How to move Outlook meetings without losing the option to send update

Original KB number:  2167170

Symptoms

You use Microsoft Office Outlook 2003, Microsoft Office Outlook 2007, or Microsoft Outlook 2010 to import or copy meetings to your mailbox. When you open a meeting, you notice that the Send Update button is missing. Additionally, newer versions of Outlook add the prefix "Copy:" to the meeting subject, and the Info Bar shows the following message:

This meeting was copied to your calendar and will not receive updates. To receive updates, contact the organizer, organizer_name.

In this message, organizer_name represents the name of the meeting organizer.

Note

If you originally created the meeting that was imported, your name appears here. In that case, this seems to be counterintuitive because you're viewing the meeting in your own calendar.

Cause

When meetings are exported to or imported from an Outlook Personal Folder or Outlook Data (.pst) file, the GlobalObjectID (GOID) property of the meeting isn't included. When you copy and paste meetings from one calendar to another, Outlook generates new GlobalObjectID values for the meetings that are newly created.

The GlobalObjectID is a unique identifier for a meeting. All meeting invitations, responses, and updates that are associated with any single meeting contain the same GlobalObjectID. Outlook doesn't create meetings that have duplicate GlobalObjectID properties. To do this, Outlook excludes the property during import and export and generates a new GlobalObjectID value when a meeting is copied. This prevents anyone who imported or copied your meetings from assuming the organizer role and sending updates for meetings that you own.

Resolution

To maintain the full meeting functionality as the meeting organizer, move meetings from one calendar folder to another. To move a meeting or series of meetings, use the cut-and-paste method. Because the original meeting is deleted, as soon as the paste process is complete, the meeting no longer exists in the original location. Because the meeting that's pasted to the new location is unique, the GlobalObjectID value is maintained.

To move all the Calendar items to another folder, you must first display all the items in a tabular view. To display the items in the folder in a tabular view, use one of the following methods:

  • Temporarily clear the filter from an existing tabular view.
  • Define a new and permanent tabular view of all calendar items.

How to clear the filter from an existing tabular view

For Outlook 2010

  1. Click to select the calendar folder that contains the meetings that you want to move.
  2. On the View tab, click Change view, and then click to select one of the tabular views such as By List or By Category.
  3. On the View menu, click Reset View.
  4. Click Yes to reset the view to the original settings.

For Outlook 2007 and Outlook 2003

  1. Click to select the Outlook calendar folder that contains the meetings you want to move.
  2. On the View menu, point to Current View, and then click to select one of the tabular views such as Events or By Category.
  3. On the View menu, point to Current View, and then click Customize Current View.
  4. In the View Summary dialog box, click Filter > Clear All > OK, and then click OK again.

How to define a new and permanent tabular view

For Outlook 2010

  1. Click to select the calendar folder that contains the meetings that you want to move.
  2. On the View tab, click Change view > Manage Views > New.
  3. Type a name for the new view, click to select Table, and then click OK.
  4. In Advanced View Settings, click Sort.
  5. In the Sort items by list, click to select Start and Ascending.
  6. In the Then By list, click to select (none), and then click OK.
  7. Click OK > Apply View.

Both of these procedures will display a list of all calendar items.

After all items are displayed, follow these steps:

  1. To select all items, use the keyboard shortcut, Ctrl+A.

    Note

    If you only want to copy specific meetings, hold the Ctrl key, and then click to select individual meetings.

  2. To copy and then delete the items, use the keyboard shortcut, Ctrl+X.
  3. Click to select the destination calendar folder.
  4. To paste the items, use the keyboard shortcut, Ctrl+V.

This process moves the selected calendar items into the destination folder.

For Outlook 2007 and for Outlook 2003

  1. Click to select the calendar folder that contains the meetings that you want to move.
  2. On the View menu, point to Current View, click Define Views > New.
  3. Type a name for the new view, click to select Table, and then click OK.
  4. In View Summary, click Sort.
  5. In the Sort items by list, click to select Start, and then click Ascending.
  6. In the Then By list, click to select (none), and then click OK.
  7. Click OK > Apply View.

Both of these procedures will display a list of all calendar items.

After all items are displayed, follow these steps:

  1. On the Edit menu, click Select All.
  2. On the Edit menu, click Cut.
  3. Click to select the destination folder.
  4. On the Edit menu, click Paste.

This process moves the selected calendar items into the destination folder.

More information

You can also drag the meetings by holding down the right mouse button. When you drop the meetings in the wanted target calendar, select the Move option from the shortcut menu.

For more information about the GlobalObjectID property, visit the Microsoft MSDN website: 3.1.4.3 Copying a Calendar Object.