Outlook Integration – Issue When Changing Status

[Angela_V]

Hello,

We are currently testing the EspoCRM extension Outlook Integration.
During this process, we encountered an issue:
When the status of a meeting (e.g., from "Planned" to "Held" or "Not Held") is changed, an update is sent to the appointment in Outlook.
As a result, Outlook sends an update to the meeting participants, even though a status change in Espo does not cause any actual changes to the appointment information in Outlook.
This is incorrect and particularly problematic when it concerns a past meeting with external participants.

We could modify the code in OutlookCalendar.php, but since this is an external extension, the change would be overwritten with every update.

custom/Espo/Modules/Outlook/Hooks/Common/OutlookCalendar.php:

// Deleted 

Can anyone confirm this behavior?

[yuri]

> As a result, Outlook sends an update to the meeting participants

What exactly update is sent to participants?

[yuri]

It was planned to implement event cancellation. But there are some difficulties with it in the Calendar API.

[yuri]

Status changes are used. If the status is changed to Not Held, it deletes the event.

[Angela_V]

Hello,

We are currently testing the EspoCRM extension Outlook Integration.
During this process, we encountered an issue:
When the status of a meeting (e.g., from "Planned" to "Held" or "Not Held") is changed, an update is sent to the appointment in Outlook.
As a result, Outlook sends an update to the meeting participants, even though a status change in Espo does not cause any actual changes to the appointment information in Outlook.
This is incorrect and particularly problematic when it concerns a past meeting with external participants.

We could modify the code in OutlookCalendar.php, but since this is an external extension, the change would be overwritten with every update.

custom/Espo/Modules/Outlook/Hooks/Common/OutlookCalendar.php:

// Deleted 

Can anyone confirm this behavior?

Sorry, I'm still learning the forum rules, but why was the PHP code deleted?

[yuri]

It's not an open sourced code. Formally, publishing is not permitted by the license.

[Angela_V]

In my defense: It was only two lines of the original code :-)
But yes, I understand.

[Angela_V]

> As a result, Outlook sends an update to the meeting participants

What exactly update is sent to participants?

The participants will receive an email — the same one they would have received if the appointment had been changed in Outlook.

[Angela_V]

Status changes are used. If the status is changed to Not Held, it deletes the event.

That doesn’t seem logical to me: 'Not Held' is not the same as deleted. Or am I wrong?
In the EspoCRM Outlook calendar settings, there’s also the option 'Remove Outlook event upon removal in EspoCRM'.
So what is this option for, if 'Not Held' also deletes the event?

[yuri]

It's strange that Outlook/Office/Microsoft 365/Copilot sends the update notification if there was no change.

In the new extension version the update request is supposed to be skipped if only status is changed. But removal logic on On Held will be preserved.

> That doesn’t seem logical to me: 'Not Held' is not the same as deleted.

In Espo, we have Not Held status. Outlook does not have such. Removal is not the same as Not Held. Not Held keeps the history. A meeting record can contain valuable data.

[Angela_V]

When will the new version be available? We'll wait until then.

[yuri]

It's already released.

[Angela_V]

It's already released.

You mean 1.6.5? We've installed that.


I'm documenting the behavior with screenshots, as it helps illustrate the issue more clearly.



The status of the appointment was only changed from 'Planned' to 'Held' in EspoCRM, yet the appointment was still updated in Outlook.
If participants are listed in the appointment, they are notified by email about a change that doesn't exist in Outlook.

Another point: Why is an appointment deleted in Outlook when it is deleted in EspoCRM, even though this option is not checked in the Outlook calendar settings in EspoCRM?


I'm a bit confused...

[yuri]

v1.6.6 was released yesterday.

[Angela_V]

Thank you for the information. The new version is (still) not showing up in the admin panel. I’ve now downloaded it directly from the portal and will start testing.