Looking to add Google Calendar to your workflow? Here's what you can expect from our integration.
Included in this Google Calendar integration article:
- What does Unito sync from Google Calendar?
- Which fields in Google Calendar can sync with Unito?
- How Unito creates Google Calendar events
- Limitations and other considerations
- Deleting Google Calendar events permission
What does Unito sync from Google Calendar?
Unito syncs Google Calendar events to and from other work items supported by Unito. You must be the owner or admin of a calendar in order to sync events.
If you'd like to sync events from multiple calendars with Unito, you can create one flow for the first calendar, then duplicate that flow and edit it to sync events from other calendars.
Which fields in Google Calendar can sync with Unito?
Here are the fields you can currently sync with Google Calendar, whether they can be used in two-way flows, as well as whether you can use them in rules or not.
Quick definitions:
-
- One-Way: Changes to the Google Calendar event field will appear in the other synced field but not vice versa.
- Two-Way: Changes to either synced field will appear in the other.
- Rules: This event field can be used as a trigger in your rules to filter work items from syncing with Unito.
| Google Calendar Field | One-Way? | Two-Way? | Rules? |
| Attachment | ✔ | ||
| Color | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Created | ✔ | ||
| Creator | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Description | ✔ | ✔ | |
| End date and time | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Event type | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Free/busy | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Guest | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Guest can invite others | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Guest can modify | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Guest can see other guests | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Location | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Organizer | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Start date and time | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Title | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Updated | ✔ | ||
| URL | ✔ | ||
| Visibility | ✔ |
What counts as an item in sync?
For Google Calendar, Unito counts every synced event an item in sync.
How Unito creates new Google Calendar events
When creating new events in Google Calendar to keep in sync with work items in other tools, Unito will use Start date, Start time, Due date, and Due date time to schedule the event. Note that their names might be a bit different depending on the tool you’re using.
Here’s what you can expect, depending on which fields are available in the original tool and the fields you’ve mapped:
| What happens in Google Calendar? | Start date | Start time | Due date | Due date time |
| Create an all-day event. | ✔ | |||
| ✔ | ||||
| Unito will determine the event end date and time based on your default meeting duration set in Google Calendar (~ 1 hour after). | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| ✔ | ✔ | |||
| Create an all-day event if the start and due date are on the same day. OR Create a multi-day event if the start date and due date are days apart. |
✔ | ✔ |
Limitations and other considerations
-
Google Contacts permissions: To sync event guests, Unito will need access to your Google Contacts account.
- Subtasks: This integration can't sync subtasks and similar sub-items from other tools with Google Calendar events, since Google Calendar events don't have a work item hierarchy.
- Syncing guest: In order for event guests to be automatically added to a new Google Calendar event, they need to have a tool account in both Google Calendar and the tool you're syncing it with. If guests have an account in both tools that use the same email address, they will be added automatically. Otherwise, you might have to map them by following this process.
- Each synced event must include a date: In order for Unito to create Google Calendar events, a date field (e.g., Start or End Date) must be included in your field mappings. That date must also be populated in the original work item before syncing.
- Ex: in order to sync a ServiceNow ticket to Google Calendar, the original ticket must have a due date.
-
Syncing all-day and multi-day events: You can sync both kinds of events using Unito. Reference the chart below to see how you can use Unito to create all-day and multi-day events.
-
Compatibility: Currently, it isn't possible to sync Google Calendar events with work items that don't have dates (e.g. contacts).
-
Historical data: Unito will sync events within a total period of 18 months. Specifically, the six previous months and the 12 upcoming months. This keeps your flows from running into performance issues.
- Time Insights: If some of the information from your Google Calendar meetings aren't getting synced over, check to make sure Time Insights is turned off. Currently, Unito's integration for Google Calendar isn't compatible with this feature. That means events won't sync over completely, due to a limitation in Google Calendar's API. You can learn how to turn off Time Insights from Google's support documentation.
Got feedback? Submit a Unito feature request to let us know what you'd like to see in the next update to our Google Calendar integration.
Deleting Google Calendar events permission
When you first connect your Google Calendar account to Unito, you might notice that Unito needs permission to permanently delete events. Don’t be alarmed! This permission is a requirement for this integration to work, but Unito never deletes your data.
In fact, we have a very strict policy regarding content deletion. The essence of it is Unito will never delete data on the platform it originates from.
Say you sync Google events to Trello, where they become new Trello cards. If you delete, close, or archive a Trello card synced to a Google event, the original event will never be deleted. So even if Unito needs this permission to work properly, we will never delete your events.
For flows created before June 28th 2022
If you created a flow involving Google Calendar before June 28, 2022, Unito required a Start Date from the connected tool in order to be synced with Google Calendar. Any flows created before that date will still require a Start date to work. If you want to remove this requirement for existing flows, you’ll need to change this by accessing a flow’s advanced options. You’ll see JSON text in that box. Remove it and click Save.
You’ll then be asked whether you want these changes to apply only to new events and other work items or all historical data. Pick the option you need and click Save.
