Find the next available time

Can I do this task?

Use this procedure to find the next available times for a service. This is the fastest way to schedule a service activity. You could also use this procedure to find the next available time based on a set of specific criteria. For example, if the customer wants your head mechanic to work on his bicycle, you can search the head mechanic's schedule for the next available time.

1. In the Navigation Pane, click Service, and then click Service Calendar.
2. In the Actions group, click Schedule.

   Note

   If you click New, and then Service Activity, you will create a service activity without checking for available times.

3. On the Schedule Service Activity form, you must enter the following information:
   • Service

     Locate and select the service you want to schedule. You can click the Lookup button to search for and select records.

   • Duration

     Do not clear the Use Default Duration check box and change the duration unless you want to schedule more time than the default duration of the service. The maximum duration of a service activity is 10 days.

4. Click Find Available Times. The next available times are displayed. Click the Page arrows at the bottom of the list to view any additional pages.
5. Under Available Times, click the start or end time of the time that you want to schedule, and then click Schedule. If you click the service or resource links, the related form opens.

   The Schedule Service Activity form closes, and Microsoft Dynamics CRM fills in the information from the selected time into the Service Activity form.

6. On the Service Activity form, enter any additional information about the service activity.
   • Subject

     You must enter a subject.The first 12 characters appear on the Service calendar and the calendar in your Workplace.

     You can save the service activity now or continue to add information.

   • Customers

     If this service activity is for a customer, you can locate and select the account or contact. You can click the Lookup button to search for records or to select records.

   • Resources

     Locate and select the user or facility or equipment that you want to schedule. You can click the Lookup button to search for records or to select records.

   • Location

     Enter an address or room number where the service activity will occur.

   • Show Time As

     If you want to change the initial status of the service activity, select a status from the list. If you select any of the statuses under Scheduled, that block of time on the schedule is set so that another service activity or appointment cannot conflict with it during automatic scheduling. Forced service activities and appointments might conflict.

   • Site

     Changing the Site after you have selected a time for the service activity is not recommended. Resources are assigned to sites. If the selected resources are not available at the selected site, there might be conflicts. To record the specific room or address of the service activity, enter that information in the Location box on the Service Activity form.

• Notes

  You can add additional information about the customer and service activity in this area. For example, you could enter the symptoms of a problem, special requests by the customer, or any messages to pass on to the resources providing the service.

1. Under Information, click Common, and then select and locate a record in the Regarding box to link to this service activity. You can also set a Priority for the service activity, and indicate a Category and Sub-Category.
2. Click Save or Save and Close.

   The service activity appears as a color block on the Service calendar, as well as on the calendar in the Workplace and Activities areas.

Tip

Notes

• Changing any information in the Scheduling Information area after you have selected a time for the service activity is not recommended. Doing so might cause conflicts in the schedule.
• In the list of possible service activity search results, you can click the Page Back arrow to initiate a new search. Paging back does not display the previous page.