This article explains why “overlapping” resources are marked as unavailable even though they are actually available, which changes start a new availability check, and how you start one yourself.
Contents
- Why are “overlapping” resources marked in red, but they are, in fact, available?
- Which changes trigger a new availability check?
- Forcing a new availability check manually
Quick Guide
- Availability is calculated when the appointment is created or updated, and the result is stored with the appointment.
- Changes to employee shifts, and editing or deleting an absence or a closure, start a new availability check automatically.
- For all other changes, including cancelling an overlapping appointment, the resource stays marked as unavailable until you update the appointment.
- Opening the appointment and changing the time or the selected resources starts a fresh check straight away.
- The calendar overview shows the stored result, while the appointment editor checks again. If only the calendar marks a conflict, open the appointment.
Why are “overlapping” resources marked in red, but they are, in fact, available?
The availability of a resource is calculated when the appointment itself is created or updated, and the result is stored with the appointment. If the resource was not free at that moment, it stays assigned to the appointment, is marked as unavailable and is shown in red.
If you book two appointments in a row without even a minute of break, this can mark the resource as unavailable. The resource simply was not free when the appointment was created. Some later changes make the software check the availability again on its own, others do not.
Where you look at the appointment decides which result you see. In the appointment editor and in the class appointment editor, the software checks the availability live: it recalculates as soon as you change the time or the selected resources, so the warning updates while you are still editing and before you save. In the calendar overview, the marking shows the status stored with the appointment, so it reflects the last check that ran and not a fresh one.
The calendar and the editor can therefore disagree: if the calendar still marks a conflict, open the appointment to get a fresh check.
Which changes trigger a new availability check?
Which change you make decides whether the software recalculates the availability by itself or whether the resource stays marked as unavailable.
| Change you make | What happens with the availability |
|---|---|
| Employee shifts: creating, updating or deleting a shift entry, changing the time of a shift, assigning a working area, adding or removing an employee, applying a shift template | A new availability check starts automatically. It runs in the background, so the resource can change from unavailable to available shortly after you save, without anyone opening the appointment. |
| Editing or deleting an employee absence, or a closure for equipment or a location | A new availability check runs immediately when you save. The affected appointments are assigned to the resource again, or the resource assignment is removed. |
| Editing the master data of an equipment item or a location, for example in the equipment or location settings | No automatic check. The resource stays marked as unavailable until you update the appointment. |
| Cancelling an appointment or a class appointment that overlaps, or removing a member from a class appointment | No automatic check. The cancellation releases the resource from the cancelled appointment only. Another appointment waiting for the same resource stays marked as unavailable until you update it. |
Cancelling does not hand the resource over to an appointment that is waiting for it. The cancelled appointment gives up its own resource assignment, and no new check runs for the other appointments in that period. Update the waiting appointment yourself to get a new check.
Forcing a new availability check manually
For every change without an automatic check, and after cancelling an overlapping appointment, update the appointment that is still marked as unavailable. Open it and change the time by one minute, or select the resource again.
The editor checks the availability again with every such change, so you see the result before you save. Save the appointment to store it. The resource is then marked as available if it is free for the appointment period.
Note: This article was created with the help of artificial intelligence and editorially reviewed.