Highlights
Planner Is Becoming Meetings - And It Starts in Outlook
Most people book their meeting rooms from Outlook, and the add-in they use to do it is still called Planner. It still carries its original styling, and so does much of the wider Meetings product. The seams show most in Outlook, because that is where the majority of bookings begin.
But that’s changing. The Outlook add-in has been rebuilt and renamed throughout, from the Outlook apps list to the prompts inside a booking.
A new name, applied consistently The add-in is called Meetings everywhere it appears - in the Outlook apps list, across the interface, and in the messages your users receive.
The Sign In Solutions look Colour, type and components now come from the company design system, so the add-in carries the same identity as the wider Sign In Solutions portfolio.
The same detail, wherever you book Room, equipment and catering information in the add-in now shows exactly what the Meetings web app shows.
Rules that agree with each other The booking form applies the same validation as the web app, so a booking that is valid in one place is valid in the other.
Catering you can actually see Catering items carry the images set against them in Meetings, and opening one brings up a magnified card with the full detail.
Accessible by default Colour and contrast meet WCAG AA, built into the design system rather than retrofitted afterwards.
The first change, not the last.
We are starting with the add-in because it is where most bookings begin. More of the Meetings product will follow the same path in the coming months.
The new Outlook manifest will be available to download from 9th October, and installs over the top of the existing Planner add-in. Nothing changes until your IT team installs it. If you require assistance then please contact our support team.
Booking History Updates
Booking History now credits each change to whoever made it. Changes that arrive from Outlook are shown as Exchange Sync, and changes made in Planner show the signed-in user who made them.
Each change is a single row listing every field that was edited. Initial data expands to show the booking as it was first created.
What this means for your organisation
Clear accountability: when a booking changes unexpectedly, you can see whether a person or synchronisation made the change.
Full before-and-after record: every edited field is listed, so nothing has to be worked out from the current state.
Contact Person reaches visitor management
When a Planner meeting has a Contact Person, that person is now sent to your visitor management integration (Sign In Enterprise) as the host. Visitor invitations and printed guest badges show the Contact Person rather than the booking owner. Changing the Contact Person in Planner updates the invitation and the badge.
Meetings moved to another calendar
When a meeting is moved into a secondary Outlook calendar that the user cannot edit, Planner keeps the booking. Previously the booking was deleted and a cancellation was sent.
These bookings are shown in Planner as read-only. If someone tries to edit or delete one, Planner explains why the action isn't available instead of showing an error code.
Other Features & Enhancements
Booking & Synchronisation
Planner Only Room Removal: A Planner Only Room removed from a meeting in Outlook is now removed in Planner, while rooms the Outlook location does not name are kept. [MEET-1840]
Broken Outlook Links: A meeting that has lost its link to its Outlook event is now matched to that event on the next synchronisation, so no duplicate meeting is created and the room is kept. [BAM-651]
Booking Duration: A meeting created through the Outlook add-in now reserves the room for the whole meeting, not only the default first 30 minutes. [PHO-372]
VIP Resources: A user with VIP access can now book VIP resources when working through a functional mailbox, in both the add-in and the booking page. [BAM-654]
Deleted Owners: Secretaries can now edit meetings whose owner has been deleted, and the New Booking Experience no longer requires Billing Account and Meeting Type in that case. [PHO-379]
External Attendees: External attendees added in the New Booking Experience are no longer anonymised before their meeting has taken place. [PHO-401]
Catering & Equipment
Picked Up: Catering items are now listed in the booking flow when Picked up is selected as the delivery method. [PHO-380]
Delivery-Only Items: When a room is removed in Outlook, an item that can only be delivered now shows a warning that it cannot be picked up, instead of being switched to pick-up. [BAM-373]
Payment Code: The payment code field in a Catering Manager's booking details now clears its error once a payment account is selected. [PHO-428]
Display
Priced Rooms: A room with a price can now be booked from a panel, using the site's default billing account and meeting type where the organiser has none. [BAM-632]
Spontaneous Bookings: A spontaneous or checked-in booking on a panel connected to Microsoft 365 now keeps the room for its full length, instead of being released after a few minutes. [BAM-641]
Ending a Meeting: After a meeting is ended on the panel, the room now stays free, and pressing End twice no longer shows an error. [BAM-661]
Outlook Add-in
Send Confirmation: The add-in now reports a booking as successful only once Outlook confirms the invitation was sent, and Outlook Classic reminds the user to press Send or Save & Close. [BAM-643]
Shared Mailboxes: The add-in no longer shows an error to users working from a shared mailbox. [SHI-743]
Plain Emails: Ordinary emails are no longer held with "Planner is working on your request" when the add-in cannot load. [PHO-387]
User Settings: Changes to user settings in the Outlook Classic add-in are now saved. [PHO-425]
Email Notifications & Reporting
Partial Series Cancellation: Cancelling some occurrences of a recurring series now sends a "Recurrence modified" email that lists the cancelled days separately from the days still booked. [PHO-383]
Cancellation Emails: Deleting a booking with a cost now sends a cancellation email even when notifications for bookings without cost are switched off. [PHO-418]
Administrative & API
Grant Status: On the Outlook add-in integration page, Grant status is now shown only for the primary tenant and for tenants whose connection is Connected. [PHO-417]
UI/UX & Reporting
Past Meetings: Opening a past meeting in the New Booking Experience now shows the meeting's own start date instead of today's date. [PHO-411]
Note Length: The booking flow again warns when a note exceeds its character limit, in place of an unhandled error. [SHI-738]
Catering Dropdowns: The catering and delivery time dropdowns in the booking flow are now aligned. [PHO-414]