Microsoft 365 lets users publish work-location information alongside their work schedule, such as whether they are working remotely or in the office and, when available, more specific office-location details.
For administrators, the main question is often not whether users can set a work location, but how much of that information should be returned to coworkers through availability experiences.
Exchange Online exposes this control through the LocationDetailsInFreeBusy parameter of Set-MailboxCalendarConfiguration.
You can configure it per mailbox as:
NoneBuildingDesk
These settings determine the level of work-location information returned with a user's availability. They do not set the user's work location itself.
For broader coverage of this cmdlet and its other calendar settings, see our Set-MailboxCalendarConfiguration PowerShell guide.
What LocationDetailsInFreeBusy Controls
LocationDetailsInFreeBusy is an Exchange Online-only parameter on Set-MailboxCalendarConfiguration.
Microsoft describes it as controlling the level of work-location information returned as part of a user's availability.
This matters because work location is used across multiple Microsoft 365 experiences. Microsoft documents that coworkers can see work-location information in places such as:
- Outlook's Scheduling Assistant
- Another user's Outlook profile card
- The daily work-location card in Outlook
- Other Microsoft 365 experiences that consume work-location and availability information
Users can set recurring work hours and locations through new Outlook for Windows or Outlook on the web. For individual days, users can update their work location through Outlook on the web or the Microsoft Teams desktop app.
LocationDetailsInFreeBusy controls how much of that available location information can be returned to other users in the organization. It does not create or change the underlying work location.
This distinction is important. A mailbox could have a work location supplied by the user while LocationDetailsInFreeBusy is configured to prevent some or all of that information from being returned with availability.
None vs Building vs Desk
Microsoft documents exactly three valid values.
| Value | Information returned | Suitable administrative use |
|---|---|---|
None |
No work-location information is returned. | Useful when an organization wants the most restrictive work-location visibility setting. |
Building |
Only Office or Remote is returned as work-location information, if provided. |
Useful when coworkers need general remote-versus-office information without more detailed location data. |
Desk |
All available work-location information is returned, including Building and Desk information, if provided. | Useful where detailed workplace location information is appropriate for scheduling and collaboration. |
The suitable-use examples above are practical administrative guidance, not Microsoft policy.
There is an important terminology issue with Building.
Despite the value being named Building, Microsoft documents it as returning only Office or Remote work-location information, when that information has been provided. You should therefore not interpret Building as meaning that the specific name of the user's office building will necessarily be returned.
Desk is the least restrictive setting. Microsoft states that it returns all available work-location information, including Building and Desk information, when provided.
Microsoft also documents Desk as the default value for LocationDetailsInFreeBusy.
Check the Current Setting
Use Get-MailboxCalendarConfiguration to retrieve a mailbox's calendar configuration.
Rather than returning every calendar property, select only LocationDetailsInFreeBusy:
Get-MailboxCalendarConfiguration -Identity [email protected] |
Select-Object LocationDetailsInFreeBusy
For a more useful result when checking several mailboxes, include the mailbox identity with the property in your output.
The Identity parameter identifies the mailbox whose calendar configuration you want to read or modify. An email address is a convenient identifier for administrative scripts.
How to Configure Work-Location Visibility
The following examples use Exchange Online PowerShell and stay specifically within the work-location visibility setting.
1. View the Current Work-Location Visibility Value
Command:
Get-MailboxCalendarConfiguration -Identity [email protected] |
Select-Object LocationDetailsInFreeBusy
This retrieves James's mailbox calendar configuration and returns only the work-location visibility property.
If the result is Desk, all available work-location information can be returned, when that information has been provided. Building limits the returned information to Office or Remote, while None returns no work-location information.
2. Set James to None
Command:
Set-MailboxCalendarConfiguration `
-Identity [email protected] `
-LocationDetailsInFreeBusy None
This configures James's mailbox so no work-location information is returned as part of his availability.
It does not delete a location James previously supplied. It changes the level of location information returned through the availability setting.
3. Set Simon to Building
Command:
Set-MailboxCalendarConfiguration `
-Identity [email protected] `
-LocationDetailsInFreeBusy Building
This limits Simon's returned work-location information to Office or Remote, when that information is available.
Do not interpret this command as publishing Simon's specific building name. Microsoft's documentation for the Building value specifically describes the returned information as Office or Remote.
4. Set a Mailbox to Desk
Command:
Set-MailboxCalendarConfiguration `
-Identity [email protected] `
-LocationDetailsInFreeBusy Desk
This allows all available work-location information to be returned, including Building and Desk information, when provided.
Microsoft documents Desk as the default value.
Because this level can expose more detailed work-location information than Building, administrators should decide whether that amount of detail matches their organization's intended privacy baseline before applying it widely.
5. Preview the Change with WhatIf, Then Verify It
Command:
Set-MailboxCalendarConfiguration `
-Identity [email protected] `
-LocationDetailsInFreeBusy Building `
-WhatIf
Get-MailboxCalendarConfiguration -Identity [email protected] |
Select-Object LocationDetailsInFreeBusy
The WhatIf switch shows what the Set-MailboxCalendarConfiguration command would do without making the change.
In this example, the second command verifies the existing value. Because the preceding command used -WhatIf, you should not expect that preview to have modified Simon's configuration.
Remove -WhatIf after reviewing the intended change if you want to apply it, then run the Get-MailboxCalendarConfiguration command again to confirm the resulting value.
6. Apply Building to a Reviewed Group and Verify the Results
Command:
$mailboxes = @(
"[email protected]",
"[email protected]"
)
foreach ($mailbox in $mailboxes) {
Set-MailboxCalendarConfiguration `
-Identity $mailbox `
-LocationDetailsInFreeBusy Building
}
foreach ($mailbox in $mailboxes) {
Get-MailboxCalendarConfiguration -Identity $mailbox |
Select-Object @{Name="Mailbox";Expression={$mailbox}},
LocationDetailsInFreeBusy
}
This applies Building only to a predefined list of reviewed mailboxes and then reads each mailbox back to verify its configuration.
Using an explicit list is preferable when you are introducing a new privacy baseline because it lets you test the setting with a controlled group before considering wider deployment.
For organizations that use different working hours or workdays as part of their scheduling model, configure those separately. See our guide to Outlook working hours with PowerShell rather than treating work-location visibility as a working-hours setting.
What This Parameter Does Not Do
LocationDetailsInFreeBusy has a narrow purpose. Several related Microsoft 365 concepts should not be confused with it.
It does not set the user's actual daily work location. Users can provide and update their planned work location through supported Outlook and Teams experiences.
It does not create buildings or desks. The parameter only determines the level of available work-location information returned with availability.
It does not configure work hours. Working hours are separate mailbox calendar settings.
It does not grant general calendar permissions. Configuring this value is not equivalent to changing who can access a user's Calendar folder or other mailbox data.
It does not by itself force users to provide a location. The Desk value, for example, means that available detail can be returned if provided. It does not create that detail when none exists.
Other scheduling-related mailbox defaults are also configured independently. For example, whether Outlook adds online meetings by default is covered in our Outlook online meeting defaults PowerShell guide.
WorkspaceUserEnabled Documentation Limitation
Microsoft currently lists WorkspaceUserEnabled as a parameter of Set-MailboxCalendarConfiguration in Exchange Online.
Its documented type is System.Boolean.
However, Microsoft's current public Exchange PowerShell documentation does not provide a usable description of what the parameter does. The documentation contains only a placeholder for its description.
Because its behavior is not publicly documented there, administrators should not infer its purpose from its name or assume that it is required for LocationDetailsInFreeBusy.
Common Problems
1. Confusing Building with a Specific Building Name
The Building value does not mean "return the user's building name."
Microsoft documents this value as returning only Office or Remote, if provided.
If you need the highest documented level of available detail, that is the Desk setting.
2. Assuming None Deletes the Stored Work Location
None controls what work-location information is returned with availability.
It should not be treated as a command for clearing or deleting the user's underlying work-location selection.
3. Assuming the Parameter Sets Users to Remote or In-Office
A command such as:
Set-MailboxCalendarConfiguration `
-Identity [email protected] `
-LocationDetailsInFreeBusy Building
does not set James to Office or Remote.
It controls the level of location information that can be returned if work-location information exists.
4. Applying Desk Broadly Without Reviewing the Detail Exposed
Desk is Microsoft's documented default, but it is also the setting that permits all available work-location information, including Building and Desk information, to be returned.
If an organization wants coworkers to know only whether someone is remote or in the office, Building provides a narrower option.
If no work-location information should be returned, use None.
5. Trying to Use the Setting Outside Exchange Online
Microsoft documents LocationDetailsInFreeBusy as Exchange Online only.
Although Set-MailboxCalendarConfiguration itself is available in both Exchange Online and supported Exchange Server versions, individual parameters have their own applicability. Do not assume this particular parameter is available for an on-premises Exchange Server mailbox.
Final Note
For Outlook work location PowerShell administration, LocationDetailsInFreeBusy is primarily a disclosure-level control.
Use None when no work-location information should be returned, Building when only Office or Remote should be returned, and Desk when all available work-location information may be returned. Microsoft currently documents Desk as the default.
The setting does not determine where a user works, populate office-location data, configure their work hours, or require them to publish a work location. Its job is narrower: controlling how much existing work-location information Exchange Online returns as part of that user's availability.
