How to read the group scheduling heatmap
Darker green means more overlap — here is how to read the grid, switch views, and pick a winner without counting replies in your head.
A scheduling poll is only useful if you can read the results. Free2Meet turns everyone's answers into a live heatmap: each cell gets darker as more people mark that slot free. You do not count ticks or merge spreadsheets — you look for the darkest green and confirm.
This guide walks through the group view on a datetime poll. Dates-only polls use the same colour logic on whole days instead of hour cells — we cover both below. If you have not created a poll yet, start with our step-by-step create guide.
Light green = some overlap. Dark green = most of the group. Your job is picking among the dark cells — not re-litigating every hour in chat.
Where to find the heatmap
Open your poll link as organiser or respondent. Scroll to Group Availability below the personal grid. That section updates live as people answer — no refresh needed. The header shows how many people have responded so far.
- Top half — your personal grid (paint your free times here).
- Bottom half — group heatmap (read-only overlap for everyone).
- Responders list — names and how many slots each person picked.
Reading the colour scale
Each cell represents one time slot (or one whole day in dates-only mode). The colour encodes how many people are free in that cell compared to everyone who has answered so far.
- Pale / empty — nobody (or almost nobody) marked this slot.
- Light green — partial overlap; some people are free.
- Dark green — strongest overlap; the slot works for the most people.
- Key bar — labels on the left and right show the count, e.g. 3/6 available, so you are not guessing from colour alone.
Heatmap vs Best times view
Above the group grid you will see two toggles: Heatmap and Best times. They answer different questions.
- Heatmap — full grid; every candidate slot visible; best for scanning the week.
- Best times — hides weaker slots and highlights the brightest winners; best when the grid is wide and you just want the top options.
- Best-times banner — if you set a meeting duration at create time, a summary line can rank contiguous windows (e.g. “Best: Thu 3:00pm — 5/6 free”).
Everyone vs one person
The group section has an Everyone / One person switch. Default is Everyone (the heatmap). Switch to One person to browse individual grids with arrow buttons — useful when someone says “I can only do mornings” and you want to verify without asking again.
For tie-breaking, stay on Everyone and use cell tooltips. For auditing a single straggler, One person is faster than scrolling the responders list.
Dates-only heatmaps
In dates-only polls, cells are whole days — not hours. The same colour rules apply: darker = more people free that day. Toggle Show best dates to hide weak days and focus on the winning weekend or offsite window.
Once a day wins, spin up a follow-up datetime poll for hours. See dates-only vs datetime polls for when to use each mode.
What to do when there is no perfect slot
- Check who has not answered — the response count and responders list show gaps; nudge privately.
- Compare the top two dark cells — tooltips reveal who drops off if you pick slot B instead of A.
- Consider a shorter meeting — if duration was set, best-times may surface a shorter window that fits more people.
- Widen the poll window — if every cell is pale, the daily hours may be too narrow for distant time zones.
- Pick the best imperfect time — 5/6 beats waiting another week for 6/6.
After you pick a time
Post the winner in the same channel where you shared the link: “Locked: Thursday 3pm. Calendar invite coming.” Close the loop in one message — do not reopen the thread with new proposals unless overlap truly failed.
Related reads
Create a poll · Dates-only vs datetime · Why reply-all fails · When2Meet alternative (same heatmap idea, mobile-first).
Questions we get
Does the heatmap update automatically?
Yes. As each person saves their availability, group cells re-colour. You may see a toast when new responses arrive.
What if two slots are equally dark?
Check the key labels and cell tooltips — counts can tie. Pick the slot that avoids early mornings or late nights for the most people, or ask the one person who differs.
Do I need best-times mode?
No — the heatmap alone is enough for small groups. Best times helps on wide grids or when you set a duration and want ranked contiguous windows.
Can respondents see the heatmap?
Yes. Everyone with the link sees group results. That transparency is why polls finish faster — nobody waits on the organiser to summarise.
We still open every poll on the group view first — the darkest cell is usually the meeting before anyone sends another email. — The Free2Meet team