Meetings

Overview

Sugar's Meetings module is used to track meetings which can be related to other Sugar records that represent the attendees or topic of discussion. You can schedule upcoming meetings that remind you when the scheduled time approaches or log meetings you have already held to keep a record of the discussion. Meeting records can have multiple attendees, both inside and outside Sugar, and include the ability to send invitations as well as reminder emails. When a meeting is repeated on a regular schedule, you can configure it to recur. 

Sugar's Calendar module displays your meetings and allows you to create meetings directly from your calendar. Meetings can also be viewed and created via the Timeline dashlet or Planned Activities dashlet on a contact or other related module record. For example, a contact record's Timeline dashlet displays Sugar meeting records that are related to the contact. Creating a meeting from the dashlets creates a relationship between the records automatically. For more information, please refer to the Sugar Dashlets documentation.

This documentation will cover using the Meetings module. For general usage instructions concerning views and actions that are common across most Sugar modules such as creating, editing, and deleting records, please refer to the Working With Sugar Modules section of this page.

Please note that you will only be able to see meeting records as allowed by your team membership, user access type, and assigned roles. For more information on teams and roles, please refer to the Team Management and Role Management documentation in the Administration Guide.

Meeting Fields

The Meetings module contains a number of stock fields that come out-of-the-box with Sugar. For information on using and editing various field types, refer to the User Interface documentation. The following definitions are suggested meanings for the fields, but the fields can be leveraged differently to meet your organization's needs. Users with administrator or developer access can alter, add, or remove fields via Admin > Studio. For more information on configuring fields, please refer to the Studio documentation in the Administration Guide.

Meetings Color Codes

When viewing the Meetings list view and the Meetings dashlet, the start date may be highlighted in blue or red. This allows users to quickly view scheduled meetings that are either overdue or start within the next 24 hours. Please note that the start date will not be highlighted for meetings with a status of "Held" or with a start date in the future (beyond 24 hours from the current date and time).

The start dates in the Meetings list view are highlighted as follows:

• Blue: The meeting has not been held, and the start date occurs within the next 24 hours.
• Red: The meeting has not been held, and the start date has passed.

Please note that you can only see meeting records as allowed by your team membership, user access type, and assigned roles. For more information on teams and roles, please refer to the Team Management and Role Management documentation in the Administration Guide.

List View Filters

While universal list view filters are included with Sugar® out-of-the-box, the following filters are unique to the Meetings list view:

• My Meetings as Guest: All meetings for which you are a guest, either because you are a non-removable guest by virtue of being the assigned-to user or because you have been invited and not declined the invitation. All meeting status types are included in this filter (scheduled, held, canceled, deferred).
• My Meetings as Owner: All meetings for which you are the assigned-to user. All meeting status types are included in this filter (scheduled, held, canceled, deferred).
• Scheduled Meetings as Guest: All meetings with a "Scheduled" status for which you are a guest, either because you are a non-removable guest by virtue of being the assigned-to user or because you have been invited and not declined the invitation.
• Scheduled Meetings as Owner: All meetings with a "Scheduled" status for which you are the assigned-to user.

Meeting Guests

The following guests are automatically added to a meeting's guest list:

Users may add additional guests (e.g., contacts, leads, users) to meetings via the Guests panel in the meeting's record view.

Adding via the Guests Panel

Use the following steps to add attendees via the Guests panel:

1. Navigate to the Meetings module and create a new record or edit an existing record.
2. Scroll to the Guests panel and click on the Add (+) button located on the far right.
   
3. To add a guest, type in the name of the lead, contact, or user via the search bar that appears or select "Search for more..." to search the Contacts list view. To remove a guest, click the Remove (-) button to the right of the guest's row.
   Note: The user in the "Assigned to" field on the meeting record cannot be removed from a meeting. To remove the assigned user from the guest list, re-assign the meeting to a different user first.
   
4. Click "Save" or "Save and Send Invites" if you would like Sugar to send email invitations to the guests. 
   Note: Confirm that the guests' Sugar records have valid email addresses prior to clicking "Save and Send Invites". If a guest has no email address or their email address is marked as invalid, Sugar cannot email them an invitation to the meeting. A message and icon will alert you when adding the guest and when viewing the meeting's record view. 
   

Once the guest has responded to the email invitation, their acceptance status will appear as a color-coded badge next to their name.

Adding via Create a Guest

Use the following steps to create a new contact and add them as a meeting guest:

1. Navigate to the Meetings module and create a new record or edit an existing record.
2. Scroll to the Guests panel, click on the Add (+) button, and then click on "Search for more..." to expand the Contacts list view.
   
3. At the top of the list view, click the Create button and fill out the appropriate fields to create a new contact. Once completed, save the new contact record and Sugar will automatically add the contact to the guest list for the meeting.
4. Confirm the remaining fields and guests are configured appropriately and then save the meeting.

Recurring Meetings

Meetings can be saved as recurring events so that users do not have to create individual meeting records for regularly occurring events. Recurrences may occur daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly. When a recurring meeting is saved, Sugar creates a series of individual meeting records so that all recurrences appear in the Meetings list view.

Note: If a user creates a recurring meeting but the start date does not match the specified recurrence day(s) of the week, the start date will reset to the first matching day after the meeting's Date Created.

Creating Recurring Meetings

To schedule a series of recurring meetings, follow the instructions below. As an example, we will schedule a 30-minute meeting that recurs every other Thursday until the end of the 2017 calendar year.

1. Navigate to the Meetings module and create a new record.
2. In the Start Date field, enter the date and time that the first Thursday meeting will occur and set the End Date for the same day but 30 minutes later.
   
   Note: If a recurring meeting's start date does not match the meeting's recurrence day(s) of the week, the start date will reset to the first matching day-of-week after the meeting's Date Created.
3. To create a series of meetings, expand the field labeled "Repeat Type" and select an interval from the dropdown list. Our use case requires an interval of weeks (e.g., every two weeks), so we will select "Weekly" and specify our interval number in the next step.
   
4. Upon choosing a Repeat Type value, a new row of fields will appear on the form to gather the series information.
   
   The fields displayed are dependent upon the values you select as you go. Please refer to the Meeting Fields section for complete details on the available options. To schedule a meeting that recurs every other Monday until the end of the 2020 calendar year, set the following values:
   • Repeat Interval: 2
   • Repeat on Days of Week: Mon
   • Repeat: Until
   • Repeat Until: 2020-12-31
5. Confirm that the remaining fields and guests are configured appropriately.
6. Save the record and confirm that all recurrences appear as separate records in the Meetings module's list view.

Editing All Recurrences via Record View

Recurring activities will display the option to edit all occurrences of the activity in the record's actions menu. This option will affect all of the meeting records in a series, even if some of the meetings have been closed and set to "Held". Use the following steps to edit all recurrences in a series of meetings via the record view:

1. Navigate to the record view of any meeting in the series of recurring meetings.
2. Select "Edit All Recurrences" from the Actions menu.
   
3. Edit the meeting record as needed.
4. Then click on "Save" or "Save and Send Invites" to apply the changes to all held and unheld meetings in the series.
   

Deleting All Recurrences via Record View

Recurring activities will display the option to delete all occurrences of the activity in the record's actions menu. This option will affect all of the meeting records in a series, even if some of the meetings have been closed and set to "Held". Use the following steps to delete all recurrences in a series of meetings via the record view:

1. Navigate to the record view of any meeting in the series of recurring meetings.
2. Select "Delete All Recurrences" from the Actions menu.
   
3. A pop-up message will display asking for confirmation. Click "Confirm" to delete all held and unheld meetings in the series.

Deleting All Recurrences via List View

Recurring activities will display the option to delete all occurrences of the activity in the record's actions menu in the list view. This option will affect all of the meeting records in a series, even if some of the meetings have been closed and set to "Held". Use the following steps to delete all recurrences in a series of meetings via the list view:

1. Navigate to the Meetings list view by clicking the Meetings module tab.
2. Use the Module Search to find the meeting in the series of recurring meetings that you wish to delete.
3. Click the Record Actions Menu to the far right of the record's row and select "Delete All Recurrences".
   
4. A pop-up message will display asking for confirmation. Click "Confirm" to delete all held and unheld meetings in the series.

Meeting Reminders

Sugar can remind guests when a meeting is scheduled to begin soon. Reminders can be sent via email to all of the guests or via pop-up to all user guests prior to the meeting's scheduled start date and time. By default, a user must set reminders when creating or editing the activity, but users can configure default reminders via their User Preferences, which will automatically set a default reminder time for meetings they create in Sugar.

Note: The instance's outbound mail server must be configured via Admin > System Email Settings in order for email reminders to be sent out. For more information on setting up the system email settings, please refer to the Email documentation in the Administration Guide.

Email Reminders

Email reminders can be set for any meeting record relative to its start date and time. The reminders are emailed to all guests with valid email addresses including non-Sugar users.

To schedule email reminders, select a time interval from the meeting's Email Reminder Time field:

Popup Reminders

Popup reminders can be set for any meeting record relative to its start date and time. Popup reminders appear for Sugar users on the meeting's guest list who are logged into Sugar in an open browser window at the time the reminder pops up.

To schedule popup reminders, select a time interval from the meeting's Popup Reminder Time field:

Closing Meetings

Once a meeting has taken place, a user can close the meeting record, which changes the meeting's status to "Held". The "Close" option only appears for meetings that are considered open, or not "Held". Open meetings are shown in the Planned Activities dashlet on the record view of related records and guests (e.g., Contacts, Leads, etc.). After closing a meeting, Sugar will move it from the Planned Activities dashlet to the History dashlet and the meeting record's status will display "Held" wherever it is viewed.

Closing via Record View

An open meeting's record view allows you to simply close the current meeting record or use "Close and Create New" to close the meeting and create a new meeting with the same details simultaneously. "Close and Create New" is often used when a user wants to log a completed meeting and easily schedule a follow-up meeting with the same people about the same topic.

To close a meeting record via its record view, click on the meeting to open its record view. Expand the record's Actions menu and select "Close" or "Close and Create New".

Depending on your selection, you will experience different results:

• Close: Instantly changes the meeting's status to "Held" and displays a Success message.
• Close and Create New: Instantly changes the meeting's status to "Held", displays a Success message, and opens a quick-create drawer for a new meeting record with the same values, guests, relationships. and other field values as the held meeting. The only field that is not copied from the original record is the status field, which will revert to "Scheduled" for the new meeting. Simply adjust the dates, times, and other information as needed, and save the new meeting as usual.

Once a meeting is closed, the closing options will no longer appear in the Actions menu.

Closing via List View

Use the following steps to close a meeting record via the list view:

1. Click the Meetings tab to navigate to the Meetings module's list view.
2. Use the Module Search to find the Meeting record(s) you wish to close.
3. Click the Record Actions Menu to the far right of the record's row and select "Close".
   

Sugar instantly changes the meeting's status to "Held" and displays a Success message.

Closing via Dashlet

The Planned Activities dashlet is available for home page dashboards and on the record view's intelligence pane for Sidecar modules. From the home page dashboard, the Planned Activities dashlet displays all upcoming calls and meetings assigned to you or your team depending on your chosen filters. When viewing the Planned Activities dashlet from a record's intelligence pane, the calls and meetings shown are only those that are related to the record you are viewing. For example, when viewing the contact record for Joe Smith, the Planned Activities dashlet in the intelligence pane will show only the upcoming calls and meetings with Joe Smith on the guest list. For more information about the Planned Activities dashlet, please refer to the Sugar Dashlets documentation.

Use the following steps to close a meeting record via the Planned Activities dashlet:

1. Navigate to your home page's dashboard or the record view that contains the Planned Activities dashlet showing the meeting you would like to close.
2. If necessary, click the Meetings tab on the Planned Activities dashlet to find the meeting.
3. Click the Held (x) button to the right of the meeting's row in the dashlet.
   
4. A pop-up message will display asking for confirmation. Click "Confirm" to move the meeting to the record's History dashlet with the status "Held".

Working With Sugar Modules

While the Meetings module has some features that only apply to meetings, it also uses the Sidecar user interface that most Sugar modules are based on. The following sections detail menus, views, and actions common to Sidecar modules and contain links to additional information within the page or links to the User Interface documentation.

Meeting Menus

The Meetings module contains various options and functionality which are available via menus in the module tab, list view, and record view. The following sections present each menu and its options with links to more information about each option in the User Interface documentation or, for Meetings-specific functionality, within this page.

Module Tab Menus

Click the Meetings module tab in the navigation bar to access the list view. You may also click the three-dots menu in the Meetings module tab to display the Actions, Recently Viewed, and Favorites menus. The Actions menu allows you to perform certain actions within the module. The Recently Viewed menu displays the list of meetings you most recently viewed. The Favorites menu displays the list of meetings that you most recently marked as favorites.

The Actions menu allows you to perform the following operations:

For more information on module tab menus including reasons a module may not be included in the menu, see the User Interface documentation.

List View Menus

The Meetings list view displays all meeting records and allows for searching and filtering to locate specific meetings. You can see the basic details of each record within the field columns of the list view or click a meeting's name to open the record view. To access a module's list view, simply click the module's tab in the navigation bar.

List View Mass Actions Menu

The Mass Actions menu to the right of the checkbox option in the list header allows you to perform mass actions on all currently selected records. You can use the checkbox on each record's row to select individual meeting records or click the checkbox in the list header to select all records displayed on the current set of list view results.

The Mass Actions menu allows you to perform the following operations:

¹ The Meetings module must be enabled in Admin > Maps for the Sugar Maps option to appear.

List View Record Actions Menu

The Record Actions menu to the far right of each record's row allows you to perform actions on the individual meeting directly from the list view.

The list view's Record Actions menu allows you to perform the following operations:

Record View Actions Menu

The Meetings record view displays a single meeting in full detail including its fields, subpanels of related records, and activity stream. To access a meeting's record view, simply click a hyperlinked meeting name from anywhere within Sugar. The record view's Actions menu appears above the record's details and allows you to perform various operations on the current record.

The Actions menu allows you to perform the following operations:

¹ The Meetings module must be enabled in Admin > Maps for the Sugar Maps option to appear.

Common Views and Actions

In the table below, the left column contains links to the User Interface page covering topics that are applicable to all Sidecar modules. The right column has links to sections of the current page that cover topics specific to meetings.