Two giant companies run their workspaces: Google and Microsoft. Undoubtedly, one is the father of Android, while the other is the mother of all Windows devices. Having our workspace here prevents us from collaborating and integrating. However, if there are any user experience challenges, they look to improve from their end, and if this does not happen, they fix it through collaboration with others.
It was the year when Google released Calendar and Interop, a functionality that allows users from both Microsoft and Google to exchange events and data. The features it had, however, were acceptable when it was released. Nowadays, we’re growing and want Google Workspace to be more user-friendly. For this, Google recently released a few improvements to Calendar Interop. So, let’s see what improvements it has.
Microsoft adds Google Calendar invites to Outlook.
While working in different locations and time zones, having a proper plan and schedule is necessary. In this case, a calendar plays a crucial role, but we don’t need a regular calendar. As I already told you, the world relies on Google and Microsoft for everything they do. They realized that Microsoft added support for Google Calendar to integrate with Outlook, but it was subject to some limitations.
For a better experience, Google previously announced a Calendar Interoperability integration with Microsoft Outlook. With this interface, Google Workspace users can share events or other vital information in Outlook and accept invitations. However, initially, there were many deviations from such a calendar interface, like invitations from Google Calendar not showing all attendees and people needing to be able to accept forwarded invitations to meetings.
That was the scenario when Calendar Interop launched, but recently, it got a few improvements that might be more helpful. The two improvements are that Google Calendar users can receive invitations in Outlook and a default meeting reminder will be created in Outlook. Meanwhile, Outlook now seems more interesting. So, let’s see what’s improved.
Receive Google Calendar invitations in Outlook.
Microsoft Outlook users who have Google Calendar access and receive invitations can see them in Outlook. However, you should know that to view such Google Calendar events in Outlook, you must have the same email address on both services. Otherwise, calendar interoperability won’t be possible. This new feature will benefit all Google Workspace users, legacy G Suite customers, and business customers. Additionally, users with personal Google accounts are included.
Default Meeting Reminder in Outlook
You created a specific reminder in Google Calendar, and the date has arrived. So don’t worry; such reminders can be missed if you are using Outlook. With these new improvements, your Google Calendar-generated reminders will automatically appear in Outlook. Please note that the email address should be the same.
Non-Google Calendar events are automatically organized.
With new improvements, we can now organize events in one place. Specifically, there was no option to set up or organize non-calendar recurring events. However, from now on, all such non-calendar recurring events will be updated automatically in Google Calendar. So you don’t have to worry about non-calendar events.
After reading about these improvements, you may be eager to experience such integration. Even a regular Google Calendar and Outlook user can add Google Calendar to Outlook. Below, we share the steps to accomplish that. So, without any further delay, let’s try to integrate Google Calendar with Microsoft Outlook.
- Visit the calendar website.
- Login to your Google account.
- Now, in the left column, click on My Calendar.
- Then, hover over the calendar that you want to add to Outlook.
- Choose settings and sharing next to the calendar you want to add.
- Now, under Integrated Calendar, copy the iCal format address.
- Next, log in to your Outlook account and click on File.
- Under there, click on Account Settings.
- Then click on the Add a New option under Internet Calendars.
- Now, paste the address above into Step 6 and click Add.
- Lastly, click OK, and you are done.
In conclusion, this new improvement over the preexisting integration provides more flexibility for the user. However, these are very limited changes, but Google and Microsoft are doing their best to upgrade and provide a more enhanced user experience. As of now, these are potential details for improving Google Calendar integration in Outlook. Let’s see what more changes are scheduled for the future.