In order for interview appointments to be automatically synchronized between softgarden and your Outlook calendar, it is important to know how appointments have to be created and which functions support a real calendar link.
Why is filling out the “Basic Information” not enough?
If you create an appointment exclusively via the “Basic information” input mask, there will be no connection between softgarden and your calendar.
This means:
The appointment is not automatically entered in Outlook.
There is no synchronization.
In order for an appointment to appear automatically in your Outlook calendar, you must use a function that creates a real calendar link.
What options are available for linking appointments with Outlook?
Two features are available to you that enable automatic transfer to your Outlook calendar:
Option 1: "Import from your calendar"
You select an existing appointment from your Outlook calendar.
It is imported into softgarden.
The connection remains active.
Option 2: Smart Calendar
The Smart Calendar creates appointments directly via the calendar integration.
Synchronization takes place via the service provider Cronofy.
The appointment is automatically added to your Outlook calendar.
Are manually created appointments automatically synchronized with Outlook?
No. Even if your calendar is linked to softgarden, interview appointments created manually in softgarden are not automatically transferred to Outlook.
This means:
A manually created appointment remains visible only in softgarden.
It doesn't appear in your Outlook calendar.
The calendar link alone isn't enough - you need to use one of the features mentioned above.
Alternative: Add the appointment to your calendar using an ICS file
If you create an appointment manually in softgarden, you can still add it to your personal calendar—though not automatically, but rather via an ICS calendar file.
Here’s how it works:
softgarden provides an ICS file for interview appointments.
You can download this file from the email sent to the candidate.
Opening the ICS file adds the appointment to Outlook (or any other calendar).
Important:
The ICS file does not synchronize softgarden and Outlook.
You must manually update the appointment in both systems if changes are made.
The ICS file is a one-time transfer, not an ongoing connection.
This option is useful if:
the appointment has already been arranged by phone
you do not require automatic synchronization
you still want the appointment to appear in your personal calendar
When is the Smart Calendar required?
The Smart Calendar is the only feature that:
automatically adds appointments to Outlook
can optionally check for availability
enables true synchronization
Even if you do not wish to use the availability check, the Smart Calendar is necessary if you want the appointment to appear automatically in your Outlook calendar.
More help
You can find detailed instructions on how to use the Smart Calendar here.