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Set Google Calendar Out of Office

  • 3 December 2020
  • 5 replies
  • 247 views

Hi,

 

Does anyone know if it’s possible to create an “Out of Office” booking in Google Calendar, instead of an event?  

 

Thanks,

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Best answer by andywingrave 7 December 2020, 12:49

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5 replies

Userlevel 7
Badge +14

[ADVANCED] Perhaps try the GCal API: https://developers.google.com/calendar/v3/reference/freebusy

Userlevel 7
Badge +9

Hey there @ChrisGallani - What’s the use case here? I understand that Google’s OOO booking has features like auto-decline, but I’d like to know what you’re trying to do before suggesting that you look at any kind of Google Documentation, because even as a developer, I can find it overwhelming.

Let us know what you’re trying to do, and let’s see if we can come up with a solution or a good workaround for you!

Hey @andywingrave.  Thanks for your reply. 

 

We use the Google suite but also use Scoro as our ERP / Business Management Solution.  Because we need to look at Utilisation and team Capacity, it’s important that we record meetings in Scoro.  However, it’s easiest in most cases to book internal meetings in Google and have them then pull through to Scoro.

 

What I’d like to achieve is that annual leave is booked in our HR tool, which pulls through to a secondary Google Calendar which is shared within each department.  Everyone can then easily see who is off and when.  This currently works but doesn’t stop someone from another department booking a meeting with someone when they’re off.

Our primary Google calendars are synced with our ERP, and when annual leave is booked as an event in this calendar (which people often do), the bookings come through as 24 hours bookings into Scoro and throw off our utilisation figures, so what I’d like is for events in this secondary calendar to trigger the creation of OOO bookings in each person’s primary calendar.

 

Hope this makes sense!

 

Many thanks,

Userlevel 7
Badge +9

Ah, ok! Yep - It does make sense.

 This currently works but doesn’t stop someone from another department booking a meeting with someone when they’re off.

I was worried that would be your main criteria, as it doesn’t currently look like that’s an option available as yet with the Zapier integration. 

If this is business critical, the best way, as Troy mentioned would be to create a bespoke integration using the API, and would be something I’d recommend you consult with a Zapier expert on  - You can find the directory here: https://experts.zapier.com/

Thanks Andy and Troy.