Delegate access enables users to share Outlook resources, such as appointment schedules, for better coordination across workgroups and throughout organizations.
Approximately sixty percent of companies worldwide use MS Outlook. That is because along with e-mail, calendaring, and personal information management, there are features like delegate access that simplify collaboration among workers.
Using Outlook's delegate access feature lets group members view each other's calendars among other things. Bosses can allow secretaries to view their calendars, enabling them to more efficiently set up appointments when the boss is out of the office. There are many other instances where Outlook's delegate access feature comes in quite handy.
Setting up Outlook's delegate access feature is fairly straightforward and taken only a few mouse clicks.
Click Tools | Options on the Outlook toolbar. In the Options box, click the Delegates tab.
To add a delegate, click the Add button and select the appropriate person. You can select a delegate from any of the Outlook address lists that are available to you. After you've added the delegate, click OK and then use the drop-down lists shown in Figure 3 to select the desired permissions for the delegate. The levels of permissions are:
None: The assigned delegate is unable to view or modify your calendar.
Reviewer Can Read Items): The assigned delegate is allowed to read items on your calendar.
Author (Can Read And Create Items): The assigned delegate is allowed to read, create and modify items on your calendar.
Editor (Can Read, Create and Modify Items): The assigned delegate is allowed to read, create, and modify items on your calendar.
When you're assigning delegate access, be very careful to assign the appropriate permissions to each delegate. For example, you'll want to avoid confusion by limiting the number of folks who can modify your calendar. Click OK to return to the Options dialog box, where your new delegate will be listed.
To finish the process of assigning a delegate, just click Apply and then click OK. Your new delegates now have access to view your calendar and to use the privileges that you have granted to them.
Modifying delegate settings and managing your delegates are easy tasks. To modify a delegate's permissions, go to Tools | Options and click the Delegates tab in the Options dialog box.
Select the delegate and click the Permissions button to open the Delegate's Permission dialog box. After you have made your changes, click OK and then click Apply to apply the updated delegate settings. Click OK to close the Options dialog box.
To delete a delegate, open the Delegates tab in the Options dialog box. Select the delegate that you want to delete and click the Remove button. The delegate will be removed and will no longer be able to view or modify your calendar.
Carol Bratt is the Office Applications Editor at Daves Computer Tips. She has authored several informative Microsoft Office books and writes the monthly Word Bytes Newsletter with more tips and tricks in each issue. Visit Carol's website for more great Microsoft Office tips and tricks! Click here to see her latest books! You can read more about Carol here.