External calendars: connect your diary via ICS

What is possible and what is not

There are three things: importing busy times from an external calendar, importing a one-off ICS file as confirmed bookings, and exporting each provider's diary. There is no sync with Google Calendar or Outlook, no two-way sync, and no connection by signing in with an account. "External calendar" is simply the name the panel gives to a connection through an ICS link. If you edit or delete an event in the external calendar, the bookings in 4appointments are not changed.

• Subscribing to an ICS link imports busy times, which block availability
• A one-off ICS file can be imported as confirmed bookings
• Each provider's diary can be exported as an ICS link
• No Google Calendar or Outlook sync, and no native iCloud connection

Importing busy times and a one-off ICS file

In the "External calendar" section, a team member can subscribe to the calendar they already use, and its events then block those times in availability, so nobody books over them. The link must start with https, each member can subscribe to up to 3 calendars, and each one is read again roughly every 15 minutes, so updates are not instant. Events marked as free are ignored. A one-off ICS file can also be imported as confirmed bookings, but only events starting within the next 60 days are brought in, the file cannot exceed 2 MB, and past or overlapping events are ignored. The event title becomes the client name, and no email address or phone number is imported. Because the import is a one-off, events added later to the old calendar do not come across, so check the result before giving up the old diary.

Taking the bookings onto your phone

Each provider has their own ICS link for export. Once it is subscribed in your phone's calendar app, the bookings appear alongside your personal commitments. How often the calendar refreshes is decided by that app, not by 4appointments. Treat the link as confidential: anyone who has the address can subscribe to it.

• Bookings appear in the calendar app on your phone or computer
• Your calendar app decides how often it refreshes the subscription
• The client's free note may appear in the event description
• Each team member's own link shows only their bookings

Common questions