Help needed: Calendar invites behaving differently in Gmail and Outlook

Other Questions Gmail
1

I’m scratching my head over this email calendar invite problem. When I send an email with a calendar block, Gmail does its thing and makes an .ics file automatically. But Outlook? It just shows the block and doesn’t bother with the .ics file at all.

I’m not adding the .ics file myself - it’s just the calendar block in the email. Gmail’s smart enough to create the file from that, but Outlook’s not playing ball.

Any ideas why Outlook’s being difficult? Is there a trick to make both email clients happy?

I tried attaching the .ics file directly in Gmail, but that just gave me two files, while Outlook only showed one. So that’s not the answer.

Here’s a bit of code I’m using:

if (calendarInfo) {
  email.addCalendarBlock(calendarInfo);
}

Any help would be awesome!

2

I’ve encountered this issue before, and it’s quite frustrating. The root of the problem lies in how different email clients interpret calendar data. Gmail is more proactive in generating .ics files from calendar blocks, while Outlook requires a more explicit approach.

To resolve this, you might want to consider using a library like ical.js to generate the .ics file yourself. This way, you can attach it directly to the email, ensuring compatibility across various email clients. Here’s a basic example of how you could modify your code:

const ical = require('ical-generator');

if (calendarInfo) {
  const cal = ical({events: [calendarInfo]});
  const icsString = cal.toString();
  email.addCalendarBlock(calendarInfo);
  email.addAttachment({
    filename: 'event.ics',
    content: icsString
  });
}

This approach should work consistently in both Gmail and Outlook, providing a smoother experience for all recipients.

3

As someone who’s dealt with this headache before, I can tell you it’s not just you. The calendar invite game between Gmail and Outlook is like trying to get cats and dogs to play nice.

Here’s what I’ve found works: instead of relying on email clients to interpret your calendar block, generate the .ics file yourself. I use a Node.js package called ‘ical-generator’ for this. It’s pretty straightforward to use and gives you full control over the calendar data.

In your code, after adding the calendar block, create and attach the .ics file explicitly. This way, both Gmail and Outlook users get a consistent experience. They’ll see the calendar block in the email body and have the option to add it to their calendar with the attached .ics file.

Just remember to test your implementation thoroughly. Email clients can be finicky, and what works today might not work tomorrow. Good luck!

4

hey ethan, i’ve run into this too. outlook’s a pain sometimes. have you tried using the ‘ical-generator’ package? it lets you make the .ics file yourself. just add it to your email along with the calendar block. that way both gmail and outlook should play nice. good luck mate!