Tentative hold
A state of holding a date and time provisionally before it is formally confirmed, shown distinctly on the calendar.
A tentative hold (Tentative) is a state of provisionally holding an event on the calendar while the date is not yet fully confirmed. Depending on the calendar application, it is distinguished from confirmed events by a different display (a hatched pattern, a pale color, a dotted border, and so on). A tentative hold serves to send others the signal that “this time period may be used.”
How a tentative hold differs from a confirmed booking
| Aspect | Tentative hold (Tentative) | Confirmed |
|---|---|---|
| Calendar display | Hatched / pale color / dotted line | Solid fill / solid line |
| Free time display | May be treated as “free” depending on the tool | Shown as “busy” |
| Ease of change | Can be changed / canceled relatively easily | Changes require contacting those involved |
| Effect on others | Other events may be put in the same time period | An overlap warning is shown |
Cautions in using tentative holds
Using tentative holds too much fills the calendar with “tentative” events and makes your actual free time hard to see. One approach is to set a confirmation deadline for tentative holds and put a rule in place to delete them after the deadline or switch them to confirmed after attendance confirmation.
It is also important not to leave tentative holds in that state for long, to reduce the risk of double booking. As a guideline, one way to decide is to confirm or release a tentative hold within 48 hours.
Watch out for how each tool treats “tentative”
How tentative holds are treated in free-time calculations differs by calendar tool. With tools that treat tentatively accepted events as “busy,” scheduling tools drop those slots from the candidates, and a tentative event that may actually fall through blocks an open slot. Conversely, with tools that treat them as “free,” other events get put into slots you have already held. Checking once which behavior your environment has reduces mishaps of the “a meeting got into a slot I thought I had held” type.