Linking your calendar to 4appointments

There is no direct Google Calendar or Outlook sync; three ICS options connect your calendars today.

Special questions

Many people ask for synchronisation with Google Calendar. At the moment 4appointments has no direct connection to Google Calendar or Outlook and no two-way sync. What it does offer is ICS, the standard calendar format that almost every calendar app reads. With it you can bring busy times in, load a file once and share your schedule out.

Bring busy times in by subscription. Most calendar apps, including Google Calendar and Outlook, can publish a calendar as a secret ICS link. Paste that link under the external calendar section in the panel, and its busy blocks close the matching times so clients cannot book them. Use an https link; it is read about every 15 minutes, each member can subscribe to up to three calendars, and events marked as free are ignored.

Load a file once. If you have a calendar exported as an .ics file, you can import it as confirmed bookings. The file can be up to 2 MB, only events starting within the next 60 days are read, the title becomes the client’s name, no email or phone number is brought in, and past or overlapping events are ignored.

Share your schedule out. Each provider has an ICS export link. Subscribe to it from your phone or computer calendar and your 4appointments bookings appear there. It is a one-way feed, and when new bookings show up depends on how often your calendar app refreshes subscriptions.

Keep expectations realistic. Nothing written in Google Calendar reaches 4appointments through a connection of its own, and nothing is written from 4appointments into Google Calendar. Apart from the busy blocks and the export described above, a booking made in either place does not appear in the other. Check both after any change.

Points to remember

  • ✓No direct Google Calendar or Outlook connection, and no two-way sync
  • ✓Subscribe to an external calendar by ICS to block busy times
  • ✓Import a one-off .ics file, or export a provider’s calendar by ICS to follow it elsewhere

Common questions

Can several calendars be linked?+

Yes: each member can subscribe to up to three external calendars by ICS. Remember that events marked as free are ignored.

Does it work with Outlook or Apple Calendar?+

Those apps can read the ICS export of a provider by URL, and their calendars can be subscribed by ICS link. There is no native Outlook or Apple connection and no two-way sync.

More booking guides

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