Two-way Outlook integration

Hi,

I am attempting to create a form using the Outlook integration to allow folks to book an appointment with me. However, it appears there is a bug with the two-way integration. Whenever there is a full-day event or note on my calendar marked as "Free" in Outlook, Jotform is interpreting the event as a "Busy" event. This means that no appointments show up so long as I have any conflicting "Free" event in Outlook.

Attached is a screengrab where I've highlighted the events that are disallowing appointments to be booked. In this example, I've written the hours I am working for my supervisor to see but they are marked as "Free" in Outlook.

I would greatly like to use Jotform in this way, but I don't want to have to completely re-work the way I use Outlook.

Thank you,

-James

Hi IU,

Thanks for reaching out to Jotform Support. I'm an AI assistant. I'll do my best to help you until someone from the support team is available.

Regarding your issue with the two-way Outlook integration where events marked as "Free" in Outlook are being interpreted as "Busy" by Jotform, causing no appointments to show, this behavior is related to how the integration syncs calendar availability. The integration checks your Outlook Calendar in real time and blocks any time slots that have events, regardless of whether they are marked as "Free" or "Busy." This is to prevent scheduling conflicts and double bookings.

Unfortunately, currently, the system does not differentiate between "Free" and "Busy" statuses for blocking availability in the form. Therefore, any event on your calendar, even if marked "Free," will be treated as busy and block appointment slots.

If you want to use Jotform's Outlook integration without changing how you use Outlook, a possible workaround is to avoid creating full-day events or notes marked as "Free" that overlap with your available appointment times. Alternatively, you can manage your availability directly in the form's Appointment field settings or consider using separate calendars for availability and personal notes.

Let us know if you need guidance on setting up your Appointment field or adjusting your calendar integration settings.

Give it a try and let us know how it goes.

Hi James,

Currently, the system doesn't have the feature to differentiate between the Free and Busy status when blocking the availability of a time slot in the form. To fix this issue, you'll have to remove any notes such as Free or Busy, as these will be treated as booked appointments and the integration will block these appointment slots.

Reach out again if there’s anything else we can help you with.