Tutorial : Using Internet Free/Busy (IFB) information – Series # 3

With continuation from the previous free/busy article 1 & 2, now we will see how to view other people’s free/busy information on the internet; also how to set the free/busy search path for a specific contact using Internet Free/Busy (IFB) feature & ical.

How to view other people's free/busy information on the Internet?

You can view the free/busy information for any one of your contacts that publish this data on the Internet. If all your contacts store this information on the same free/busy server, you can set the search path for this information globally for all contacts. Or, if the location of this information varies by contact, you can set the search path specifically for each contact. Use one of the following methods to view other people's free/busy information on the Internet.

How to set the global free/busy search path for all contacts?

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. On the Preferences tab, click Calendar Options.
3. Click Free/Busy Options.
4. In the Search location box, type the URL from which you want to view other people's free/busy information.
5. Click OK three times to close all dialog boxes.

How to set the free/busy search path for a specific contact?

1. In the navigation pane, click Contacts, and then double-click an entry to open a contact.
2. Click the Details tab.
3. Under the text that reads Internet Free-Busy, type the fully qualified path of the location that you want to search for this Contact's free/busy information in the Address box.
4. You can use any valid URL format, such as: http://..., file://\\..., or ftp://....
5. The following is an example of a valid format: ftp://Contactserver/Freebusy/Contactname.vfb
   Internet free/busy information appears on the Scheduling tab of appointments and meetings.