Schedule your Appointments in Outlook 2016

Search with Ctrl + F Last updated: 2022-08-14

An appointment is a block of time you reserve on your calendar schedule that only applies to you such a dentist appointment, interview, lunch date, etc.   Appointments usually do not require reserving resources such as conference rooms so they are easier to schedule on your calendar than meetings.  If you’re part of a team or large company where appointments and meetings are constantly being scheduled, you’ll find keeping track of your appointments in Outlook a great way to keep others on your team informed of your availability.

Creating an Appointment in Outlook 2016

Here’s the basics on scheduling your appointments in Outlook 2016:

  1. Click the Calendar icon on the Navigation Bar to open up and view the calendar where you want to add the appointment to
  2. You can view and arrange your calendar by the Day, Week, Work Week, Month or Schedule view.  Click Month view to see the full month view.
  3. The Calendar is displayed by time slots and depending on what view you’re in, you can scroll to see the current day, week or month.  The Icons tell you what kind of appointment it is (recurring event, reminder, etc.).  If you hover your mouse over any entry, you can see the details.  Here we have a blank Calendar with only the major US holidays displaying.
  4. Now let’s schedule an appointment.  Click the Home tab > New Group > New Appointment.  The appointment window will appear.  Here you will find a number of options that you can set regarding your appointment.
  5. Type the following:  In the Subject box, type a descriptive subject line; In the Location Box, type the location; choose a start date and a start time and an end date and end time.
  6. Add some details about your appointment in the body text area.
  7. Determine how you want your appointment to show to people viewing your calendar.  For example, if you do not want to have anyone try to schedule you for a meeting or another appointment, select “Show as Busy“.
    From the Appointments tab > Options Group, click the Show As box and then click Busy.  Other options include Free, Working Elsewhere, Tentative or Out of Office.
  8. By default, Outlook will give you a reminder about your appointment 15 minutes before the the appointment start time.  You can change when the reminder appears by clicking on the Appointment tab > Option Group and clicking the Reminder box arrow.  If you do not wish to get a reminder, select none
  9. Lastly, categorize your appointment color so you can easily distinguish your appointments on your calendar.  On the Appointments tab > Tags Group, click the Categorize down arrow and select a color of your choice.  Before saving, determine if you want to make this appointment a private event so someone who has access to your calendar won’t see it.  If so, click the Private command. Then, on the Appointment tab > Actions Group, click Save & Close. Your appointment is now created and will display in your Calendar.
  10. This is what your appointment will look like on your calendar.  It should display the title and the location.

Change an Appointment in Outlook 2016

  1. Changing your appointments is easy.  Just open the appointment you wish to change  by double clicking the appointment in the Calendar.  The Appointment window will open.
  2. You can now change the options as desired such as subject, location and time
  3. Click Save & Close and your appointment will be updated.