Environment
U-M Google, Calendar, appointment slots, appointment schedules
Issue
Starting July 18, 2024, appointment schedules will replace appointment slots in Google Calendar.
Resolution
Because Google will not automatically transfer your slots to schedules, you will need to create a new appointment schedule and recreate your existing slots in this format manually before July 18.
Important: Existing booked/scheduled appointment slots will NOT be deleted on July 18.
- The actual calendar events for these appointments will remain on the individuals' calendars.
- Only the appointment slot blocks used for scheduling will be deleted.
- There's no need to recreate existing appointments as individual calendar events.
Below, you will find a list of known differences between the two features, as well as tips and recommendations for transitioning from appointment slots to schedules.
Individual, secondary, and group calendars
- The experience between adding appointment slots vs. schedules to individual (primary), secondary, or group calendars is similar.
- You can use shared secondary and group calendars with schedules.
- Once you create an appointment schedule, you can't edit it to be on a different primary or secondary calendar.
- Anyone with edit permissions to a secondary (or primary) calendar can make changes to the schedule and view incoming bookings.
- You can check other calendars for availability with schedules.
- Your booking page automatically updates to avoid conflicts with other events on your calendar.
- By default, appointment schedules check your primary and secondary calendars for any conflicts.
- To turn this feature off when you create or edit an appointment schedule, deselect the checkbox next to “Check calendars for availability.”
- If you create a schedule on a secondary calendar, the appointment schedule can check the secondary calendar for availability, but it cannot check the availability of all users with access to the secondary calendar.
“Co-hosts” on schedules vs. "guests" on slots
- Appointment slots allowed you to add "guests" to appointment blocks so they would be added as invitees to every booked slot. Appointment schedules generally call these users "co-hosts" (even though they will occasionally reference them as "guests").
- You can add up to 20 "co-hosts" to schedules.
- You can assign co-hosts to a schedule regardless if they are shared directly on the calendar or not.
- You can't add external (non-UM) users as a co-host.
- Co-hosts’ calendars aren't automatically checked for availability. For their availability to be considered, select your co-host's calendar in the "Check calendars for availability" section when creating your schedule. However, you need to be subscribed to their calendar to find it.
- Co-hosts receive an invite to the booked appointment but won’t find the full schedule of non-booked appointments on their calendar. To give other users access to an appointment schedule, use a secondary or group calendar.
- Beginning July 23, Google will roll out the ability for the individual who books an appointment to add additional attendees/guests and rooms/resources to the event. The schedule creator/co-host will need to select the "Guests can invite others" option to allow this.
Attach Zoom meeting links prior to a booking being scheduled
- With appointment slots, you could add a Zoom meeting link to the slot prior to it being booked by someone.
- You do not have this ability with appointment schedules. You will need to add the Zoom meeting link to the appointment after it has been booked and added to the calendar.
- However, you can add a Google Meet session link to the appointment before it's scheduled.
Add a room/resource prior to a booking being scheduled
- With appointment slots, you could add a room/resource to the slot prior to it being booked by someone.
- You do not have this ability with appointment schedules. You will need to add the room/resource to the appointment after it has been booked and added to the calendar.
Customizable recurrence rules
External access to book appointments
- Appointment slots didn't allow external (non-UM) users to book slots within an appointment block.
- Appointment schedules allow external users and those without a Google account to book appointments on your schedule.
- I.e., Anyone with any email address can book an appointment.
- To prevent malicious bookings, people who aren't signed in with a Google account can be required to verify their email before booking. They will be sent a verification code by email.
Additional Information
Need additional information or assistance? Contact the ITS Service Center.