Form Calendar Invites Add-on

Last updated 12 November 2024.

Form Calendar Invites Add-on logos

Contents


What it does

The Add-on allows you to link a Google Form™ with Google Calendar™ events so that when people complete the Form and select a particular title/date/time from it, they are sent an automated email invite to one of the respective Calendar events.

This allows you to have Calendar events with all guests attached to it such as for conferences, workshops, drop-ins, training sessions, etc. Therefore any changes to an event (description/conferencing, etc) will be reflected for all guests - just like any other event.

Sessions listed in the Google Form can be selected
Sessions listed in the Form can be selected

Updates

December 2023

  • Add-on now available!


Instructions


Install
  1. Install the Add-on from the Google Workspace Marketplace™.

  2. You must ensure you are not logged into multiple Google™ Accounts at the same time when accessing this tool. If in doubt try an incognito window.

  3. You can access the Add-on from anywhere in Google Response Sheets™ by clicking the 'Show side panel' button at the far bottom right of the screen. Then select the 'Form Calendar Invites' icon to open the Add-on (if you already had your Google Response Sheet™ open when you installed the Add-on then you may need to refresh the page first for the new icon to appear).

  4. Google Form™ setup:

    1. Email address collection - the Add-on works best when you automatically collect an email address using the ‘Verified’ option in the Form settings. You may however choose ‘Responder input’ where you need the Form to be a little bit more open and rely on an individual typing their email address correctly. Selecting the option ‘Do not collect’ will mean this Add-on cannot function.

    2. Question title - you can have any number of questions on your Form but there must only be one that lists the options for people to sign up to. It is recommended you do not use special characters like backward slashes. Keep it short and simple and use the description box on the Form to add all of your extra details.

    3. Question type - you must use either a Drop-down or Multiple choice question type in your Form for the sign up options.

    4. Event title/date/time format - you must use the exact format below for your title/date/time options that people can choose from:

      [event title], [day of the week] [day] [month] [year], [hh:mm] - [hh:mm]

      Examples:
      Movie Screening, Saturday 23 March 2024, 10:00 - 11:00
      Boxfit, Saturday 23 March 2024, 13:00 - 14:00
      Gaming, Sunday 24 March 2024, 15:00 - 17:00

  5.  Google Calendar™ setup:

    1. Create your Calendar events at this point (if they do not already exist). These must have the exact same title/date/time as the options in your Google Form in order for the Add-on to be able to link them together. It is mostly up to you in terms of settings for the events, there are no restrictions here and they can differ between the events e.g. description/conferencing/attachments.

    2. If the events are on a Calendar that belongs to somebody else then ensure you have sufficient permissions to be able to create/manage events on it. It is mostly up to you in terms of settings for the events, there are no restrictions here and they can differ between them.

    3. Calendar ID - to find this open Google Calendar™ and click the 3 dots next to the relevant Calendar along the left and select Settings and sharing. Scroll down until you see Calendar ID and make a copy of it.

      Select the 3 dots option next to the relevant Calendar
      Select the 3 dots option next to the relevant Calendar

  6. Add-on setup:

    1. Back in your Google Response Sheet™ for the Form click the Get Started button so you are on the Setup screen.

    2. The first box requires the exact Question title text from the Form that you setup in step 3.2 above. It is recommended you copy/paste this directly from the Form itself to avoid any typos.

    3. The second box requires the Calendar ID you copied in step 4.3 above.

    4. Once you are happy click the Install button. There will be a pause of up to 15 seconds whilst this processes.

    5. Success! The Add-on will now automatically run every time your Google Form™ is submitted. You can now close the Add-on and it is recommended you or somebody else tests out the Form to ensure it has been setup correctly.

    6. You will need to repeat the above process for any other Forms you wish to use it on.

    7. Also note the FAQ and Google Quotas sections below.


Uninstall

  1. Once you have installed the Add-on it is set up per Google Form™ which means you have the flexibility of configuring it as required.

  2. To access the uninstall options use the Remove Settings button on the Setup screen, where you will then be presented with 2 options. You will need to perform this step logged in as the original Google™ account that set it up in the first instance. Note that using the Remove Settings options will not impact the functionality of your Google Form™ in any way, nor will it affect any of the data you have collected, they simply stop the automation of users being added to the Calendar events.

    1. Remove Single - use this button to remove all settings for the current Google Sheet only. No other Forms/Sheet will be affected

    2. Remove All - use this button to remove all settings for all Google Sheets that you have configured with the Add-on.

  3. After performing the above, if you wish to remove the Add-on completely, please return to the Google Workspace Marketplace™ and uninstall it.


Demo video




FAQ


1. Can you continually add events to this Form? So, it’s a one time set up initially per Form, and then from there it’s as easy as just creating a new event in Calendar and adding the extra option – you don’t have to run the Add-on again?

> Correct. You can add further events on an ongoing basis, no additional Add-on tweaks are required.

2. Will deleting previous events from the question choices have any effect?

> Deleting previous events from the Form will not break anything.

3. Can you change events? And more importantly, when you change an event in the Calendar and then the Form, do you need to run the Add-on again?

> Yes you could change events in either the Form or Calendar without running the Add-on again. Just do this at a time when people are unlikely to be filling in your Form.

4. Can Form editing be enabled so that people who’ve signed up can go back to the Form and edit their response to change their selection?

> Unfortunately not at this point in time. People are added to the Calendar event once the Form is submitted, it is unable to check for changes in selections from previous Form completions. You would just simply need to make the change directly in the Calendar in this instance.


Google Quotas


There are a number of quotas imposed by Google™ themselves which may impact some users if you have heavily used Forms. These quotas automatically reset every 24 hours and apply collectively for every Google Form™ the Add-on is installed for i.e. it is not per Form. I have expanded on these below and they are correct as of 24 December 2023.
  • Triggers total runtime - each time your Google Form™ is submitted it does a little bit of processing to find the relevant Google Calendar™ event and invite the person to it. If we say this takes about 8 seconds each time, then for Consumer accounts (90 min / day) that is 675 Form submissions allowed each day. For Google Workspace accounts (6 hr / day) that is 2,700 Form submissions.
    • Workaround - if you have a lot of Forms where you wish to use the Add-on then consider using multiple Google™ accounts to set them up as each account gets its own quota.

Payment

  1. This Add-on has a 14 day free trial period then requests a monthly subscription of £5 (British Pounds) to continue using it and all features. No adverts, no in-app purchases, no price increases.
  2. Each time your Google Form™ is submitted, where the Add-on has been installed, your licence is verified. If you reach the end of your trial period you will receive a trial expiration email instead and users will no longer be added to your Calendar events. You can then either uninstall the Add-on or purchase a licence and once processed the Add-on will continue to function (but it will not retrospectively add users to the Calendar events).
  3. PayPal™ handles all of the payment process - I do not see or store any payment information. You do not require a PayPal™ account - there is a 'guest' checkout option.
  4. Enter your Google™ account email address in the box below before clicking the button so that your licence can be correctly assigned.
  5. The first payment should be processed within 2 hours. Please close down and re-launch the Add-on after this time.
  6. Licences are for named users rather than seats. For bulk adding users please use the Google Form™ at the bottom of this page to provide further details and I will get you set up (e.g. select users on your domain).
  7. Refunds will not be given. If you wish to cancel your subscription you can either do so through your PayPal account (which will be immediate) or use the support Form (you must give at least 5 working days notice). Once cancelled your licence will be revoked.
  8. Use the button below to subscribe.

Email address for licence:


Privacy Policy

Who is requesting Google user data?

I am an individual developer making my Add-ons available to all that want to use them. All of the data is stored within the Google™ environment, I am the only one with access to it and it is not shared with any third parties. There are no ads and no emails generated from any of the data. No other personal/sensitive data is collected and processed by me.

What data are you requesting?

This Add-on accesses a limited amount of data in order to be able to connect your Google Form™ to your Calendar events. It does this both when using the Add-on directly and for every Form submission going forwards, where you have specifically installed it.

The Add-on does not transfer/store your data anywhere else outside of Google™. Data it specifically handles includes:

  • Google Calendar™ ID - so that each time your Form is submitted it can update the guests of the event. This is stored in the Document Properties of your own Google Response Sheet and can therefore only be accessed by yourself and others with edit access to the file.

  • Your Google™ email address so that your licence can be assigned and account validated when you run the Add-on. In addition to sending you an automated email should the Add-on fail when your Form has been submitted - so that you know an issue has occurred.

Why are you requesting Google user data?

In order for the Add-on to function it needs to link your Google Response Sheet to your Calendar events which requires the IDs of both of these items to do so.  As it run automatically once you have installed it the data needs to be stored somewhere readily available.

The 'Form Calendar Invites' Add-on's use and transfer to any other app of information received from Google APIs will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.


Terms of Service

You accept all conditions on this webpage when installing the tool and will not attempt to interfere with its functionality. As an individual developer I take no responsibility for any adverse effects when using this Add-on, but I intend to make every effort to maintain it going forwards and ensure its functionality. 

It is your responsibility to use the Add-on correctly and securely, to read and understand the information presented on this page before proceeding. If you are not happy with any of this then do not use the Add-on.

You will not attempt to copy the Add-on.


Feedback & Support


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