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The meeting Management Blog
Add-ins for Outlook

Plan the whole meeting in one Outlook invite

The AskCody add-ins put room booking, catering and visitor registration in the Outlook toolbar your people already use. Every booking lives in Microsoft Exchange, and when the meeting moves, the room, the order and the guest list move with it.

A real Outlook invite for a meeting called Leadership Evaluation, with the AskCody add-ins in the Outlook toolbar. With the AskCody Bookings add-in the organizer adds Meeting Room A, with 8 seats, a screen and a whiteboard. With the AskCody Services add-in they add coffee, fruit and water from Catering for 12:30. With the AskCody Visitors add-in they register two guests, Alex Weber and Lidia Holloway. When the invite is sent, the room is booked, the order goes to Catering and the guest list goes to reception, and Microsoft Exchange shows Meeting Room A accepted, booked in the room calendar from 12:30 to 15:00.
Built on Microsoft 365

Why manage meetings inside Outlook?

Every meeting starts as an Outlook invite. Then the work scatters: a room found by trial and error, an email to the kitchen about lunch, a guest list sent to reception, and three follow-ups the moment the meeting moves. Nobody sees the whole meeting, so somebody finds out too late.

AskCody keeps all of it in the invite. The add-ins run inside Outlook and Microsoft 365, every room and desk is a resource calendar in Microsoft Exchange, people sign in with their Microsoft account through Microsoft Entra ID, and the platform runs on Microsoft Azure. There is no second calendar to keep in sync: the booking in Exchange is the booking.

Bookings add-in: Meeting Room A is found in Outlook and booked in Microsoft Exchange
Bookings add-in

Find and book the right room, desk or workspace across your locations, filtered by purpose, equipment and the number of attendees.
Services add-in: coffee and a fruit basket ordered in the invite and accepted by Catering
Services add-in

Order catering, room setups and AV from the invite. The right team gets the request with the room, the time and the host attached.
Visitors add-in: two guests added to the invite, expected by reception and sent arrival details
Visitors add-in

Pre-register guests from the invite, so reception knows who is coming and the guests get their arrival details.
Follow-the-Meeting Intelligence: the invite moves to Friday and the room, catering and guests follow
Follow-the-Meeting Intelligence

Move or cancel the meeting in Outlook, and the room, the order and the guest list follow it automatically.
An Outlook meeting called Leadership Evaluation with the AskCody Bookings add-in open beside it. The location Copenhagen, the purpose Internal meeting, the equipment Video conference, Whiteboard and Projector and 5 attendees are selected, and the add-in lists Meeting Room A, B and C.
Bookings add-in

How do you book a meeting room in Outlook?

Create a meeting in Outlook, invite your attendees and open the AskCody Bookings add-in from the toolbar. Choose one or more locations, a purpose such as a workshop or a client meeting, and the equipment you need. The attendee count comes from your invite, so the add-in only shows rooms that fit. Select Find, add the room and send the invite. The room is booked in Microsoft Exchange like any other room. So when the meeting moves, just drag and drop it in your Outlook calendar. There is no need to reopen the add-in or rebook the room.

Need time for the catering or AV team to prepare? Tick the buffer option and the add-in reserves extra minutes before and after the meeting. The same add-in books desks and other workspaces, so people use one tool for every space.

See how to book a room in Outlook

Services add-in

Order catering and services without leaving Outlook

Once the room is booked and Exchange has accepted the meeting, open the AskCody Services add-in in the same invite. Pick a provider, such as the canteen or the AV team, choose from its menu, set the quantities and say when it should arrive: before, during or after the meeting, in the room or at a pickup point. Add a note for the team and send the request.

The provider gets the order in its own AskCody portal with the room, the time and the host attached, so nobody retypes a meeting from an email. If your organization charges meetings to cost centers, the add-in can ask for the billing details with the order.

Learn more about meeting catering

Learn more about facilities services

The AskCody Services add-in open beside an Outlook meeting called Leadership Evaluation, with a catering request for Meeting Room A: 5 coffee, 1 fruit basket and 5 water jugs, delivered to the room at 12:30.
The AskCody Visitors add-in open beside an Outlook meeting called Leadership Evaluation, with two guests on the visitor list, a note that one guest needs a parking permit, and a button to send the visitor list to reception.
Visitors add-in

Register visitors from the meeting invite

External attendees on your invite are ready to add to the guest list in the AskCody Visitors add-in. Add what reception needs to know, such as a phone number or a note about parking, and send the visitor list to reception. Your guests get their arrival information by email or text, and reception knows who is coming before they walk in.

When a guest checks in, the host is notified, so nobody is left waiting in the lobby. The guest list stays tied to the meeting, so a new time or a new building reaches reception and the guests without a single extra email.

Learn more about visitor management

Follow-the-Meeting Intelligence

What happens when the meeting moves?

In AskCody, the meeting is the anchor. The room, the catering order and the guest list are tied to the same Outlook invite, so when the organizer changes it, everything changes with it.

Move the meeting to Friday, and the room booking, the delivery time and the guests' arrival details follow. Cancel it, and the room is released, the order is canceled and reception is no longer expecting anyone. Nobody calls the kitchen, and nobody forgets to tell reception.

Follow-the-Meeting Intelligence. An Outlook invite called Leadership Evaluation holds Meeting Room A, an order of coffee, fruit and water from Catering, and two guests, Alex Weber and Lidia Holloway. On Thursday at 12:30 the room is booked in Microsoft Exchange, Catering has accepted the order and reception expects the two guests. The organizer moves the meeting to Friday at 14:00 in Outlook, and the room booking, the catering delivery and the guests' arrival details all move with it, with no emails to the kitchen or reception. Then the organizer cancels the meeting, and the room is released for others, the catering order is canceled and reception cancels the visit.

For IT

How do the add-ins fit into Microsoft 365?

The AskCody add-ins are modern add-ins for Outlook, not VSTO plug-ins. The code runs in the add-in frame Microsoft provides instead of on each PC, so the add-ins do not slow Outlook down.

  • Deployed once, for everyone: your Microsoft 365 administrator deploys the add-ins centrally, from the admin center or with PowerShell, and updates arrive without reinstalling anything.
  • Works where Outlook works: Outlook for Windows and Mac and Outlook on the web, with Microsoft 365 or Outlook 2019 and 2021.
  • Pick what you need: Bookings, Services and Visitors work independently, so you can roll out one, two or all three.

Exchange stays the system of record

AskCody connects to Microsoft 365 through Microsoft Graph, and to on-premises Exchange Server through EWS. Rooms and desks are resource mailboxes in Exchange, and meeting data is read from Exchange when a feature needs it, never copied into a second calendar.

Sign-in and users from Microsoft Entra ID

People sign in with Microsoft single sign-on, and users and groups can be provisioned automatically from Microsoft Entra ID.

Calendars, not mailboxes

AskCody reads calendar data such as the organizer, time, location and attendees. It has no access to email, inboxes or attachments.

See how AskCody integrates with Microsoft

An Outlook meeting with a Microsoft Teams meeting link in the invite, and options to add a Teams, Webex or Zoom meeting.
Video meetings

Teams, Webex or Zoom in the same invite

Hybrid meetings start the same way. Add the Teams, Webex or Zoom link to the invite as you always do, then book the room, the catering and the guests with the AskCody add-ins. Because it is one invite, the video link, the room and the services stay together.

Meetings booked in Outlook, including meetings with a Teams link, show on AskCody room displays and dashboards, so everyone can see what is happening in each room.

How AskCody works with Microsoft Teams meetings

Manager of Workplace Services
Manager of Workplace ServicesA leading investment management firm

It looks and feels like Outlook

“AskCody was a much easier transition because it looks the same as the native Outlook experience, but it’s easier for the end user as you can do all the requirements of your meeting in this one spot.”

Luke Schnoebelen, Director of Professional Development
Luke SchnoebelenDirector of Professional Development

It put our old system to shame

“The flexibility of AskCody and the direct integration to Outlook put our old system to shame, and we now have a much better opportunity to connect lawyers across multiple locations... All employees can do it themselves, so our efficiency has improved.”

Susann Holloway, Conference Services Manager
Susann HollowayConference Services Manager

The one-stop shop we were looking for

“Internally, we wanted to have something that would integrate with Outlook and could help us communicate the meeting needs in one whole package. It’s a one-stop shop... AskCody was the only one that was really robust enough to provide all the services that we need.”

Luke Schnoebelen, Director of Professional Development
Luke SchnoebelenDirector of Professional Development

Why we left our old booking tool

“We shouldn’t have to go to a different solution than Microsoft Outlook to book a conference room, and the two systems never talked to each other... So that was kind of one of the drivers for us saying: Let us find a new tool!”

Nabil Zerdazi, IT Project Manager
Nabil ZerdaziIT Project Manager

The whole meeting, organized in Outlook

“By using AskCody, our employees will be able to manage the end-to-end process of organizing their own meetings in Microsoft Outlook, and easily find a workplace that will perfectly fit their needs.”

Shayla M., Training Coordinator
Shayla M.Training Coordinator

A wonderful upgrade to our room reservation system

“I LOVE that AskCody is integrated with Outlook. It makes reserving, editing and canceling reservations so quick and easy. The interface is very easy to use and is so customizable to our needs.”

Common questions about
the AskCody add-ins for Outlook

What are the three AskCody add-ins for Outlook?

Bookings finds and books meeting rooms, desks and other workspaces across your locations. Services orders catering, room setups, AV equipment and other meeting services from the invite. Visitors pre-registers external guests with reception. The three work independently, so you can use one, two or all three, and everything you add is tied to the same meeting.
Which versions of Outlook do the add-ins work in?

The add-ins work with Microsoft 365, Outlook on the web, and Outlook 2019 and 2021 for Windows and Mac. Outlook 2016 has limited functionality for delegated access. Read more about the Outlook integration.
How does IT deploy the add-ins?

The add-ins are modern Outlook add-ins. An administrator copies the manifest URL from the AskCody Management Portal and deploys it centrally for the organization, or with PowerShell, so nobody installs anything on their own PC. See how to deploy the add-ins with PowerShell.
What happens when I reschedule or cancel a meeting?

This is Follow-the-Meeting Intelligence. When you move a meeting in Outlook, the room booking, the catering order and the visitors' arrival details move with it. Cancel the meeting, and the room is released and the order and the visit are canceled. On on-premises Exchange Server, this needs TLS 1.2 enabled on the Exchange servers. Read the requirement.
Why must the meeting invite be sent before I order services or visitors?

That is the price of being native to Microsoft Exchange. Pressing Send is what sends the invite and books the room in Exchange. Until then, the invite is only a draft: nothing is booked, not even the room, until Exchange accepts it under the booking policies your organization uses. In some organizations, conference services or reception also approve the room request before it is accepted. So the invite must be sent before you add services or visitors, because AskCody has to know that the meeting exists before it can track it and follow every change.

Flip it around: a tool that lets you order before the invite is sent has to store the meeting in its own database first and sync it to Exchange later. That second system of record is what causes double bookings and orphaned bookings. You might save a click today, and create a lot of trouble tomorrow.

So think of AskCody as insurance that when a room is booked, it is actually booked. Sending first is what saves your workplace, and everyone involved in a meeting, a lot of trouble down the road: it gives your meeting data its integrity, and gives every user certainty that when the calendar says something, reality matches.
Why must Exchange accept the meeting before I add services or visitors?

Because the acceptance confirms that the meeting is actually happening and that the room is yours. Book the room first, let Microsoft Exchange accept it, and then order catering and register guests for a meeting you know will take place. It works like booking a holiday: you buy the plane ticket before you reserve your seat on the plane. Things happen in an order for a reason.
How do people search for rooms?

In the Bookings add-in, people choose one or more locations, a purpose such as a video conference, a client meeting or a workshop, and the equipment they need, such as a whiteboard, a screen or a conference phone. The attendee count comes from the invite, and the add-in shows only the rooms that match. See how the Bookings add-in works.
Can I control who is able to book rooms?

Yes. Some users can request rooms while others approve or decline the requests, and with resource groups people only see the rooms and desks they are allowed to book. We call it what-you-see-is-what-you-book. Learn how to restrict rooms and desks.
Can I book a room on behalf of someone else?

Yes, with delegated access or a shared calendar in Outlook. Delegated access covers the whole account, including calendar and email, while a shared calendar lets you book on behalf of a colleague without sending email as them. Compare delegated access and a shared calendar.
Can external users book our rooms?

Yes, if you choose to allow it. AskCody supports two ways to let external users book Exchange room calendars. See the two methods.
Does AskCody read our email?

No. AskCody works on calendars only. It reads calendar data in Exchange, such as the organizer, subject, time, location and attendees, and requests no Mail, Files or Sites permissions, so it has no access to email, inboxes or attachments. Two read-only directory permissions, User.Read.All and GroupMember.Read.All, sync your users and groups from Microsoft Entra ID. Microsoft does not let those two be limited to specific mailboxes. See the permissions AskCody uses, or read the security review FAQ.
What is the minimum scope AskCody needs in Exchange Online?

Every room and desk calendar connected to AskCody, plus the calendars of the people who book or attend meetings in those rooms, including people who book only in Outlook. You set the scope with Role Based Access Control (RBAC) for Applications in Exchange Online, and Microsoft enforces it in your tenant. A rooms-only scope is possible, but services, visitor registrations and utilization data will then be incomplete. See how to limit AskCody’s access.
Can we exclude sensitive groups, such as Executive Leadership, Legal or HR?

Yes. Leave the group out of the scope, and the meetings its members organize cannot be managed through AskCody. Those meetings can still appear in room calendars, but in AskCody they can only be viewed, not changed. A dynamic group, or an organization-wide scope with exclusions, is easier to maintain than a hand-picked list. Read about excluding groups.
Which meeting data does AskCody read and store?

AskCody reads the meeting data its features need from Exchange: organizer, subject and description, the private flag, start and end times, location, attendees, resources and Exchange identifiers. It does not keep a copy of your calendars and does not index or search mailbox content. What AskCody stores is its own data: service orders, visitor registrations, the users and groups synced from Entra ID, and anonymized Insights data. See the data categories AskCody handles.
How long is data kept, and how do we delete it?

Meeting data stays in Exchange and is processed only while the integration is active. Data that AskCody creates is kept for the duration of your agreement or until you delete it. Visitor data is anonymized automatically after a retention period you set from 1 to 365 days (31 days by default), and backups roll over every 31 days. On request, AskCody extracts, corrects, erases or exports your data within 2 weeks. When the agreement ends, AskCody deletes the personal data it processed for you. Read about retention and deletion.
Which languages does AskCody support?

The AskCody Platform is available in 12 languages: English, Spanish, German, French, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch, Italian, Japanese and Polish. The add-ins follow the display language you use in Outlook. Read about language settings.

See the add-ins in your own Outlook

Talk to a consultant and see how the room, the catering and the guests come together in one Outlook invite, and follow it when plans change.
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