University Computer Help Desk

Responding to meeting requests in Outlook, Entourage, or OWA

When you receive a meeting request, you should respond to it using Outlook, Entourage, or Outlook Web Access (OWA).

When you are invited to a meeting, you will receive the meeting request as an email. You should respond using Outlook, Entourage, or Outlook Web Access (OWA).

Respond by Opening Outlook, Entourage, or OWA

To respond to a meeting request, do the following:

  1. Open Outlook or Entourage and log in. Or, go to http://owa.ilstu.edu and log in to OWA.
  2. Within Outlook, Entourage, or OWA, open your Inbox and locate the meeting request email.
  3. Open the meeting request email.
  4. At the top of the email, locate your response options: Accept, Tentative, Decline, and Propose New Time. (Not all response options are available in all clients.)
  5. Click the appropriate response. More information on these response options is found below.
  6. After responding to the meeting request, you may close Outlook, Entourage, or OWA.

Accept, Tentative, Decline, and Propose New Time

When you respond to a meeting request, you have at least three options: Accept, Tentative, and Decline. You may also have the option, Propose New Time.

  • Accept: Click Accept to accept the meeting request. This confirms the meeting and changes it's status to Busy.
  • Tentative: When you receive a meeting request, it is automatically added to your calendar with a Tentative status.
  • Decline: Click Decline to decline the meeting request. This removes the meeting from your calendar.
  • Propose New Time: Click Propose New Time to suggest a new meeting date or time that works better for you. The meeting's status remains Tentative. This option is unavailable in OWA and Entourage. The meeting coordinator can also lock the meeting's date and time; this prevents you from proposing a new time.

Response Notifications

When you respond to a meeting request, you have the option of notifying the person who invited you. It is good practice to notify the meeting coordinator so he or she knows whether or not you plan to attend. Even if you choose not to notify the person who invited you, he or she can see your status by checking the Tracking section of the meeting.

Article Information

  • Article ID: 1248
  • Last Review: Feb 2, 2009
  • Type: Instructions

Print this articleEmail this articleShare this article on Facebook

Article Feedback