Schedule+. To learn how to enter appointments, follow these steps:

1. Make sure you're in the Daily view (if you're looking at a different view, click the Daily tab).

2.
In the Date Navigator, move to the appropriate month (if the appointment is not in the current month). Then click the day for the appointment. The Daily tab changes to display that date.


Moving Through the Date Navigator Calendar The Date Navigator has two arrows, one in each of the upper corners. Click the right arrow to move ahead one month at a time. Click the left arrow to move back one month at a time. You can also use the Alt key in combination with the arrow keys to change the date in the Date Navigator.

3. Click the time slot for your appointment to highlight that line (or drag over multiple time slots).

4.
Enter text that describes the appointment.

5.
Click anywhere outside the appointment listing to end the entry process. After the appointment is entered (see Figure 17.3), you will see a notation about it on all of the time tabs: Daily, Weekly and Monthly. (The bell icon on the appointment line indicates that you will get a reminder.)

Figure 17.3 The appointment appears on the daily calendar.

By default, when you enter an appointment, a reminder is attached to it (the bell icon on the appointment line indicates the presence of the reminder). That means you will see a note reminding you of the appointment ahead of time. You can set the reminder interval (how long before the appointment you want the reminder).

If you don't want a reminder, you can click the appointment line and then click the Reminder button on the toolbar. This button toggles the feature: click on, click off.

You can also enter an appointment by clicking the New Appointment button on the toolbar (see Table 17.1 for more information about the toolbar buttons). If you use this method, an Appointment dialog box appears (see Figure 17.4).

Figure 17.4 The Appointment dialog box lets you set options for appointments.

In fact, when you enter an appointment directly onto the Daily schedule, as described earlier, there is actually an Appointment dialog box created in the background. You can see it (and make changes) by double-clicking the left edge of the appointment listing.

Viewing Your Schedule from the Other Tabs

Click the Weekly tab to see the appointments you've entered displayed in a Monday through Friday pattern (see Figure 17.5). You can select an appointment and manipulate it with the tool-bar buttons, or you can edit it by double-clicking it and making changes in the Appointment dialog box. Changes you make are reflected everywhere this appointment appears (in every view).

Figure 17.5 The appointment you entered on the Daily tab also appears on the Weekly tab.

If you click the Monthly tab, any appointments you've entered appear on the appropriate date as shown in Figure 17.6. The notation is brief, but you can double-click the entry to display the Appointment dialog box so you can see the details. You can also make changes to the appointment, and those changes will be reflected everywhere the appointment is listed.

The Planner tab also shows your appointment (see Figure 17.7). This tab is intended to help you track your busy times and free times, so details about the appointment aren't displayed. The Planner also has a Date Navigator and an Attendees box so you can set up a meeting for a time that's convenient to all the attendees. See Lesson 18 for more information about setting up meetings with other users.

Figure 17.6 The Monthly tab displays appointments in a calendar form.



Figure 71.7 In the Planner tab, the block of time your appointment fills is marked to indicate you're busy at that time.

Adding Options to Your Appointment Listing

There are a number of special features and options you can apply to an appointment after you enter it. Some of them are available through the toolbar. Table 17.1 lists the toolbar buttons and their functions.

Table 17.1 Toolbar Buttons for Schedule+

Button

Name

Function

Today

Moves the schedule to today

Go To Date

Opens a small Date Navigator calendar

Open

Opens another schedule file

Print

Prints the schedule's data

Cut

Moves selected text to the Clipboard

Copy

Copies selected text to the Clipboard

Paste

Pastes the Clipboard's contents

Undo

Undoes the last action

Insert New

Opens a dialog box for a new entry; the entry changes to match the tab you're on (appointment, task, contract)

Delete

Deletes the selected item

Edit

Displays the Appointment dialog box so you can make changes

Recurring

Makes the appointment a recurring one (daily, weekly, monthly, and so on)

Reminder

Sets the reminder feature for this appointment

Private

Hides the appointment from other users

Tentative

Places the item in your schedule, but not in the schedule viewed by other users

Meeting

Launches the Meeting Wizard, Wizard which walks you through the process of scheduling meetings with other users

Timex Watch

Transmits data to a special Timex Wizard Watch you can purchase

View Mail

Switches to the Microsoft Exchange Client window


There are other options for appointments available in the Options dialog box. Open the Tools menu and choose Options to see the choices (see Figure 17.8). These are global options, meaning they are the default for every appointment you enter. Take some time to look them over, and also look at the options available on the Defaults tab. You may want to change your default settings if the current options don't suit you.

Figure 17.8 Set options about reminders, warnings, and other scheduling features with the Options dialog box.

Synchronizing Your Schedule

A copy of your appointment schedule is kept on the server so that other users of Microsoft Exchange Server can learn when you're free or busy in order to schedule meetings. Exchange Server regularly checks your schedule to keep the network up to date on your plans.

In this lesson, you learned how to open the Schedule+ software, enter an appointment, add options to appointment listings, and make a copy of your schedule available to other users. In the next lesson, you'll learn how to use Schedule+ to set up meetings.

TOCBACKFORWARDHOME


©Copyright, Macmillan Computer Publishing. All rights reserved.