Synchronization with Outlook’s Calendar

Synchronizing your main Outlook Calendar with Flectra is useful to keep track of your tasks and appointments, and across all related applications.

Register your application with the Microsoft identity platform

In order to be able to sync your Outlook Calendar with Flectra’s Calendar, a Microsoft Azure account is needed. The creation of an account is free for users that have never tried or paid for Azure. For more information, click here.
Following, Set up an Azure AD Tenant, also called environment, which is a representation of an organization, to manage and register apps.
Ultimately, Register an Application, choosing the appropriate supported account type.

Note

When configuring your platform settings, choose Web.

Adding a platform in Microsoft Azure for Outlook calendar sync in Flectra

Important

For the Redirect URI restrictions, copy your Flectra database URI followed by /microsoft_account/authentication. Example:
Flectra's database URI that is accepted when microsoft returns authentication
For more information on the restrictions and limitations of URIs, check this page.

Note

Regarding credentials, you must Add a client secret, called Client Secret in Flectra, which allows Flectra to authenticate itself, requiring no interaction from your side. Certificates are optional.

Configuration in Flectra

Go to general Settings and activate the Outlook Calendar feature.

Outlook Calendar feature activated in Flectra

From your Azure portal, under Overview, copy your Application (client) ID, and paste it to Client ID in Flectra.

Client ID token to be copied from Microsoft to Flectra

Going back to your Azure portal, now under Certificates & secrets, copy your Client Secret Value and paste it to Client Secret in Flectra.

Client Secret token to be copied from Microsoft to Flectra

Sync with Outlook

Important

Flectra Calendar sends a confirmation email at the creation of an event to its attendees. But, on the first sync, Outlook will also send confirmation emails of all scheduled events (including past ones).
To avoid this situation, we recommend archiving all past events, and removing yourself from future ones in Flectra Calendar before the first sync. This will prevent events from being created in Outlook, and therefore, no redundant emails will be sent during the first synchronization. After the sync, events will only send one confirmation email.
Archive events in Flectra Calendar

Go to the Calendar application and Sync with Outlook. You are asked to log in to your account, if you are not already, and grant the required permissions.

Calendar view and the button Sync with Outlook in Flectra Calendar

The synchronization is a two-way process, meaning that events are reconciled in both accounts (Outlook and Flectra).

View of Flectra's Calendar synched with Outlook's Calendar

Note

All users that want to use the synchronization simply need to sync their calendar with Outlook. The configuration of Microsoft’s Azure account is only done once, as Azure AD tenants’ are unique, and represent an organization that helps you to manage a specific instance of Microsoft cloud services for your internal and external users.