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, 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 do not change, so keep your personal commitments in your usual calendar app and use 4appointments for the booking diary.
- Get the ICS address from your calendar app; check the name of the option in the interface you use.
- The link must start with https, and each member can subscribe to up to 3 calendars.
- The calendar is read again roughly every 15 minutes, so updates are not instant.
- Events marked as free are ignored; only busy ones block the slot.
Importing an ICS file as bookings
If you keep a diary elsewhere and want to move it across in one go, the same section lets you import an ICS file as confirmed bookings. It is a one-off import with limits: only events starting within the next 60 days come across, the file cannot exceed 2 MB, and past or overlapping events are ignored. The event title becomes the client name, and no email addresses or phone numbers are imported, so add them by hand. Because the import is one-off, events created later in the old calendar do not come across, so check the result before you give up the old diary.
Taking the bookings onto your phone
Each of these points is worth knowing before you rely on the phone view.
- Each provider has their own ICS link for export; subscribe to it from your phone’s calendar.
- How often the calendar refreshes is decided by your calendar app, not by 4appointments.
- The free note a client wrote when booking may appear in the event description.
- Each member’s link shows only their own bookings. Keep it confidential: anyone with the address can subscribe to it.
Common questions
Does 4appointments sync with Google Calendar?
No. What exists is subscribing to an ICS link, which imports busy times, and the ICS export of each provider’s diary. A change in Google does not change the bookings.
Does it work with Outlook or Microsoft 365?
Only through an ICS link, like any other calendar. There is no native connection and no sign-in with a Microsoft account.
How long does a change take to show up?
External calendars are read again roughly every 15 minutes. For the phone export, the interval depends on your calendar app.
Can my clients see my personal calendar?
No. Imported events only block times in availability; clients see only the free slots.
Want to avoid bookings on top of your own commitments?
Try 4appointments and connect your calendar via ICS. The first 12 months are free, no card needed (see the pricing page).
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