Outlook appointment, meeting or event: convert one to another and update correctly
In Outlook the same calendar entry can be an appointment, an event or a meeting, and the type decides whether others are notified and how the time shows. Converting is easy; updating without confusing people takes a little care. Arte Soft, the developer of Cloud Calendars, explains.
Change and its effect (classic Outlook unless noted)
| Change | Result | Who is notified |
|---|---|---|
| Untick All day event on a personal event with no attendees | Event becomes appointment; Show As becomes Busy | No one |
| Add attendees to an appointment | Becomes a meeting | Attendees, when you send |
| Add people only to a meeting | Meeting updated | All or only added (classic); added/removed only option (new Outlook) |
| Move an invited meeting on your calendar | Your copy only | Organizer not notified |
| Change Show As after sending | Your calendar only | Attendees unaffected |
What most people assume
Changing any calendar entry automatically tells the people involved.
The three types
Microsoft describes appointments as blocks of time you can mark free, busy, tentative, out of office or working elsewhere; events as like appointments but lasting at least one full day by default; and meetings as appointments or events with other attendees.
In classic Outlook, Microsoft says new all-day events show as free by default, while meetings and appointments show as busy.
Converting in classic Outlook
Event to appointment: open it and untick All day event; Microsoft says Show As then changes to Busy. Appointment to meeting: add attendees. Save & Close for an appointment, Send Update for a meeting.
For a meeting you created, Microsoft says you must send an update to save changes.
Updating: everyone or only the changed people
If you only add or remove attendees, new Outlook offers, after Send, to send the update only to added or removed attendees; others keep the event without an email. Classic Outlook lets you send to all attendees or just the added ones when adding people and making no other change.
For recurring items, new Outlook offers Edit the one event in the series, Edit series or Edit this and all following events. Classic Outlook asks Just this one or The entire series and notes limits: you cannot move an occurrence past an earlier or later one, and removing an attendee from one occurrence leaves them invited to the others.
What you can’t change
Microsoft says you can’t change the details of meetings others invited you to; moving one only moves your copy and leaves the organizer uninformed.
Show As is personal. Microsoft says the organizer sets the initial availability for attendees, but status changes made later apply only to each person’s own calendar, and updates to the meeting won’t override an attendee’s status.
Worked example: a training day grows
A fictional trainer using classic Outlook adds an all-day event “Course prep” on Wednesday; it shows as free. When the plan firms up to 09:00–13:00, they untick All day event; it becomes an appointment and shows as Busy.
They then add two co-trainers, turning it into a meeting, and send. A week later, now editing that meeting in new Outlook, they add a third co-trainer without other changes and choose to send the update only to the added attendee, so the first two aren’t emailed again.
Check: the third co-trainer has the invitation; the others still have the meeting unchanged.
What it looks like
Cloud Calendars overview, using our product images. Provider settings and protocol examples described in this guide are separate from the screens shown here.
What to do
- Decide whether the entry needs attendees; if yes, it’s a meeting.
- Untick All day event to turn an event into a timed, busy appointment.
- When only adding attendees, use the limited-recipient update option if offered. New Outlook also documents this option for attendee removals; classic Outlook’s cited instructions cover added attendees only.
- Choose the occurrence scope deliberately for recurring items.
- Never move a meeting you were invited to; contact the organizer.
Questions
- Why does my all-day event show me as free?
- In classic Outlook, Microsoft says new all-day events show as free by default. Change Show As if it should block time.
- Can I avoid re-emailing everyone when I add one person?
- Yes. New Outlook offers sending only to added or removed attendees; classic Outlook offers sending to just the added attendees.