Google Calendar Session Emails

Introduction

Instructor Led Course (ILC) Sessions are able to send automatic Emails and System Messages to Learners. Google Calendar links can be included in the Session emails. This article will explain how System Admin can configure Google Calendar Email Links. If you are unfamiliar with Message Templates and how to manage them, please refer to our Manage Templates article.

Important FYI

• If an ILC Session is changed or canceled, please be aware that the user may have to manually update or remove old calendar entries when using Google Calendar Links.
• If you do not have Custom SMTP enabled, Learners, will receive bounce-back messages upon accepting Google invitations due to the use of a no-reply email account.

Tip

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is an application that is used to send, receive, and relay outgoing emails between senders and receivers. When an email is sent, it's transferred over the internet from one server to another using SMTP. Using Custom SMTP to send System Emails through our own email address (i.e. [e-mail]) will provide a more immersive experience for your learners. Using your own email domain will also ensure that emails from the LMS don't get blocked by spam filters and/or firewalls. This can be configured by a System Admin in Portal Settings > Info > Enable Custom SMTP.

Enabling Google Calendar Email Links

This feature can be enabled by a System Admin in Portal Settings > Info > Enable Google Calendar Session Emails. Please follow these steps to do so:

Step 1: As a System Admin, navigate to Portal Settings. This will open the Portal Settings menu defaulted to the Info tab.

Step 2: Scroll down to Enable Google Calendar Session Emails, and toggle it ON:

Once the toggle is enabled, as shown above, the default Google URL will appear. This can be replaced if your organization has their own customized G Suite URL, and then tested to confirm that it is working as expected by clicking the blue Test Link button. If you do not use G Suite, you can simply leave the URL as it appears by default. Once your settings are in place, ensure that you click Save at the top right of your Portal Settings page. 

Adding Google Calendar Email Links To Messages

When you have enabled Google Calendar Session Email links from Portal Settings, you will then need to update your Message Templates as necessary. While the ICS files will still be included automatically, a small amount of customization will be required to the below three Message Templates if you wish to include Google Calendar Links.

• Session Enrollment
• Session Reminder
• Session Updated

Follow these steps to do so:

Step 1: Select the Setup tab, and then select Message Templates. This will bring you to the Message Templates Administrative Report.

Step 2: Use the Type filter to search for the Template that you would like to edit, and then select Edit from the Actions menu on the right. This will bring you to the Edit Message Template menu for the Template that you have selected.

Step 3: Once your Message Template has loaded, you can place your cursor in the Body of the message where you want to add the Google Calendar Link, and then add it by clicking on the corresponding variable as shown below:

Once clicked, the appropriate variable text will be added to the body of your message, and will look similar to the screenshot below: