Creating Meeting Workspaces from Outlook 2007 and Outlook 2010

A feature loved by many users and disliked by many administrators in Outlook 2007 is the ability to create a meeting workspace from a meeting request. Savvy end users found this to be an easy way to create a workspace on a SharePoint site at the same time that they were setting the time and date, physical location, and inviting users to the event. This process is worth reviewing because it is still available in Outlook 2010, just hidden by default.

To create a meeting workspace from Outlook 2007, follow these steps:

1. Using an account that has appropriate permissions to create sites in SharePoint 2010, open Outlook 2007 (not Outlook 2010; that is covered in the next section).
2. From Outlook 2007, access the calendar and click the New menu, and select Meeting Request (not Appointment, because that doesn’t provide the Workspace option).
3. Enter one or more users in the To field (in this example, User1 and User3 are entered because they are being invited to a meeting being scheduled by User2), and a Subject (in this example, Strategy), and a Location (in this example, Redwood Room). Choose a start time and date in the future.
4. Click the Meeting tab if not active, and the Meeting Workspace icon should be available. Click the Meeting Workspace tab, and the Meeting Workspace tool pane will open on the right.
5. The Meeting Workspace pane may be populated with default workspace creation information if a workspace has been created by this user in the past. If so, click the Change Settings link to modify/review the settings. Alternatively, if no workspaces have been created by the user, there will be a different pane visible that allows the user to Select a Location and Select a Workspace, as shown in Figure 25.17.

   Figure 25.17. Using Outlook 2007 to create a meeting workspace in SharePoint 2010 (1 of 2).

   

6. In the Select a Location drop-down menu, choose Other, and then enter the URL of the site collection and site that will house the workspace, as also shown in Figure 25.17. Click OK.
7. In the Meeting Workspace pane, in the Select a Workspace section, make sure Create a New Workspace is checked, and then choose Basic Meeting Workspace. Then click OK.
8. The pane will change, and a Create button will be visible. Click the Create button, and the workspace will be created (assuming the user has sufficient rights), and the invitation will now include the link to the workspace and some descriptive information, as shown in Figure 25.18.

   Figure 25.18. Using Outlook 2007 to create a meeting workspace in SharePoint 2010 (2 of 2).

   

9. Click Send to send the invite.

This workspace can now be accessed by the invitees, and will show whether they’ve accepted the invitations. It can be used to track objectives of the meeting, the agenda, and have supporting documents uploaded to it.