When you decline a meeting request in Outlook, the meeting disappears from your calendar by default. Convenient, until you want to check when that meeting was again, who attended, or decide to join after all. In the new Outlook and Outlook on the web you can keep declined meetings on your calendar without them blocking your time. This article shows how to set that up, how to get back a meeting you already declined and which alternatives to declining you have.
Why keep declined meetings?
- You can see afterwards which meetings took place, even the ones you skipped. Useful when you want to ask for notes or a recording.
- If your plans change, you open the meeting and accept it after all, without bothering the organizer.
- Your availability stays correct: a declined meeting sits on your calendar, but your time still shows as free to colleagues scheduling with you.
Keep declined meetings
- In the new Outlook or Outlook on the web, select Settings (gear) at the top right. In the new Outlook calendar you can also go to View > Calendar settings.
- Choose Calendar > Events and invitations.
- Under Save declined events, turn on Show declined events in your calendar.
- Select Save.
From then on a declined meeting stays on your calendar in a lighter style, so you can see you're not going. The exact wording can differ slightly between versions. The feature only works with a Microsoft 365 work or school account; Outlook.com, Hotmail, IMAP and POP accounts don't support it.
Hide them temporarily
Calendar getting crowded? In the new Outlook, choose View > Filter > Hide declined events. Clear it again to bring them back. The setting itself stays on.
Classic Outlook, mobile and Teams
- Classic Outlook for Windows: this is the catch. If you decline a meeting from classic Outlook, it won't show up as a declined event on your calendar, not even in the other apps. Decline from the new Outlook, Outlook on the web, Outlook for Mac, the mobile app or Teams if you want to keep it.
- Outlook for iOS and Android: declined meetings show up in the app too. Don't want them there? In the app go to Settings > Calendar and turn on Hide Declined Events.
- Teams: the Teams calendar shows the same data as your Outlook calendar, declined meetings included. Declining from Teams works the same way as from Outlook.
Still on classic Outlook and thinking about switching? Read what changes in the new Outlook for Windows.
Get back a meeting you already declined
- If the setting is on, simply open the declined meeting on your calendar and choose Accept or Tentative.
- If it's off, go to the Deleted Items folder. That's usually where the meeting request ends up after declining.
- Open the request and select Accept or Tentative after all. The meeting reappears on your calendar and the organizer gets your new response.
- If the request is gone, ask the organizer to send it again. A colleague who still has the meeting can also forward it to you.
Sent a reply to the wrong person by mistake? You might be able to recall or replace the email.
Instead of declining
- Tentative: the meeting stays on your calendar as tentative and the organizer sees you might come. Use it when you're not sure yet.
- Accept without sending a response: the meeting is on your calendar, but the organizer gets no email. Ideal for large meetings and webinars.
- Propose a new time: the organizer gets your proposal. Handy when the topic works for you but the time doesn't.
- Decline with a message: you're definitely not coming and briefly explain why. Without the setting above, the meeting disappears from your calendar.
Going to be away for a while? Turn on an automatic reply as well; it can automatically decline new meetings during that period. And if you often need to share your schedule, see how to share your Outlook calendar.
Common problems
- The option is missing: you're probably using a personal account or classic Outlook.
- A declined meeting disappeared anyway: it was declined from classic Outlook, or the organizer cancelled the meeting.
- You see them in Outlook but not on your phone: check the Hide Declined Events setting in the app.
FAQ
Can the organizer see that I kept the meeting?
No. They only see your response: declined.
Does a declined meeting block my calendar?
No, your time stays free for others.
Nederlandstalige versie: Geweigerde vergaderingen in je Outlook-agenda laten staan