Configure EMS for Outlook

You will need to configure special settings in EMS Desktop Client to activate the EMS for Outlook toolbar button for Outlook users. The add-in uses each Outlook user’s EMS Everyday User account to establish their room booking privileges based on the Process Template(s) to which the Everyday User is assigned and EMS Group(s) for which the appointment can be booked.

Additional configuration tasks are required to enable your Microsoft Outlook users to access EMS for Outlook functionality. See Also: Configure Outlook TBD Rooms.

The topic provides information about the following:

Customize the Add-in Label

  1. Log into EMS Desktop Client.
  2. Navigate to System Administration > Settings > Parameters > Everyday User Applications tab.
  3. In Area, select EMS for Outlook - Specific.
  4. In EMS for Outlook, select EMS Room Scheduling and click Edit.
  5. Make your changes and click OK. 
  6. Click Close.

You can customize other field labels under the All Applications tab (which means your customizations will apply to all EMS applications you deploy). To filter the list, in Areas, select Labels.

Customize the Add-in icon

You can replace the default EMS for Outlook icon that displays in Outlook with a custom icon of your choosing. Supported file types are .ico, .jpeg, .jpg, or .png. The recommended size is 32 x 32 pixels.

  1. Log into EMS Desktop Client.

  2. Navigate to System Administration > Settings > Parameters > Desktop Client tab.

  3. On the Parameters dialog, in Area, select System.
  4. Select Custom Calendaring Icon and click Edit.
  5. Make your changes and click OK. 

  6. Click Close.

    Restart Microsoft Outlook to see the custom icon change.

EMS for Outlook-Specific

In addition to changing the Add-in label and custom icon, you can use the following parameters to make additional changes.

Title Description Value Example/Notes
Display Filters before showing Rooms Enables you to choose whether to filter the rooms displayed. Yes/No Filtering rooms provides a better user experience, especially for large organizations with multiple locations.

Number of Available Rooms upon Search in Outlook

 Controls the maximum number of room search results. Numeric (<500) For optimal performance, set to 50 or less.

Show Attendees in Book

 Enables you to choose whether to show attendees on the Schedule view.

Yes/No

 It is a best practice to set this to Yes.

Edit Text to display under icon in EMS for Outlook

 Customizes your EMS for Outlook icon.

Text

 Only available in versions later than V44.1.

Text to append to EMS for Outlook meetings

 Adds text to meetings created using the EMS for Outlook add-in.

Text

Can be plain text with a 50 character limit; HTML is not supported. The text you enter will be added to the meeting body.
Hide EMS ID in EMS for Outlook Enables you to hide the EMS ID in the meeting body of an EMS for Outlook appointment. Yes/No  

Enable User Access to EMS for Outlook

This topic assumes you have a working knowledge of configuration in EMS Desktop Client and highlights special tasks for enabling EMS for Outlook users. For more detailed instructions in creating new users refer to Configure Everyday Users.

  1. Configure an active EMS Everyday User Account in the EMS Desktop Client. 

  2. Link the EMS Everyday User Account to an active EMS Group record.

  3. (Optional) You can associate a delegate to an EMS Everyday User with the Delegates tab. To assign a delegate in EMS for Outlook, that delegate must also be assigned in Exchange.

  4. Assign at least one Everyday User Process Template to the EMS Everyday User Account.

  5. Select the Enable the Outlook option for the Everyday User Process Template you associated with the user.

    When Outlook is enabled, Integration to Microsoft Exchange is automatically enabled.

Assign EMS Users to Groups

You assign users to see groups in EMS by modifying the group or the Everyday User accounts.

  1. Navigate to Reservations > Reservations > Groups. 

    The Groups label can be modified by your system administrator.

  2. Select a Group.
  3. Click the Everyday User tab.
  4. Click Edit. In the dialog, search for everyday user accounts to add/remove from a Group record.

The following alternate path is available to assign users to groups:

  1. Navigate to the Everyday User's account on the Everyday User tab within Configuration > Everyday User Applications > Everyday Users.

  2. Open the Everyday User's account by clicking the Edit button.

  3. On the Groups tab, search for a Group to add/remove from an everyday user account.

Establish Booking Templates for EMS for Outlook Users

When Configure Everyday User Process Templates in the EMS Desktop Client, several options are specific to Outlook functionality. Once you have defined Everyday User Process templates as part of EMS Desktop Client setup, do the following to establish booking templates for EMS for Outlook users:

  1. Click Edit on the Everyday User Process Template to fully enable and customize the EMS for Outlook Add-in.

  2. Select the Enable for Outlook checkbox to enable the template to display to associated everyday users in the EMS for Outlook Add-in.

  3. In Conflict Status, select a status to determine the type of conflict status assigned to bookings made using this template that are in conflict.

  4. Select a status from the Rule Violation Status field to determine the status of bookings that have violated the template booking rules or category rules. This option is only available when Enable for Outlook is selected. When a user in EMS for Outlook requests a booking that violates a booking restriction, then the booking is changed to this status. For example, if a EMS for Outlook user requests a room two years in advance when the process template only allows a booking a year in advance, then the booking is set to the status you specify in this field (such as Rule Violation).

    The values in this field come from settings in the booking Statuses area of EMS Desktop Client.

  5. Navigate to the Outlook Conflict – Email Options tab to control behavior for the see notification email sent to the Outlook user if a booking conflict arises during the process of booking through Outlook.