The published Free/Busy information for a mailbox is displayed for the default period of two months after you have configured a longer period in Outlook (917687)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise Edition
  • Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Standard Edition

SYMPTOMS

You configure the published Free/Busy information for a mailbox to be displayed for longer than the two months that is the default time period in Microsoft Outlook. However, after some time, you see that this information is displayed for only two months. This issue occurs when you register the Auto Accept Agent to process meeting requests for the affected mailbox.

If you run Outlook by using the /cleanfreebusy switch, the issue is resolved for a short period.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, you must include the period for which you want to publish Free/Busy information in a registry entry. Configure this registry entry on the Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 server on which you have installed the Auto Accept Agent. Configure the entry under the following registry subkey:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Excdo\Parameters

Name: FBPublishMonth
Value type: DWORD
Value data: The period, in months, for which you want to publish Free/Busy information

For example, if you want to publish Free/Busy data for 4 months, type 4 in the Value data box.

After you add this key, you must restart the Internet Information Services (IIS) Admin Service and the System Attendant service for this change to become effective.

MORE INFORMATION

Steps to reproduce the behavior

  1. Log on to a resource mailbox in Outlook.
  2. On the Tools menu, click Options, click Calendar Options, and then click Free/Busy Options.
  3. In the Publish box, type the number of months for which you want to publish Free/Busy information. For example, type 4 in the Publish box if you want to publish data for 4 months.
  4. Click OK three times. Do not log off.
  5. Create an appointment. Log off the client.
  6. From a second Outlook client, create a new meeting.
  7. Invite the resource mailbox, and verify that the Free/Busy window displays the number of months that was entered in step 3.
  8. Book the meeting with the invited resource mailbox, and then log off the second Outlook client.
  9. Log on to the first Outlook client, and then create a new appointment with the resource mailbox.
  10. Verify the Free/Busy window.

Actual Result

The Free/Busy window displays the number of months as two.

Expected Result

The Free/Busy window displays the number of months that was entered in step 3.

REFERENCES

For more information about a hotfix for a similar issue in Outlook 2003, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

905817 The free/busy publish range reverts back to the default setting when you direct book a resource in Outlook 2003

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:5/30/2006
Keywords:kbtshoot kbprb KB917687 kbAudITPRO
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