What are FASmail Resources?
FASmail Resources is a database of faculties, rooms, and equipment accessible to all FASmail users for use. This centralized database ensures that resources won’t accidentally be double-booked and that all users can see when certain resources will be available. There are two main types of resource groups in FASmail: room resources and equipment resources.
Room Resources
Room resources are typically common-space, designated meeting rooms within a department. They can be used for presentations, meetings, as well as classroom activities.
Equipment Resources
Equipment resources are typically laptops, projectors, microphones, and so on that can be used during meetings, lectures, and presentations. They can also be borrowed for any work-related projects.
How can FASmail Resources be used?
- To book rooms*
- To book equipment*
- To schedule meetings – An easy way to book room and equipment resources in one setting and send out meeting invitations to designated FASmail users. The invited users have the options to accept, tentatively accept, or decline the invitation, after which you will be notified. FASmail automatically sends out reminders as the meeting day nears.
* If a room you would like to book is not listed under “Resources” on the FASmail calendar, contact Arts ISIT to request for the room to be added or submit a request to UBC IT yourself.
See below for detailed guides on how to book resources with FASmail.
Windows
Scheduling Assistant
The Scheduling Assistant in Outlook 2016 will help you schedule meetings with other users. Below is the Scheduling Assistant’s basic layout. Here, you can edit meeting attendees, times, and locations. To access this view, first click “New Items,” then select “Meeting.”
1. Add Attendees and Resources
Click “To…” to access the Global Address List. From there, you can add meeting invitees and room resources if you have the necessary permissions for the room and know the proper name. If the room is not public, adding the resource to your meeting sends a notice to the administrator, who may approve or reject the request.
2. Fill Out Meeting Information
Fill in the necessary meeting information, such as name, meeting details, time, and duration. You can also verify the attendees and meeting location in this view.
3. Verify Availability
Click “Scheduling Assistant” to work out any scheduling conflicts between meeting invitees and room bookings. A key at the bottom of the window illustrates the possible statuses of each attendee and resource.
4. Send Meeting Request
Once all the attendees and rooms have been added, click “Send.” You will receive a notification when invitees accept or reject your request.
Scheduling Assistant
The Scheduling Assistant in Outlook 2013 will help you schedule meetings with other users. Below is the Scheduling Assistant’s basic layout. Here, you can edit meeting attendees, times, and locations. To access this view, first click “New Meeting,” then go to the “Scheduling Assistant” under the “Meeting” tab.
1. Check Availabilities
You can check the availabilities of users by looking at the central panel. As you can see, the third person is busy between 12pm and 3pm on April 23rd, 2015. The first two users have diagonal grey lines across their rows, denoting their availability.
2. Add Attendees and Times
You can add attendees and locations (i.e. book a meeting room) using the buttons at the bottom. The start and end times can be set in the same section.
3. Add Rooms
In order to assign a room to your meeting, click on “Add Rooms…” to bring up the Global Address List.
4. Search Rooms
In the search field, type “ARTS” to show the list of resources that are available for Faculty of Arts. Rooms that appear in the Global Address List may be publicly available to all faculty, or they may be managed by a departmental administrator. If the room is not public, adding the resource to your meeting sends a notice to the administrator, who may approve or reject the request.
5. Book Room
Double click on the room, and then click “OK.”
6. Scheduling Conflicts
The Scheduling Assistant will show if any of the resources have been booked by another user during the time of your meeting.
7. Send Meeting Request
Once all the attendees and rooms have been added, click “Send.”
To book or manage a resource in Outlook 2010, refer to UBC IT’s how-to guide here.
Mac Calendar
1. Open Calendar
Open Calendar from your Application folder or Dock.
2. Create an Event
Right click on the date of the meeting, and then click on “New Event”.
3. Edit Event Info
Create the new event by setting the duration of the meeting (Starts and Ends).
4. Add Attendees
Click on the “Add Invitees” field.
5. Open the Global Address List
Then click on “Window” located in the top menu bar, then “Address Panel” to bring up the Global Address List.
6. Add Resources
Type “ARTS” into the search field to retrieve the list of resources for the Faculty of Arts. Drag the resources to the “Add Invitees” field to add them to your meeting.
7. Check Availability
Once all the required resources have been added, click “Check Availability” to see if all resources and attendees are available for use during your meeting.
8. Send Meeting Request
Click “Send” when finished to send invites to all attendees and confirm the room booking.
Microsoft Outlook
Note that if you do not have the necessary permissions to book a private resource, you will not be able to make bookings with Outlook. If this is the case, please contact the owner of the room or resource in order to obtain the appropriate permissions.
1. Open Outlook
Open Microsoft Outlook from your Application folder or Dock.
2. Create a New Meeting Request
In the top menu bar, select “New Items” and then click “Meeting.”
3. Scheduling
Click “Scheduling” in the menu bar in order to access room and resource booking details.
4. Add Room/Resource to the Meeting
- Click the (+) symbol under “All Attendees” in order to pull up the “Search People” window.
- Change field (2) into “Meeting Rooms” to only retrieve room resources.
- Type in the room code or associated email in field (3).
- Click “Add to Meeting” in order to check the availability of the room.
5. Checking Room Availability
Check the key below to verify the availability of the room. If the block is blue, it means that it is not bookable at that time. All empty cells indicate free timeslots.
6. Complete Meeting Request Information
Fill out the rest of the meeting request information, such as subject, other attendees, meeting notes, and so on. Click “Send” in the top menu to complete the booking. A confirmation email will be sent to your Inbox if the resource has been successfully booked.
To book or manage a resource in Outlook 2011, refer to UBC IT’s how-to guide here.