Connect the Outlook calendar

Sync your confirmed events with your Outlook / Microsoft 365 calendar for an always up-to-date schedule.

For teams on Microsoft 365, connecting the Outlook calendar reflects your Joinways events in the calendar you already check every day. No more juggling between Joinways and Outlook: one shared schedule serves as the reference for the whole team.

This article walks you through linking your Outlook account step by step, what gets synced once the connection is in place, and how to keep a consistent schedule across tools. It is aimed at venue managers and event teams working in the Microsoft ecosystem.

The connection relies on Microsoft's official authorization (OAuth): you stay in control of access and you pick exactly which target calendar your events should appear in.

Prerequisites

An Outlook / Microsoft 365 account with calendar access.
The rights you need in Joinways to open settings and manage your workspace integrations.
A browser where you can sign in to Microsoft to complete the OAuth authorization.
Depending on your organization, authorization from your Microsoft administrator may be required.

What you'll learn

Connect the Outlook calendar to your Joinways workspace.
Understand what is synced and in which direction.
Avoid date conflicts by keeping a consistent schedule across tools.
Diagnose cases where authorization is refused or events don't appear.

Connect the calendar

Connecting takes a few steps from your workspace settings. Follow the order below: at each step, the screen tells you what action is expected.

Go to Settings then Integrations. This is where all the external connections for your workspace are grouped.
Click Connect next to the Outlook calendar. Joinways then launches the Microsoft authorization flow.
Authorize via Microsoft (OAuth): Microsoft asks you to sign in to your account and accept the access requested by Joinways. This is the step that establishes the trusted link between the two services.
Choose the target calendar: if your Microsoft 365 account holds several calendars, select the one your Joinways events should appear in.

Once these steps are done, the connection is active and the sync can begin feeding the calendar you designated.

What is synced

This section recaps, based on how Joinways works, what flows between the two tools once the connection is in place.

Your confirmed events appear in Outlook. This is the heart of the sync: what is confirmed on the Joinways side shows up in the target calendar you chose.
The direction of the sync is from Joinways to Outlook: Joinways feeds the designated calendar with your confirmed events.
The sync relies on the target calendar selected during the connection; that is the calendar where you find your events.

For reference, it's the target calendar designated during the connection that acts as the meeting point between the two tools; everything confirmed converges there.

The goal is to keep your schedule consistent across tools: you check your Joinways commitments directly in Outlook, which you already use every day.

Because the same date information is visible to the whole team in Outlook, everyone reasons from a shared schedule rather than from isolated copies.

In practice, this means that once the connection is in place, you no longer have to copy your dates over: Joinways takes care of surfacing your confirmed events in the target calendar you chose.

How it works

Once the Microsoft (OAuth) authorization is granted and the target calendar is chosen, Joinways pushes your confirmed events to that calendar. There is nothing to re-enter: confirming an event in Joinways is enough to surface it on the Outlook side.

The connection stays tied to the calendar you selected. If you manage several Microsoft 365 calendars, only this one receives the events, which lets you keep your work commitments separate from your other calendars.

This mechanism helps you avoid date conflicts: one shared schedule avoids double-booking spaces, because the whole team sees confirmed events in the same place.

Edge cases

Administrator authorization: in some Microsoft 365 organizations, your administrator must authorize the app before the connection can go through.
Several Outlook calendars: if your account holds more than one, make sure you select the right target calendar when connecting.
Unconfirmed events: only confirmed events are part of the sync. An event still at the discussion stage doesn't appear until it is confirmed.
You use Google: if your organization runs Google rather than Microsoft, connect Google Calendar instead (see the "See also" section).
Internal schedule view: even without an external calendar, Joinways offers its own calendar and pipeline views; the Outlook connection complements them rather than replacing them.

💡 Good to know: one shared schedule avoids double-booking spaces. By keeping your confirmed events visible in Outlook, the whole team works from the same reference of dates.

Best practices

From the moment you connect, choose a target calendar suited to your organization, to keep Joinways events clearly distinct.
Confirm your events in Joinways at the right time: it's the confirmation that triggers their appearance in Outlook.
Anticipate administrator authorization if your organization requires it, to avoid a refusal during the connection.
Regularly check the target calendar to verify there's no overlap on important dates.
Keep the one-way direction in mind: Joinways feeds Outlook, not the other way around.
Connect only one calendar ecosystem at a time (Outlook or Google) to avoid any confusion in your schedule.

Troubleshooting

If something doesn't go as planned, these common situations help you get back to a reliable sync.

Problem: authorization is refused when connecting to Microsoft.

Cause: your Microsoft administrator hasn't yet authorized the app for your organization.

Solution: your Microsoft administrator may need to authorize the app. Ask them to approve the access, then restart the connection.

Problem: events don't appear in Outlook.

Cause: the calendar you're looking at isn't the target calendar chosen during the connection, or the events involved aren't confirmed.

Solution: check the selected calendar and the status of events. Make sure you're looking at the right calendar and that the events are confirmed on the Joinways side.

Problem: events land in the wrong calendar.

Cause: a calendar other than the intended one was chosen as the target calendar during the connection.

Solution: go through the connection flow again and select the right target calendar from those in your Microsoft 365 account.

Real-world example

An event-space manager works on Microsoft 365 and lives in Outlook. She opens Settings then Integrations, clicks Connect next to the Outlook calendar, authorizes access via Microsoft, and chooses her work calendar as the target calendar.

As soon as she confirms a seminar in Joinways, the event appears in Outlook. Her team sees the date taken in the same place, which prevents a colleague from offering the same space to another client.

Another example

A Microsoft 365 organization has a strict policy: no external app can access calendars without administrator approval. The venue manager starts the connection, but authorization is refused at first.

He asks his Microsoft administrator to authorize the app, then restarts the flow from Settings then Integrations. This time the authorization goes through, and his confirmed Joinways events start appearing in the target calendar.

FAQ

Can I also connect Google?

Yes, choose the calendar that matches your organization. If you run Google rather than Microsoft, connect Google Calendar instead.

Which events are synced?

Your confirmed events appear in Outlook. The sync focuses on what is confirmed on the Joinways side.

In which direction does the sync run?

It runs from Joinways to Outlook: Joinways feeds the target calendar you chose with your confirmed events.

Why is my authorization refused?

Your Microsoft administrator may need to authorize the app for your organization. Once the access is approved, restart the connection.

How do I choose the calendar where events appear?

During the connection, after authorizing via Microsoft, you choose the target calendar from those in your Microsoft 365 account.

Do I have to re-enter my events manually?

No. Once the connection is in place, your confirmed events surface automatically in the designated calendar, with no double entry.

What is this sync actually for?

It keeps your schedule consistent across tools and, through a shared schedule, avoids double-booking spaces.

Does the connection replace Joinways' views?

No. Joinways keeps its own calendar and pipeline views; the Outlook connection is added to reflect your confirmed events where your team already tracks its schedule.