September 22, 2023
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#scheduling

How to create and share an Open Invite

Brenna
Marketing @ Morgen

What is an Open Invite?

Open Invites dramatically improve the meeting invitation process for both the organizer and the invitee. As the meeting organizer, Open Invites save you time by cutting out back-and-forth scheduling emails and are quick and easy to create. Meanwhile, invitees don’t feel like a meeting has been imposed on them since they can select a time that is mutually convenient. It’s a scheduling solution that is truly win-win.

When you create an Open Invite in Morgen, you define the meeting details, select possible time slots that work well for you, then share your invite with your invitee. They can easily and quickly book the meeting from the times you offered.

In this guide we’ll show you two paths to create an Open Invite, what your invitee’s will experience, and how to manage and update your Invites.

(Open Invites are designed for one-time meetings with one invitee and replace One-Time Scheduling Links, offering a simplified and improved experience.)

Read on or watch this video for tips on using Open Invites:

How to create an Open Invite

There are two ways to create an Open Invite.

Option 1. Turn a regular Morgen invite into an Open Invite.

  • Click a timeslot in your calendar to open the event creation widget.
  • Populate the event details, including the meeting name, the invitee, location/virtual room, and which calendar it should appear in.  
  • In the lower left corner of the invite, click on Open Invite. This will bring you into the Open Invite creation environment, maintaining the meeting details you already set.  
Instead of Save like a typical invite, select Open Invite.
  • Highlight the areas of your calendar that you want to include as optional time slots to be offered in your invite.
  • Optionally, add additional parameters to your invite including which busy calendars should be considered, the notification settings, etc. in the right side of the screen.
  • A distinct url will be generated for the Open Invite. You can choose to customize this by simply typing in the open field to overwrite the automatically generated url.
Create and copy once you've entered the meeting details to get the sharable link for your Open Invite.
  • Once complete, simply click the Copy & Save button. You can paste the url into an email, Slack message, or SMS/Whatsapp/Signal/Telegram, etc. with your invitee.

Option 2. Create an Open Invite from scratch.

  • Click on the Open Invite button from the upper right corner of Morgen’s desktop app. This will bring you into a blank Open Invite.  
  • Select time slots for when this meeting can happen by highlighting areas within your calendar. These can be for the duration of the meeting or encompass longer periods of time.
  • Add meeting details into the section on the left, including the meeting name, duration, location/virtual room, invitee details.
  • If you want, you can specify more advanced options, including which calendars should be considered when showing your availability.  
  • A distinct url will be generated for the Open Invite. You can choose to customize this by simply typing in the open field to overwrite the automatically generated url.
  • Once complete, click the Copy & Save button. You can then paste the url into an email, Slack message, or SMS/Whatsapp/Signal/Telegram, etc. with your invitee.

What your invitee will experience  

In less than a minute, your invitee can pick and book the meeting time that works best for them. To do so, they will simply:

  • Click on the url you shared, opening the invite in their browser.
Your invitee will be able to pick and choose from the days and times you included.
  • From the calendar, select a highlighted date (the highlight indicates days in which meeting slots are available).
  • Pick from the slots listed on that day.
  • Add their name, email, and any additional notes to confirm the meeting.
  • If you have a team on Morgen, you can add co-hosts to the invite.
  • Click Confirm.

Once confirmed, the Open Invite will send a confirmation email to you, your co-hosts, and the attendee. The event will also appear in your calendars.

How to cancel or reschedule an Open Invite

If you or the attendee need to cancel the meeting, this can be done directly from the link included in the meeting details in your respective calendars. Click the link to cancel, then confirm the cancellation. The event will be removed from your calendar and trigger a cancellation email to you both.  

If you need to reschedule, as the meeting organizer, you can edit your Open Invite and resend it. Simply click on the link icon in the left rail of the Morgen desktop app, then find the link in your list of Booked Invites. Click edit, update the times you’re offering, then resend the invitee link.

If the meeting attendee needs to reschedule, they can click on the Reschedule link in the event details in their calendar. From there, they can select an alternate time from your Open Invite. Once confirmed, this will move the event in your calendars. You will each receive an email notifying you of the change.

Where to find and manage your Open Invites

You can find all your Open Invites by clicking on the link symbol 🔗 in the left rail of Morgen’s desktop app.

Your Open Invite tab lists all your Open Invites, including unused, booked and expired.

All your Open Invites will be listed, with those that are current and unbooked appearing at the top. You can also open the lists below to display those invites that have either been Booked or Expired. The Open Invites in these lists can be edited at any time, or if you want to keep this list small and clean, deleted.

You can also opt to delete all the Open Invites from a given list at once by simply selecting Delete All Links.

FAQs about Open Invites

What if my availability changes?

When your invitee clicks on your Open Invite link, they will only be offered time slots that are available in real-time in your “busy calendars”. If new events have been booked that overlap with the time slots you provided in your Open Invite, they will not be offered as options to book.

What is a busy calendar?

When you configure Morgen, you decide which of your calendars should be considered when showing when you are busy vs. available. Those Busy Calendars are the ones used to show in real time when you are available, ensuring your availability in your Open Invites reflects your current schedule. (These are also used in conjunction with your Booking Page, Scheduling Links, and Team Availability Check).  

When you create an Open Invite, under Advanced Features, you indicate which of your Busy Calendars should be cross-checked when offering time slots to be booked. You can also choose to create an Open Invite that does not check your availability in any busy calendar.

Will an invite be generated when I click Copy & Save?

No, not yet (though this is in the works). For now, once you have created your Open Invite, you will click the Copy & Save button at the bottom. This url can then be shared with your invitee, be it through email, Slack, SMS, or any other communication channel you use.

Can Open Invites be included on my booking page?

By default, Open Invites are private and will not be added to your booking page. In the advance settings when creating an open invite, you can choose to add the invite to your booking page. Once it has expired (all available slots are in the past), it will be automatically removed from your booking page.

Do I need to pick time slots that are the same as the duration of the meeting?  

No, feel free to pick a long time slot to avoid having to click on multiple smaller slots. Your Open Invite will then break that longer time into possible meeting slots based on the duration you specify in the invite details.

Additionally, if you pick a long time slot that overlaps with other events in your calendar, those times will not offer invitees those times when you have a conflicting event, so long as it is in a calendar that has been selected as a Busy Calendar in your invite.

Can I turn a pre-existing event invite into an Open Invite?

No, once an event has been created and saved, it is considered to have a fixed time. These events cannot be turned into an Open Invite.

Can I manage and create Open Invites from Morgen’s mobile app?

No, not at this time. Open Invites can only be created and managed from the Morgen desktop app. If you would like to see Open Invites added to the Morgen mobile app, please let us know.

Can an Open Invite be booked by more than one person or used more than once?

Open Invites are designed for one time use. If you have more general meeting slots that you want to create a link for (ex. Coffee Chat, Kick-off Calls, etc.), we recommend that you use a Morgen Scheduling Link instead.

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