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Guide: How Do I Sync My Calendar with Vacation Tracker?

Let’s start from the beginning and tell you which calendar connections Vacation Tracker supports:

Option 1: iCal Connection, Adding a New Calendar - Using iCal Connection

Option 2: Shared/Existing Calendar Connection - Connecting to a Shared/Existing Calendar

Option 3: Personal Calendar Connection - Connecting to my Personal Calendar

All three calendar integrations are independent from each other and provide you with a different type of connection.

iCal Connection:

Adding a New Calendar (Using iCal Connection)

_The first option is to use the iCal link to add a new calendar, allows you to generate an iCal link and to add it to your preferred external calendar: _

Once synced, the iCal link will show all past, current and upcoming approved leaves in the new calendar.

You can use this connection for any external calendars but keep in mind, the iCal link does not add the information to an existing calendar. Instead, it creates a new calendar, and it is added to your list of calendars:

This information is view-only, and it does not affect your calendar. It is also not possible to add an iCal calendar to a shared or existing calendar. It must be an independent calendar. If you'd like to connect to a shared calendar, please see the link and steps below.

Please keep in mind, this connection can take up to 24 to 48 hours to update once the changes are made within Vacation Tracker. That means new information can take up to 24 to 48 hours to show in the external calendar (Google calendar or Outlook calendar).

This calendar connection is part of our Core plan. For more information on the difference in our plans, please see the following link: Guide : What Are The Differences Between Our Core & Complete Plans?

Shared Calendar Connection:

Connecting to a Shared / Existing Calendar

_The second option: the option to connect to a shared/existing calendar, allows you to share Vacation Tracker approved leave to an existing/shared calendar (instead of creating a new calendar like an iCal connection does): _

By connecting to an existing calendar, the moment any approved leaves are recorded in Vacation Tracker, they are automatically synced and added to the calendar connection you made. Please note, once synced, the shared calendar will only add current and upcoming approved leaves in the calendar. Past leaves will not be added.

You can create multiple connections and an Admin can either create one that will be viewed in a company shared calendar. Or users can create their own connections if they’d like.

This information is view-only, and it does not book any time off in your personal calendar directly. To additionally book time in your personal calendar, you would use our Personal Calendar Connection discussed below. However, the sync using this calendar connection is immediate, and the changes made in Vacation Tracker update within a couple of minutes in the shared calendar.

This calendar connection is part of our Complete plan. For more information on the difference in our plans, please see the following link: Guide : What Are The Differences Between Our Core & Complete Plans?

Personal Calendar Connection:

How Do I Connect My Personal Calendar to Vacation Tracker?

_The third and final option: the personal calendar connection, allows you to add your own approved leave into your personal calendar and automatically book that time off in your calendar. _

You even have the option of marking the leave in your calendar, but keeping yourself Free instead of Busy when booking the leave:

This calendar sync is immediate, and the changes made in Vacation Tracker update within a couple of minutes in the personal calendar. Once synced, the personal calendar connection will only add current and upcoming approved leaves in the calendar. Past leaves will not be added.

Please note, since this connection ties to the personal calendar, each user would have to make the connection themselves and give permissions accordingly.

Some basic information on the calendar connections:

Every calendar connection that we offer can be set by any active user within Vacation Tracker. The iCal connection can only be shared through the URL provided (each user would need to add the new calendar themselves). However, the Shared Calendar Connection can be viewed by other users in your organization if you allow those settings within your own external calendar permissions. For more information, please see the following links:

* Google Share: https://support.google.com/calendar/answer/37082?hl=en

_* Outlook Share: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/share-your-calendar-in-outlook-2fcf4f4f-8d46-4d8b-ae79-5d94549e531b _

Please note, our calendar connections are one-way only. If you make edits directly in the calendar it will NOT affect Vacation Tracker. Please make your leave bookings, edits and cancellations within Vacation Tracker itself.

You can use all three of our calendar connections with any Vacation Tracker integration (Teams; Slack; Google and Email Only). The calendar connections are completely independent from the Vacation Tracker integration your team may be using. This means you can use our Slack integration but connect to both Outlook or Google calendar.

If you have any questions or need any further assistance, feel free to reach out to our Support team via email or chat, Monday to Friday; 9AM to 5PM EST!

Updated on: 25/01/2024

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