How to Delay Delivery of Meeting Invitations in Outlook
Question details
The user wants to know if there is a way to schedule or delay the sending of a calendar meeting invitation to a specified time.
- Product
- Microsoft Outlook
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Scheduling a meeting invitation in advance so that it is sent to attendees at a specific future date and time.
- Observed behavior
- Outlook supports delayed delivery for standard email messages but does not offer a native, built-in option to delay the delivery of calendar meeting invitations.
Keep in mind that while Outlook has a built-in 'Delay Delivery' feature for standard emails, this function does not natively apply to calendar items. You will need to rely on manual workarounds or alternative methods.
Manually Save and Send the Meeting Invite
Since Outlook lacks a direct delay feature for calendar items, the safest and most reliable method is to prepare the meeting invitation in advance and send it manually at your desired time.
This method avoids the complexity of macros and ensures that your meeting details are accurately saved without prematurely notifying your attendees.
Open Outlook, navigate to your Calendar, and click on 'New Meeting'. Fill out the attendees, subject, location, and the scheduled time for the event.
Instead of clicking 'Send', click the 'Save' icon (or press Ctrl+S). This saves the meeting in your calendar without sending the invitation to the attendees.
When it is time to send the invitation, double-click the meeting on your calendar to open it, make any final adjustments, and click 'Send'.
Send an .ics File via a Delayed Email
You can bypass the calendar limitation by saving the meeting as an iCalendar (.ics) file and attaching it to a standard email, which does support delayed delivery.
Explore VBA Automation
For advanced users, writing a Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) macro can help automate the delayed sending of calendar invites.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Delay Delivery work for emails but not meetings in Outlook?
Emails and calendar events are handled differently by Microsoft Exchange. Emails are queued in your Outbox and held until the delivery time, whereas meeting invitations immediately update the calendar database and do not utilize the standard Outbox holding queue.
Will attendees be notified if I save a meeting invite as a draft?
No. As long as you only save the meeting to your calendar without clicking 'Send', your attendees will not receive any email notifications or see the event on their own calendars.
Can I use the web version of Outlook to delay meeting invites?
No, Outlook on the Web (OWA) currently has the exact same limitation as the desktop application. It offers scheduled send for emails, but not for calendar meeting invitations.
Are there third-party add-ins that can delay meeting invitations?
Yes, there are third-party scheduling tools and Outlook add-ins available on the market that bypass native limitations to offer delayed or scheduled sending for calendar invitations. You can explore the Office Add-ins store for specialized scheduling tools.
