Room Finder Missing/Changed

Emile Topalian 91

Hi,

It's been a few weeks now that my room finder has disappeared on Outlook 365. And when I turn it on, it doesn't look like before. I don't see the month with shades of blue, only a list of available rooms. See below images.

What can I do to get the room finder as it used to look before?

Noneya B 66 Reputation points

2021-05-19T21:42:40.557+00:00

I agree with this post. As someone who schedules meetings all day long, my job has just become more difficult/time-consuming. The monthly calendar view is extremely helpful and I don't understand why it was removed. I don't have the option to downgrade to the previous version as this is a work computer. I hope that Microsoft reconsiders removing the tool.

In combination with the updated room finder, it would be great but I'd rather have the old version back without the new room finder if I had the choice.

I would hope they beta-tested this software update with folks who schedule meetings for a living versus casual or infrequent users. Perhaps I am overlooking something and it's an improvement. If so, I'm all ears--please share your tips.

Thanks!
Filiberto Sepulveda 21 Reputation points

2021-09-30T18:39:36.853+00:00

This solution worked for me:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/how-to-revert-the-outlook-desktop-webview-based-room-finder-to-the-legacy-room-finder-e872b6f2-0d36-41ff-861d-adaab2da9c28?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US
fka-gargamel 5 Reputation points

2023-03-29T15:50:29.4333333+00:00

YOU GET IT
THE MONTH VIEW WAS GOLDEN
WE WANT IT BACK
PK 0 Reputation points

2023-12-20T22:24:57.0833333+00:00

Microsoft, are you kidding me?! I agree with everyone here; bring back the previous view!!! The new view is terrible and useless!!!

Seriously, we should establish federal laws that prohibit changes to UI/UX of existing features that have been out for 90 days or more... apply to Android, Samsung, Microsoft, all the developing companies... real time and value damage to customers with no idea where to begin measuring. Imagine, I came into your home while you're working and rearranged it thinking it'd make your life better.... Not to mention it would incentivize getting it right at deployment.

Food for thought, @Satya Nadella
PK 0 Reputation points

2023-12-20T22:35:00.69+00:00

Filiberto, thank you for the find, but unfortunately, most corporate assets can't access the registry...
PK 0 Reputation points

2023-12-20T22:59:27.85+00:00

I've got an idea, Microsoft. Technically, finding a room was not a strength of the previous room finder. The new one technically does live up to that title. Leave it as is and bring back the old view as another tool called availability finder.

I should be compensated for this idea...

8 answers

Noneya B 66 Reputation points

2021-06-16T14:47:54.987+00:00

In case my comment was missed...

I agree with this post. As someone who schedules meetings all day long, my job has just become more difficult/time-consuming. The monthly calendar view is extremely helpful and I don't understand why it was removed. I don't have the option to downgrade to the previous version as this is a work computer. I hope that Microsoft reconsiders removing the tool. The new tool is only helpful for booking a room, you can no longer view participant availability easily.

This update is a MAJOR DOWNGRADE.

In combination with the updated room finder, it would be great, but I'd rather have the old version back without the new room finder if I had the choice--finding a room is not a major issue. Working in a global org trying to find availability is the issue and always has been.

I would hope they beta-tested this software update with folks who schedule meetings for a living versus casual or infrequent users. Perhaps I am overlooking something and it's an improvement. If so, I'm all ears--please share your tips.

Thanks!
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5 people found this answer helpful.
Wilson David J 36 Reputation points

2021-06-16T14:55:14.23+00:00

I also do not have the ability to manage versioning as I'm controlled via our IT management policies. If improvements in the room scheduling were to be delivered, please provide the improvements to Time Scheduling that meet our need as well. Previously this was accomplished in the Room Finder function. Maybe a Time Finder function is now needed...AutoPick is not that function and does not meet a Global Corporation's need at all. I have never had a successful "suggestion" and would rather it was repurposed to offer the functionality Room Finder used to have when it comes to Attendees' schedules.
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Emile Topalian 91 Reputation points

2021-04-26T13:50:07.387+00:00

Hi @Jade Liang-MSFT ,

Thanks for your reply.

Version I'm using is 2103 - Build 13901.20400.

Reverting back to a previous version/build will help, but I'm afraid it will only be a temporary solution until a new update is released - that I could simply dismiss, or one important enough for security and/or stability reasons that I'll have no choice to do.

I'm not entirely sure why it's a better experience as I don't have the attendees' availabilities that I can see throughout a given month with the shades of blue (white = Good, light blue = Fair, blue = Poor) and forces me to scroll to see who is available and when. It's not a user-friendly experience anymore.

I don't know if I'm the only one that has asked about that, but I really liked better the previous UX as it's simpler & faster, and the new version doesn't offer an alternative anymore. It's not that I'm being picky on the new display, it's the fact that it's not there at all anymore.

Thanks again.

Best,

E.
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2 people found this answer helpful.
Jade Liang-MSFT 9,956 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2021-04-27T08:57:04.817+00:00

Hi @Emile Topalian ,

Thanks for your reply and glad to see the workaround could work for you.

For this new feature, according to the official article I post above, the new room finder adds the room list function, which may help us find and book the room more clearer and fast. If you still don't like it and would like to give a feedback for this new feature, it's recommended to post your idea in our Outlook for uservoice, which is the official platform that Microsoft collect the suggestions on Outlook.

By the way, if you don't have any other questions about it, would you mind marking the helpful post as answer? It would benefit others who has similar issues in our forum could find related information more easier, thanks for your understanding.

Have a nice day :)

Paul, Jeff 26 Reputation points

2021-05-04T19:33:32.323+00:00

I agree with Emile. The loss of this functionality will cost schedulers a lot of time. The "AI" option to find an open date doesn't really work when there are lots of attendees. I want to find options that minimize the number of people who cannot attend. The calendar view was great for this, showing which days had potentially good time slots and then I could see the specific hours that had the least number of conflicts.

Hope you will consider putting this back in as it will now waste time to have to manually search through each day/time.

Jeff

Wilson David J 36 Reputation points

2021-06-16T14:36:18.347+00:00

I agree with Emile as well. I want to add the difficulty utilizing the AutoPick when attendees are from various timezones and the need to target a specific time "window". With the increasing volume of meetings being completely virtual, the enhancement to the actual Room Selection is not appreciated as much when compared to the lost efficiency of the calendar removal. AutoPick tends to look forward in the day and selects a time that will not work for a number of my attendees who are on opposite time schedules.

Elby 16 Reputation points

2021-06-29T14:11:43.717+00:00

Emile did not say this workaround could work. Like Emile, I am frustrated with the removal of this useful tool. in addition, I have wasted additional time trying to find the uservoice, which has been discontinued or leads me back to this same article. This post is not helpful.

Emile Topalian 91 Reputation points

2021-06-29T14:20:07.103+00:00

@Elby and @Jade Liang-MSFT , I can confirm that the workaround DID NOT work. With all the meetings I have to book & move in a day, I lose precious time trying to find an appropriate day/time. Everyone here agrees that the update is a downgrade. Typically, updates are supposed to make your life better & easier. Not to make it more complex!

Jade Liang-MSFT 9,956 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2021-06-30T07:47:55.157+00:00

Hi @Emile Topalian ,

In version 2105 or later version of Outlook 365, we added a registry key that disables the new Room Finder experience (the same experience as in Outlook for Web) and enables the legacy Room Finder with Suggested Times, for your reference:
Registry Key:

HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\Options\Calendar
REG_DWORD “ShowLegacyRoomFinder”

0 (default) - Outlook uses new Room Finder OWA Powered eXperience when user clicks 'Room Finder' button to search for available rooms
1 - Outlook uses legacy Room Finder UI to search for available rooms
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Jade Liang-MSFT 9,956 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2021-04-26T07:16:16.92+00:00
Hi @Emile Topalian ,

Welcome to our forum.

What's the version of your Outlook 365(File>Office account>About Outlook)? According to my research and tests, the room finder experience has been updated since the Version 2012 (Build 13530.20316) on January 05, for more information about new room finder and update information, please refer to these articles:

How to configure the new Room Finder in Outlook

Release notes.

It is by design and aims to provide users with a better experience when working with Outlook room finder, if you still don't like it, as a workaround, you could try to revert your office to an earlier version, such as Version 2012 (Build 13530.20316) or earlier. Based on my tests, we could revert our office like below:

Run command prompt as administrator

type "cd %programfiles%\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\ClickToRun\", enter

type "OfficeC2RClient.exe /update user updatetoversion=16.0.13426.20404", enter, then it would download Office
(16.0.13426.20404 means you would revert your Office to Version 2012 (Build 13530.20316), you could also choose other version number for your need )

Hope that would be helpful to you.

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Eike 1 Reputation point

2022-04-14T11:02:51.327+00:00

Hi @Jade Liang-MSFT - the major point is for me the missing mini-calendar. With the rest I'm fine (I even don't really need it - especially when it comes to remote calls, I don't need a physical room). If the mini-calendar would come back, this would be a major improvement from the current state (despite the fact it would be only about reverting back to).

Please also consider that for "corporate users" there is no way to modify the registry for single accounts. Hence, any of the proposed workarounds below are not an option at all.
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Christine Schmidutz 21 Reputation points

2021-07-22T19:42:14.477+00:00

This was such an efficient and useful tool - I could quickly assess what the open time slots were, determine how many attendees might have conflicts- see who had a conflict and potentially contact them to see if they could reschedule ( depending on importance ) all this while not having to toggle to a different tab. The look was clean and scheduling assistant is not. Please bring this back
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Christine Schmidutz 21 Reputation points

2021-07-22T19:50:16.847+00:00

one of my coworkers found a work around for me
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/how-to-revert-the-outlook-desktop-webview-based-room-finder-to-the-legacy-room-finder-e872b6f2-0d36-41ff-861d-adaab2da9c28?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US

Claire McLoughlin 6 Reputation points

2021-10-21T20:38:52.523+00:00

Unfortunately, it doesn't work in our company as the registry is disabled by IT.
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Administrator 1 Reputation point

2021-10-22T06:37:14.547+00:00

I have two Outlook (for Windows) clients with the exact same version, which is version 2110 Build 16.0.14527.20168.

However, one client shows the new room finder experience, the other does not. I've checked, that the registry key to show the old experience is not present. Any suggestions?

Edit: I want the NEW experience to be shown.
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Jimmy Winberg 6 Reputation points

2021-11-03T10:00:25.433+00:00

I have the exact same issue im on build 2108 Monthly Enterprise Channel, one device does not have the new room finder, and i can't seem to activate it
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