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Sending Appointments with Outlook


Since the behavior for Controls & Inspections and Meetings, the following article describes how to send appointments for both roles.


Sending Appointments with Outlook

Once a meeting or inspection has been created, the appointment can be linked to Outlook or another calendar program. This sends a calendar invitation to the participants, and the appointment is added to their calendars. The invitation can be sent immediately after creation or later using the available options.




There are two options available. You can either download the appointment file or send the appointment directly via Outlook Online. Downloading the appointment file is particularly useful if you plan to send it via a local calendar program such as the classic Outlook or the macOS Calendar app. With both options, changes to the title, date, time, and attendee list are automatically updated.


Changes to the appointment must be made directly in the Outlook appointment, not in buildagil. The title, date/time, location, and new participants—provided they are saved as contacts in the corresponding project—will be updated in buildagil. If a contact is removed from the Outlook appointment, it will not be automatically removed from buildagil as well.



Once the appointment file has been downloaded, it can be opened or imported into the calendar program of your choice.



In the new Outlook, ".ics files" are not opened directly but are imported via the calendar management feature. To do this, select the option to upload a file in the "Add Calendar" division. Select the downloaded calendar file and assign it to an existing or new calendar before completing the import.



Once opened, the appointment is displayed in Outlook. It can be edited and sent. The invitation text includes the project title of the respective meeting.


Important: The contact "events@buildagil.com" must not be removed from the recipient list.



Outlook 2016 uses the "Plain Text" format by default. To ensure that links are displayed correctly, you must manually change the format to "HTML."



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Canceling Appointments

If an appointment (e.g., for a meeting or inspection) is canceled and is linked to a calendar program, the cancellation can be made directly in the calendar program. If necessary, the corresponding meeting or inspection can also be deleted in buildagil. If the cancellation is to be visible in buildagil, this can be noted in the title.



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Procedure for Recurring Appointments

In buildagil, you cannot create recurring events the way you can in Outlook. If you still want to manage recurring events in Outlook, the following procedure is recommended for recurring meetings or controls and inspections. First, create the appointment series in Outlook. This serves as a time blocker in the participants’ calendars. Next, create a new meeting or inspection in buildagil as the basis for the series. Using the role “Schedule a Follow-Up Appointment" function, the required follow-up appointments can now be created. These initially contain no content, and only the organizer is listed as a participant. As soon as an appointment is approaching, the actual participants as well as the Meeting Agenda or the control/inspection can be added. Afterward, the appointment can be sent to the participants via "Notify Participants." This approach allows for flexible content planning while simultaneously synchronizing the calendar with Outlook.


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Troubleshooting


If the following troubleshooting steps do not resolve the issue, please feel free to contact Support.



Troubleshooting a Missing or Incorrect Calendar Program in Windows

If no program or an unintended program opens when you send an appointment via Outlook or a calendar program, this is usually due to the default app association for the ".ics" file type in Windows settings.



The following steps will help you with the review:

  • Search for "Default Apps" in Windows Settings
  • Select the ".ics" file type
  • Set the desired calendar program as the default


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Troubleshooting Appointment Invitations in the Mac Mail Program

When using the Mac Mail app, you may receive calendar invitations as "winmail.dat" files instead of ".ics" files. This file format is not readable in the Mac Mail app and cannot be opened as a calendar invitation. This is usually caused by the configuration of the sender’s or recipient’s mail server.


The following solutions may help:

  • Change the email format in Outlook to "HTML" or "Plain Text"
  • Check whether the appointment is received correctly by another Mac user in the same company
  • Send the invitation to an Outlook account on a Mac as a test
  • Check the Mail app settings on your Mac



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Updated on: 29/07/2026