Overview
Microsoft FindTime is an Outlook add-in that allows you to easily poll and schedule meeting times with anyone. As with Doodle, with FindTime you can create a poll and then email invitees (whether within or outside USC) to select their preferred times and dates.
You must install FindTime to your Outlook account to create your polls, but your invitees do not need to install FindTime or even have a USC or Outlook account to respond.
Once you install FindTime, it will appear in Outlook as a square red icon labeled "New Meeting Poll" or "Reply with Meeting Poll."
Installing FindTime
Follow the instructions below to install the FindTime add-in using Outlook 365/OWA (online). Once installed, FindTime will automatically be available the next time you restart Outlook, whether you are using Outlook 365/OWA (online) or Outlook Client on your PC or Mac desktop.
Quick guide
- Log in to your Outlook account at https://usc.edu/office365.
- Click on New message.
- A new message panel appears. At the bottom of the message, click on the […] icon.
- Click on Get Add-ins.
- In the left-side menu, select Admin-managed.
- Locate FindTime and click on Add.
- Click on Continue.
- Once FindTime has been successfully added (typically within seconds), you can close the "Get started for FindTime" window. Now, the next time you restart Outlook 365, Outlook Client for PC, or Outlook Client for Mac, you will be able to use FindTime on your account. You're all set!
Detailed guide (with screenshots)
- Log in to your Outlook account at https://usc.edu/office365.
- The Shibboleth login page displays. Log in using your USC credentials.
- The Duo screen displays. Follow the on-screen prompt to complete authentication.
- In the upper left side of the screen, click on New message.
- A new message panel appears. At the bottom of the message, click on the […] icon.
- Click on Get Add-ins.
- The Add-ins window opens. In the left-side menu, select Admin-managed.
- Locate FindTime and click on Add.
- Click on Continue.
- Outlook adds the FindTime app (typically within seconds). Once it finishes you can close the "Get started for FindTime" window. Now, the next time you restart Outlook 365, Outlook Client for PC, or Outlook Client for Mac, you will be able to use FindTime on your account. You're all set!
Creating and sending a poll
Once you've installed the FindTime add-in to your Outlook account, you can add a meeting poll to any Outlook email or Outlook Calendar event using the New Meeting Poll or Reply with Meeting Poll icon ("Meeting Poll" is essentially just another name for FindTime).
The instructions below walk you through generating a Meeting Poll from a new Outlook email message, but you can also apply these steps to generating a Meeting Poll as a reply to an email or as an Outlook Calendar event.
Create a FindTime meeting poll in Outlook Client for PC
Quick guide
- Open Outlook Client.
- In the upper left corner, click on New Email.
- A new email message window appears. At the top of the message, click on New Meeting Poll in the toolbar.
- FindTime opens in a panel to the right of your email message. Type your invitees' email addresses in the To and/or Cc fields of your email.
- Use the calendar in the FindTime panel to select time slot options (use the left and right arrows on the calendar to view additional days and time slots). If the invitee has an @usc.edu email address, FindTime will also check their calendar availability.
- Click on Next.
- Review your poll settings and selected time slots. Revise if needed, and click on Add to email.
- You can close the FindTime panel now and return to your email message. When you're ready, click on Send.
- Invitees will receive a link to view and complete your poll. To track their submissions or edit the poll, log into your Outlook FindTime dashboard at https://outlook.office.com/findtime/dashboard and click on your meeting poll's name.
Detailed guide (with screenshots)
- Open Outlook Client.
- In the upper left corner, click on New Email.
- A new email message window appears. At the top of the message, click on New Meeting Poll in the toolbar.
- FindTime opens in a panel to the right of your email message. Type your invitees' email addresses in the To and/or Cc fields of your email.
- Use the calendar in the FindTime panel to select time slot options (use the left and right arrows on the calendar to view additional days and time slots). If the invitee has an @usc.edu email address, FindTime will also check their calendar availability.
- Click on Next.
- Review your poll settings and selected time slots. Revise if needed, and click on Add to email.
- You can close the FindTime panel now and return to your email message. When you're ready, click on Send.
- Invitees will receive a link to view and complete your poll. To track their submissions or edit the poll, log into your Outlook FindTime dashboard at https://outlook.office.com/findtime/dashboard and click on your meeting poll's name.
Create a FindTime meeting poll in Outlook Client for Mac
Quick guide
- Open Outlook Client.
- In the upper left corner, click on New Email.
- A new email message window appears. At the top of the message, click on New Meeting Poll in the toolbar (if you don't see it, click on the right arrow button to scroll until you reach the rightmost end of the toolbar).
- FindTime opens in a panel to the right of your email message. Type your invitees' email addresses in the To and/or Cc fields of your email.
- Use the calendar in the FindTime panel to select time slot options (use the left and right arrows on the calendar to view additional days and time slots). If the invitee has an @usc.edu email address, FindTime will also check their calendar availability.
- Click on Next.
- Review your poll settings and selected time slots. Revise if needed, and click on Add to email.
- You can close the FindTime panel now and return to your email message. When you're ready, click on Send.
- Invitees will receive a link to view and complete your poll. To track their submissions or edit the poll, log into your Outlook FindTime dashboard at https://outlook.office.com/findtime/dashboard and click on your meeting poll's name.
Detailed guide (with screenshots)
- Open Outlook Client.
- In the upper left corner, click on New Email.
- A new email message window appears. At the top of the message, click on New Meeting Poll in the toolbar (if you don't see it, click on the right arrow button to scroll until you reach the rightmost end of the toolbar).
- FindTime opens in a panel to the right of your email message. Type your invitees' email addresses in the To and/or Cc fields of your email.
- Use the calendar in the FindTime panel to select time slot options (use the left and right arrows on the calendar to view additional days and time slots). If the invitee has an @usc.edu email address, FindTime will also check their calendar availability.
- Click on Next.
- Review your poll settings and selected time slots. Revise if needed, and click on Add to email.
- You can close the FindTime panel now and return to your email message. When you're ready, click on Send.
- Invitees will receive a link to view and complete your poll. To track their submissions or edit the poll, log into your Outlook FindTime dashboard at https://outlook.office.com/findtime/dashboard and click on your meeting poll's name.
Create a FindTime meeting poll in Outlook 365/OWA (online)
Quick guide
- Log in to your Outlook account at https://usc.edu/office365.
- In the upper left corner, click on New message.
- A new message panel appears. At the bottom of the message, click on the […] icon.
- Click on FindTime.
- FindTime opens in a panel to the right of your email message. Type your invitees' email addresses in the To and/or Cc fields of your email.
- Use the calendar in the FindTime panel to select time slot options (use the left and right arrows on the calendar to view additional days and time slots). If the invitee has an @usc.edu email address, FindTime will also check their calendar availability.
- Click on Next.
- Review your poll settings and selected time slots. Revise if needed, and click on Add to email.
- You can close the FindTime panel now and return to your email message. When you're ready, click on Send.
- Invitees will receive a link to view and complete your poll. To track their submissions or edit the poll, log into your Outlook FindTime dashboard at https://outlook.office.com/findtime/dashboard and click on your meeting poll's name.
Detailed guide (with screenshots)
- Log in to your Outlook account at https://usc.edu/office365.
- In the upper left side of the screen, click on New message.
- A new message panel appears. At the bottom of the message, click on the […] icon.
- Click on FindTime.
- FindTime opens in a panel to the right of your email message. Type your invitees' email addresses in the To and/or Cc fields of your email.
- Use the calendar in the FindTime panel to select time slot options (use the left and right arrows on the calendar to view additional days and time slots). If the invitee has an @usc.edu email address, FindTime will also check their calendar availability.
- Click on Next.
- Review your poll settings and selected time slots. Revise if needed, and click on Add to email.
- You can close the FindTime panel now and return to your email message. When you're ready, click on Send.
- Invitees will receive a link to view and complete your poll. To track their submissions or edit the poll, log into your Outlook FindTime dashboard at https://outlook.office.com/findtime/dashboard and click on your meeting poll's name.
Viewing poll status or editing poll options
To view all of your FindTime polls, current and past, log into your Outlook FindTime dashboard at https://outlook.office.com/findtime/dashboard.
Click on the Meeting title for a particular poll to view poll details. You can see how many people have voted so far, as well as make edits such as adding more time slots or attendees, or changing the meeting location.
Adding a Zoom meeting in FindTime
Once your attendees have responded and you have arrived at a consensus on the meeting date/time, you can add a Zoom meeting. If you had the option "Schedule when attendees reach consensus" set as On when you initially set up your FindTime poll, the meeting will already be on your Outlook Calendar; otherwise, you'll need to open Outlook Calendar and create a new meeting for the agreed upon date/time.
Simply open the meeting in Outlook Calendar, make sure all attendees are invited, and click on Add a Zoom meeting. From there you can proceed to create a Zoom meeting the way you normally would.
Contributor(s): Chris Huntley, Trish Kelly.