How do I Create a Connect Calendar Appointment Slot

Owned by Marc Miller
Jul 13, 2022
4 min read

Adapted from: Learn about changes to Google Calendar appointment slots - Google Calendar Help

Problem

You want people to be able to schedule appointments with you in an automated manner, but want control over how long said appointments can last and in what time ranges without using specialized software.

Solution

Overview

You can set up a block of appointments on your calendar that other people can reserve. For example, professors can invite their students to reserve time during office hours each week and Advisors can invite students to book appointments within a range of times.

Appointment slots are useful when you don't know who needs to meet with you, but you want to make yourself available. You can offer people a block of time on your calendar that they can book time slots within. For example, you can set aside 2 hours that you're available to meet with people in 30-minute slots. Others can then book one of the 30-minute slots within that time that works best for them.

How appointment slots relate to regular events

When you create a block of appointment slots, the block shows up as a single event on your calendar. When someone reserves one of your appointment slots, the reserved slot shows up as an event on their calendar and inside the larger block on your calendar.

Create an appointment block

  1. Using your work/school account on a computer, open Google Calendar.

  2. Make sure that you're in Week view or any Day view.

  3. Click anywhere in the calendar. In the event box that pops up, click “Appointment Schedule” then “continue”

  4. Enter the details, including a title, and pick the calendar where you want the event to show up.

  5. To avoid overlapping appointments Be Sure to set your buffer time by clicking “Booked appointment settings” and clicking the checkbox next to “Buffer time”. Default is no buffer and overlaps possible.

  6. Review your settings at this point and click “Next” when ready to move on to the next page.

  7. To add more information, like a location, picture or description, click More options.

     

  8. It is HIGHLY recommended by UCOP to enable “Require email verification”. Unverified appointment slots have been booked by bots in the past.

  9. Click “Save”

Tip: If you want to make the appointment block repeat, do so before you invite others to reserve a slot. When you make an existing appointment block with reserved slots repeat, the reserved slots get duplicated as new slots and double booking can occur. 

Add guests (co-hosts) to the appointment block

When you add a guest to the appointment block, the guest gets added to every appointment slot in the block and receives an email each time someone reserves an appointment. For example, a professor might add her assistant as a guest to be present during office hours.

To add guests to an appointment block, open the appointment event and click Add guests. 

Tip: Don’t add people who want to reserve an individual appointment slot. Instead, send them a link to the appointments page.

Invite others to reserve an appointment slot

After you've set up the appointment block, you can invite people to reserve a slot with a link to your appointments page. Open Google Calendar.

  1. Click your appointment Go to appointment page for this calendar.

  2. Copy and paste the appointment page link from your browser.

  3. Send this link to people who want to reserve an appointment slot

Additional Features (Zoom)

It is possible to automate scheduling your zoom meetings via google calendar, giving users the option to either book in-person appointments or appointments via zoom.

Requirements: