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M365 Outlook on the Web (How To) Set and View Your Status

This document will explain how you can set your status in Outlook through your calendar or alternatively through Microsoft Teams.
 

There are two different methods to change your status on Outlook on the Web, either through the calendar tab or through Microsoft Teams. 

Calendar Method: 

1: Sign into your Outlook account and navigate to the Calendar tab on the left side of the webpage. 

2: Either click the New Event button directly below the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee icon or Outlook text on the left side of the screen or click on a date in the calendar twice to set a new event. 

Calendar Setting

3: A window will pop up allowing you to set times for a new event. At the top of this pop-up, there are four drop down menus. Click the third menu that is by default titled Busy. This menu will allow you to select what you would like your status to display as during the time-span of the event you're creating. 

4: Select your preferred status and the time-frame you would like it to be active for.

Expanded Schedule

Microsoft Teams Method:

Your UWM Microsoft 365 account syncs its availability across all Microsoft 365 products, so if you set your status in Teams, that will be reflected in Outlook. 

To set your status in Microsoft Teams, follow the instructions in the this Knowledge Base article: M365 Teams (How To) Set Your Status

View Your and Others Statuses 

There are two methods to viewing someone's status on Outlook on the Web.

Search Method:

1: In the search bar on the top of your Outlook page, search the UWM email address of whoever you would like to see the status of.

2: A list of possible contacts will appear. Click the ID card symbol to the right of the address of the person whose availability you want to see. 

Outlook Search Bar

3: Their current status will be displayed on their contact profile, indicated by the circle on the bottom right of their profile picture. 

Current Status

Scroll-Over Method:

If you have been emailed by someone who you would like to check the status of, scroll over their profile picture and their status will pop up. 

Current Status Indicated by Scroll-over

Status Icon Meanings:

For a list of the meanings of different Outlook status icons, refer to the following image chart: 

Green = Available. Hollowed Out Green = Available, Out of office. Red = Busy. Red with line = Do Not Disturb. Yellow Clock = Away/Brb. Gray circle = Offline.

Additionally, scrolling over the status circle will cause the name of the status to pop up. 

The Away status indicates inactivity in either Teams or Outlook for a period of 10 minutes or longer - this occurs only if your status is set to AvailableBe Right Back has the same icon as Away. 

Do Not Disturb disables all default Outlook notifications.