Last updated on April 05, 2019

Configure Microsoft Outlook Calendar room booking service with global administrator privileges

Microsoft Office 365 requires global administrator level permissions for a service account to handle room booking and check-in across an organization.

However, if you do not wish to use global permissions, you may also configure the booking functionality using a user account, with access to book only rooms that have been delegated to the this user account.

This article provides the instructions to configuring the room booking service for the Microsoft Outlook Calendar data provider with global administrator privileges, for our Room Schedule card.

To setup your room booking service, you must first configure the calendar data provider settings and then create the Room Schedule card. Once the card has been configured, you then need to add the card to a playlist channel and publish the channel to a registered device installed with the Appspace App.

Note

  • For instructions to configure Microsoft Outlook Calendar meeting room booking service with user privileges, please click here.
  • If you are a user looking for information on booking a room via our card or the calendar, please refer to Book a meeting room.

The instructions in this article must be completed first by an Office 365 Administrator prior to configuring a Room Schedule card in the Appspace console. Follow the instructions in the order listed below:


A. Create a booking account in Office 365

We recommend creating an account in Office 365. This account will be used for authentication when configuring the Room Schedule card. We will call this the booking account.

  1. To create the booking account, follow the instructions in the Add users individually or in bulk to Office 365 article: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/add-users-individually-or-in-bulk-to-office-365-admin-help-1970f7d6-03b5-442f-b385-5880b9c256ec?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US

  2. Add the basic account information, such as:

    • First and Last name
    • Display name
    • Username and Domain (email address)
    • Location
    • Password
    • Roles - Select Global administrator

    You may skip all optional information.


  3. Proceed to section B below.

B. Configure resources (meeting rooms) in Office 365

Note

We recommend gathering all meeting room information such as name, email address, capacity, and location, prior to configuring the Microsoft Outlook Calendar resources.

All meeting rooms in an organization are known as resources in Office 365. Follow the instructions below to configure all resources available in your company:

  1. Follow the instructions in the Room and equipment mailboxes article: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/room-and-equipment-mailboxes-9f518a6d-1e2c-4d44-93f3-e19013a1552b#ID0EABAAA=Set_it_up

    Note

    Here, you may obtain the email alias for the resource id that is required for the player property when configuring the Room Schedule card.

  2. In Step 7, ensure Auto accept meeting request in Delegates is turned On.


  3. Proceed to section C below.


C. Delegate access for resource’s calendar to booking account

You now need to provide your booking account with access to each meeting room’s calendar, a process known as delegate access. This will allow the Room Schedule card to make bookings on Microsoft Outlook Calendar via the booking account that is used to authenticate calendar access.

  1. Sign in to Office 365 admin center (https://portal.office.com) with your Global administrator credentials.

  2. Navigate to Resources > Rooms & equipment.

  3. Click the room name, and click Edit in the Delegates section.


  4. Click Add delegates, and select your booking account.


  5. Click Save.

  6. Repeat the above steps for all resources (meeting rooms).

  7. Proceed to section D below.


D. Configure resource calendar permissions

To configure Office 365 resource scheduling permissions, follow the instructions below:

  1. Sign in to Office 365 with your booking account credentials.

  2. Go to the Office 365 Calendar, click your name in the top right corner, and select Open another mailbox from the drop-down list.


  3. Enter in the resource name, and click Open. The resource account opens in a new tab.

  4. Click the Settings (Gear) icon, and select Calendar in the Your app settings section.


  5. In the Options panel, navigate to Calendar > Resource Scheduling.

  6. In the Scheduling Permissions section, select Specific people and groups: for the following fields:

    • These users can submit a request for owner approval if the resource is available.
    • These people or groups can schedule automatically if the resource is available and can submit a request for owner approval of the resource is unavailable.


  7. Proceed to section E below.


E. Allow booking account to impersonate the resource for direct check-in

These instructions allow the booking account to impersonate the resource (meeting room); this is necessary for direct check-in on a tablet/device.

  1. Sign in to Office 365 Exchange admin center with your Global administrator credentials.

  2. Click permissions, and add an Admin role group.


  3. In the Role Group window, enter in the Name of the role group.

  4. Add Roles, and select ApplicationImpersonation, and click OK

  5. Add Members, and select the booking account created earlier.


  6. Click Save.

  7. Proceed to the Create a Room Schedule card article.