Calendar Permission Levels Explained

πŸ”‘ Calendar Permission Levels Explained
What each level actually lets someone see and do.
βœ… Before You Begin
  • No action needed β€” this article is reference
  • To change a permission you must own the calendar
  • πŸ• Estimated time: 3 minutes
πŸ’» Which Outlook do these steps describe?
Written for Outlook on the web and New Outlook for Windows, which share the same layout. classic Outlook for Windows is laid out differently β€” its steps are in In Classic Outlook further down this page.

πŸ”‘ The Levels πŸ• Reference  |  No action needed
Every level below includes everything above it. They appear in the dropdown beside a person’s name in Sharing and permissions.
Level They can see Can change events
Not shared Nothing at all ✘ No
Can view when I’m busy Blocks of busy and free time. No titles, no locations, no attendees ✘ No
Can view titles and locations Busy blocks plus each event’s title and where it is ✘ No
Can view all details Everything, including notes and the attendee list ✘ No
Can edit Everything, and can create, change, and delete events βœ” Yes
Delegate Everything Can edit allows, and receives meeting invitations sent to you βœ” Yes
πŸ’‘ Tip: Can view when I’m busy is the right default for most people. It lets colleagues schedule around you without exposing what your meetings are about.

βš–οΈ Two Dropdowns, Two Different Lists πŸ• Reference  |  Easy to miss
The choices offered depend on which row you are changing, and the two lists are not the same.
  1. On the People in my organization row β€” the organization-wide default β€” you get Not shared through to Can edit.
    • Delegate is not offered. You cannot make everyone a delegate.
  2. On an individual person’s row you get Can view when I’m busy through to Delegate.
    • Not shared is not offered. To take an individual’s access away you use the trash-can icon at the end of their row instead.
⚠️ Note: This trips people up when they go looking for β€œNot shared” to remove one person and cannot find it. Removal is the trash-can icon, not a dropdown value.

πŸ”’ How Private Events Fit In πŸ• Reference  |  No action needed
Marking an individual event as private overrides the permission level for that event alone.
  1. People with Can view titles and locations or Can view all details see a private event as a busy block with no details.
  2. A Delegate may still be able to see private events, depending on how the delegation was set up.
🚨 Warning: Do not rely on Private alone to protect genuinely sensitive information. It hides details from most viewers, but it is a courtesy marker rather than a security control. Keep confidential material out of calendar entries.

πŸ—ƒοΈ In Classic Outlook πŸ• Classic Outlook only  |  Reference
⚠️ Note: These steps come from Microsoft’s current published documentation for classic Outlook rather than from a hands-on walkthrough on a NEO machine. The button and dialog names should match; if yours differ, tell the Help Desk so this article can be corrected.
Classic Outlook shows two different sets of names for the same underlying permissions. The sharing invitation uses the friendly names above. The Permissions tab of Calendar Properties uses the older names below, which is why the same person can appear to have two different permission levels depending on where you look.
Classic Permissions tab What it allows
Owner Everything, including changing what other people can do
Publishing Editor Create, read, change, and delete everything, and create sub-folders
Editor Create, read, change, and delete everything. Closest to Can edit
Publishing Author Create and read everything; change and delete only their own items; create sub-folders
Author Create and read everything; change and delete only their own items
Non-editing Author Read everything and create items; delete only their own
Reviewer Read only. Closest to Can view all details
Contributor Create items only β€” they cannot see what is already there
Free/Busy time Only whether you are free or busy. Closest to Can view when I’m busy
None No access. Closest to Not shared
πŸ’‘ Tip: If someone asks you to make them a Reviewer, they mean read-only access β€” Can view all details in the web and New Outlook.

πŸ“ž Still Need Help?
If you encounter any issues not covered in this guide, please contact the NEO A&M College IT Help Desk:

🌐 Helpdesk Portal: support.neo.edu
πŸ“ž Phone: (918) 540-6099
πŸ“§ Email: neosupport@neo.edu
πŸ“ Walk-in: I.T. Services, Library/Administration Building, 2nd Floor, Room 216
πŸ• Hours: Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Print Article