How to Add the Meeting Workspace Button in the Outlook 2010 Ribbon to Create a Meeting Workspace

In the module on Meeting Workspaces in our Introduction to SharePoint 2010 – Using SharePoint Foundation 2010 class, we teach students that there are three ways to create a new Meeting Workspace:

• From any site, just like you would create any other site (Site Actions > New Site or View All Site Content > Create).
• From any Event on a SharePoint Calendar (check the box beside “Use a Meeting Workspace to organize attendees, agendas, documents, minutes, and other details for this event.”)
• From any Appointment or Meeting in Outlook (click on the “Meeting Workspace” button in the ribbon while editing or creating the Appointment or Meeting).

When I show students the Meeting Workspace button in Outlook, some students have seen it and some have never seen it. In Outlook 2007, the button was on the Meeting ribbon by default in the Attendees section, as you can see in this screenshot.

Unfortunately, for some unknown reason, the Outlook team decided to remove the Meeting Workspace button as a default in Outlook 2010.

However, it’s easy to add it if you want it. J Here are the steps:

1. In Outlook 2010, go the Calendar and click the button to create a New Appointment or New Meeting.
   
2. In the Appointment or Meeting dialog, click File > Options to access the Backstage.
   
3. In the Outlook Options dialog, select Customize Ribbon on the left-hand side.
   
4. In the right-hand side of the Customize the Ribbon panel, click the New Tab button. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to add new buttons to the existing tabs and groups, so you’re going to have to create a new tab to show the Meeting Workspace button.
   
5. Select the New Tab (Custom) that was just created, and click the Rename… button.
   
6. In the Rename
   dialog, for the Display name, type SharePoint, and click the OK button.
   
7. Select the New Group (Custom), and click the Rename button.
   
8. In the Rename
   dialog, for the Display name, type Meeting Workspace, and click the OK button.
   
9. In the left-hand side of the Customize the Ribbon panel, select Popular Commands > Meeting Workspace. In the right-hand side select Meeting Workspace (Custom). In the middle, click Add. At the bottom, click the OK button.
   
10. Notice you have a new SharePoint tab in the ribbon, and a Meeting Workspace button on that tab. It has been added to both the Appointment and Meeting dialogs.
    
11. Enjoy using your new Meeting Workspace button to create Meeting Workspaces in SharePoint right from within Outlook as you are scheduling a new meeting.