Direct Spaces Configuration Guide

The Direct Spaces app requires minimal configuration beyond what you already set up in the web application. This guide walks you through the Direct Spaces design and functionality changes, how to set up the app, configure user access, and manage intents, labels, approvals, floor plans, and network requirements.

Design and functionality changes

Direct Spaces is completely redesigned and rebuilt, with no shared code or infrastructure from the previous version. While it maintains functional parity and uses the same EMS APIs, the app delivers a modern, streamlined experience.

You can work faster by navigating features through the main menu, complete forms, and submit actions directly, without the chat-style framework from the previous version.

The AI Agent simplifies complex requests, automates repetitive tasks, and performs actions that previously required manual searching and form completion.

Set up the Direct Spaces app

When you first open Direct Spaces, enter your email. The app automatically finds the booking assistant linked to your company’s email domain.

If your email domain differs from the company domain, you must manually search and add your company assistant.

Once you access the app, configure the following:

User access (required): All everyday uses can access the app. Assign an intent, process template, and group to the users.
- Ensure users who need to invite or view attendees are Exchange Enabled and that calendaring is configured.
- Configure the Delegation role for users who need to act as another user and assign at least one delegate.
- Configure the Approvals role for users who need to approve reservations, and assign an EMS web template via the EMS Web Administrator.
Intents (required): The Direct Spaces app requires the use of intents. Configure and categorize intents in the app.
Approvals: Configure approvals in the user’s Everyday User Security Template.
Floor plans: Configure floor plans in EMS Desktop Client with .png, .jpg, .jpeg, .jpe, .jfif, or .svg file formats.
Custom pins: Configure custom room and floor plan pins.
Cloud services and network requirements: Ensure connectivity and firewall rules meet the app’s requirements.
Custom labels: If you create custom labels in EMS Desktop Client, Direct Spaces also displays the custom label instead of the default field name.
You can change the word Event to Meeting or Booking in the Event Title Singular, for example.

Configure intents

Configure intents to group process templates in Direct Spaces and EMS for Outlook – Microsoft 365. Intents streamlines the booking workflow by grouping together process templates for a common purpose, allowing people to search for available spaces across those templates. You can configure intents at the environment level, not for individual users, so all users within an environment have access to the same set of intents.

Requirements

Ensure your EMS environment has at least one intent configured, linked to a process template.

Group templates

Intents group templates under common purposes, simplifying the booking process. Standard categories include:

Meeting: Private space for meetings with amenities like tables, chairs, and conferencing systems.
Workspace: Shared/common area, typically not private, for one or two people.
Office: Private workspace, usually for one person.
Parking: Parking spot.
Child: Private space for infant care and feeding.
Wellness: Space dedicated to wellness activities.
Unknown: Use for requests that do not match the above categories.

You can label and describe intents according to your business needs. Using the standard intent categories improves AI Agent accuracy when processing a prompt.

Direct Spaces associates your intents with one of these standard categories to improve the AI Agent's accuracy for detecting the correct intent based on the keywords that are used in a prompt.