Schedule Equipment

Learn the layout of the Schedule Equipment tab, how to view the calendar, create, change and cancel reservations, create repeating reservations and reserve multiple resources at once.

Last Updated: April 2, 2025

In this Section

Depending on your service center, there may be additional prerequisites before you can schedule equipment-reach out to the service center staff for further details.  

Layout of the Schedule Equipment Tab

Figure 1 - The Schedule Equipment tab in iLab.

1. Resource Header

The header shows the name of the resource. Clicking the name or View Schedule opens the schedule. To the right of the title are two additional links:

  • Description: Toggle open or closed a more detailed description of the resource. This may be open by default.
  • Pricing: Toggle open or closed information about the pricing of this resource.

2. View Schedule

Click to view the schedule for this resource and to make reservations.

3. Favorite

Click the heart icon to mark a resource as a favorite for easy access if you commonly need to reserve it.

View the Calendar

The calendar can be accessed by clicking either the resource name or View Schedule.

Figure 2 - Click the resource name or View Schedule.

Figure 3 - The schedule view for a resource in iLab.

1. Core Name

Clicking this returns you to the Schedule Equipment tab for the core.

2. Add to Favorites

Click the heart icon to add this calendar to your favorite list. Favorites can be viewed in the My Reservations tab in the left-hand menu. 

3. Resource Description

Click to view a description of the equipment.

4. Schedule Banner

Announcements regarding the equipment are displayed in this section. If there are no announcements, this section will not be present. 

5. Time Frame

Select the time frame or view in which you would like the schedule to be shown in: Day, Week, Month or Multi View. Multi View shows a single-day view listing all the separate instances of a resource. For example, if a core has multiple physical instances of the same equipment, they may show them all on a single schedule and allow the user to pick a specific instance when they make a reservation.

6. Calendar

Click the calendar to navigate to a specific date.

7. Export to PDF

Click the printer icon to export the schedule to a PDF that can be printed.

8. Forward or Backward

Move forward (>) or backward (<) in steps equal to the selected time frame.

9. Linked Calendar

Click the button to show other relevant schedules.

10. Calendar Details

Open up a popup with additional information on availabilities, pricing and event color codes (Figure 3).

  • Green Events (My Event): Your future reservations.
  • Blue Events: Your past reservations.
  • Red Events (Unavailable): Indicates the equipment is unavailable at that time.
  • Orange Events (Pending Approval): In some cases, cores require approval for reservations. If you have reserved time on the calendar requiring approval, the event will be in orange. When the reservation has been approved you may receive an email and you will see the event turn to purple (Approved Event).
  • Grey (Other's Event): Reservations made by others.
  • White (Cancelled or No Show): Cancelled reservations or no-shows.

Create a Reservation

To schedule an event on the calendar, click and drag the day and time of the intended usage. If you are a member of multiple Labs or Groups, you will first be asked to select the Lab or Group this reservation will be made under. Then, complete the reservation details (Figure 4).

Figure 4 - Creating a reservation within iLab.

1. General

The default tab contains the important information that needs to be completed to create your reservation.

2. Comments

Contains all comments that have been added to the reservation by you or the core. Additional comments can be added by clicking Add Comment. To view the activity  on the reservation, click the Activity tab (Figure 5).

Figure 5 - The Comments tab when creating a reservation.

3. Contacts

Contains information about the group the reservation has been made under. To view the information click the name of the group, Billing Info or Shipping Info. If the lab or group needs to be changed click change lab (Figure 8). If the change lab link is not present or has a line through it, the lab or group cannot be changed for the reservation. 

Figure 6 - The contacts tab when creating a reservation.

4. Reservation Details

Verify key information about the reservation, such as the specific resource, the lab or group and when it was created. If there are multiple instances of a resource, you will be able to pick the specific instance in the Specify the required resource dropdown. You can also leave a note in the reservation, and indicate if it is visible to all users or only the core staff. The checkbox next to the Event Notes allows you to choose if you would like your notes to show on the charge line and be displayed on the invoice (Figure 7).

Figure 7 - The event notes of a reservation.

5. Times

Verify the times of the reservation are correct. If you want to make any changes, click on the pencil icon, update the information and then click the green checkmark icon to confirm. 

6. Reserve Time on a Linked Schedule

If there is another piece of equipment or schedule that needs to be reserved in addition to the current one, it may show as a linked schedule. Click the checkbox to view and reserve a linked schedule. Refer to Reserve Multiple Resources at Once for more information. 

7. Repeating Event

If this option is available you can create a recurring reservation over a period of time.

8. Collaborators

In this section you have the ability to add collaborators to the reservation. Collaborators are able to view, edit and start the reservation, but are not able to edit payment information. Collaborators may not be available based on the equipment's permission levels. 

9. Required Forms

If the resource requires you to complete any forms, they are listed in this panel on the right. Complete the required fields.

Figure 8 - The next sections of creating a reservation.

10. Use and Cost of Reservation

Verify the usage type (e.g. assisted or unassisted) and the cost of the reservation. The cost may depend on the selected usage type. 

11. Additional Charges for This Event

If you need additional services added to the reservation, click Add Additional Service Charges. This will display all the services the core allows to be added to the reservation. This section may not be available based on core settings.

12. Payment Information

Select a payment method.

  • Example A (Figure 9) - No access to account numbers.
  • Example B (Figure 10) - Account number access.

If you are not seeing the account numbers you need, please refer to Request Access to Groups for instructions on requesting this access from your principal investigator or cost approver.

13. Service Project

If you have an ongoing project related to this reservation you may see this option to link a service project to the reservation. The service project has to be under your name and in Processing status. This section may not be available based on core settings.

14. Invite Additional People to This Event by Email

If you would like to invite others, enter their email address to forward an invite to them.

15. Save Reservation or Cancel Changes

Click Save Reservation to save the reservation as currently configured. Click Cancel Changes to go back to the equipment schedule without saving any changes.

16. Delete Reservation

Click Delete Reservation if you would like to completely remove this reservation from the schedule. 

Change a Reservation

Users can update reservations within certain constraints set by the core. For example, if the core requires approval of reservations, they cannot be changed after they have been confirmed. Also, a core may have configured limits to how close to the reserved timeslot the reservation can be changed or deleted.

To change a reservation, first find it on the calendar:

  • Click the reservation to bring up the edit mini-menu. Then click the bottom event icon to open up the reservation detail window, as discussed in the Create a Reservation section.
  • Drag the top of the reservation (title with reservation times) to move the entire reservation to another time slot on the same or another day.
  • Double-click the reservation to open up the reservation detail window, as discussed in the Create a Reservation section.
  • Drag the bottom of the reservation (white handle bar) up or down to extend or reduce the length of the reservation. You can only adjust the end time by dragging in this way.
  • View additional reservation information by hovering over the reservation.

Cancel a Reservation

If this option is available, it will cancel the reservation and release the time slot for other users. However, if the core has enabled cancellation fees, you will need to accept the charge before the cancellation can be completed (Figure 12).

Figure 12 - A popup if there is a cancelation fee.

Create a Repeating Reservation

When reserving a resource, some cores may allow you to establish a repeating reservation over a period of time. If this is the case, the reservation form will show a Repeating Event section. If you would like to create a repeating reservation, click the Enabled checkbox under the Repeating Event section. This expands the section and allows you to choose your schedule (Figure 13).

Figure 13 - Setting a time frame for a repeating reservation.

Reserve Multiple Resources at Once

For certain schedules, a core may have configured linked resources that can be automatically reserved at the same time. If this option is available, the reservation form will show a Reserve Time on a Linked Schedule section. Clicking this expands the section and allows you to select additional resources. The current reservation is also applied to the linked resource. 

Figure 14 - Reserving multiple resources at the same time.

In the case above (Figure 14), Dissecting Microscope M125 is a required resource, and is therefore automatically selected for the reservations. You may choose to also reserve any of the others listed here by clicking the checkbox beside the resource name.