Availability Patterns

First, find out why you would use Availability Patterns. See Preferences and Patterns.

You can request availability preferences by creating availability patterns, which contain the start and end times you want for a week. Availability patterns are displayed in a table at the top of the Preferences pane. Your availability patterns can specify different start and end times for each day.

Tip

When adding or editing preferences, you can select your preferred time zone. When you create availability preferences, the time zone you chose is applied to the start and end times that are specified in availability patterns. The start and end time values in the pattern itself will be in the chosen time zone and do not change if the time zone changes.

Use the Availability Patterns tab to:

• Create, edit, or delete an availability pattern.
• Create an availability preference based on an availability pattern.
• Display the Preferences Overview tab by clicking that link.

Creating Availability Patterns

To create a new availability pattern:

1. In the Preferences window, click Availability Patterns.
   The Availability Patterns tab appears.
2. Click Create Pattern.
3. Enter a name for the new pattern in the Description text box.
4. Enter start times and end times that you want for each day of the week. On each day's row, use the time controls to enter start and end times (in hours and minutes).
   Tip

   You can not leave start and end times blank.
   Times are displayed in 12- or 24-hour format, depending on your computer's regional settings. Use the Next Day check box to indicate that the end time falls within the next day.
5. After you have entered the information, click Apply.
   The new pattern is now included in the Select pattern drop-down list.

Editing Availability Patterns

To edit a previously created availability pattern:

1. In the Availability Patterns tab, select the pattern from the Select pattern drop-down list.
   The pattern properties appear in the start time and end time drop-down lists.
2. Change the start times and end times.
3. Click Apply.

Deleting Availability Patterns

To permanently remove an availability pattern:

1. In the Availability Patterns tab, select the pattern from the table by checking the corresponding check box.
2. Click Delete Pattern.

Creating Availability Preferences

To create an availability preference based on an availability pattern, see Using Patterns for Availability Preferences.