Events in Workplace Calendar Synchronization

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated August 1, 2024
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Events in Workplace Calendar Synchronization

    The Workplace Calendar Synchronization application automatically creates events for every reservation-related action within the Workplace Reservation Management portal. These events track actions such as creation, updates, cancellations, and calendar reads, providing a detailed log for synchronization activities with calendar providers like Google Calendar and Microsoft Exchange On-Premises.

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    Event Types

    • Create: Triggered when a reservation is created.
    • Update: Triggered when a reservation is updated or checked out.
    • Delete: Triggered when a reservation is canceled or marked as a no-show.
    • Read: Specific to Google Calendar and Microsoft Exchange On-Premises, triggered when reading reservations from the room’s calendar.
    • Retrieve attendees: Specific to Microsoft Exchange On-Premises, retrieves attendee details since the Read event does not include attendees.

    Event Lifecycle and Details

    Each event starts in a New state and progresses through Processing, Processed, or Error states depending on its handling status. Event details are accessible via the Event form and include:

    • Payload: Contains reservation details in a string format based on the reservation portal form.
    • Provider payload: Contains reservation details formatted as per the calendar provider's reservation form.
    • Response: Displays the calendar provider’s response after processing, including error information if applicable.
    • Other key fields: reservation reference, event location, event state and substate, action type, calendar provider, and error details.

    For easier readability, payload and response fields can be toggled to JSON format. In cases of failed events, users can manually reprocess them using the Re-process option.

    Practical Application for ServiceNow Customers

    ServiceNow customers leveraging Workplace Calendar Synchronization can monitor and manage reservation synchronization events effectively. This capability enables troubleshooting synchronization errors, reviewing detailed reservation data exchanged with calendar providers, and ensuring accurate synchronization states. Additionally, manual intervention through event reprocessing helps maintain synchronization integrity.

    Related Actions

    • View overall synchronization details.
    • Run instance scans to verify Microsoft Exchange Online synchronization configuration.

    For every reservation-related action, an event is created in Workplace Calendar Synchronization

    About Events

    When a synchronization is performed, the Workplace Calendar Synchronization application creates an entry for every new reservation, creation, reservation update, and reservation cancellation. To view events, navigate to All > Workplace Calendar Synchronization > Synchronization > Events.

    The following events are created:
    • Create: A Create event is created whenever a reservation is created in the Workplace Reservation Management Reservation portal.
    • Update: An Update event is created whenever there’s an update to the reservation created in the Workplace Reservation Management Reservation portal or when a reservation is checked out
    • Delete: A Delete event is created whenever there is a reservation cancellation or a No show.
    • Read: A Read event is created when the Workplace Reservation Management application intends to read the reservations created on the rooms calendar in the calendar provider. The Read event is created only for Google Calendar and Microsoft Exchange On-Premises calendar providers.
    • Retrieve attendees: The Retrieve attendees event is created for Microsoft Exchange On-Premises calendar provider to retrieve details related to attendees included in a reservation. The Read event does not return attendee details for Microsoft Exchange On-Premises calendar provider.

    Event details

    When an event is created, it is set to New state by default. Depending on the processing, the state changes to Processing, Processed or Error.

    When an event is created, the event details on an Event form are displayed as follows:
    • In the Request related list:
      • Payload: The Payload field contains the details of the reservation in a string format. It contains reservation-related details such as it create, update, or cancel. The format of the payload is set based on the Reservation portal form.
      • Provider payload: The Provider payload contains the same details displayed in the Payload field but in the format of the calendar provider's reservation form. That is, in the format in which the calendar provider reads.
    • In the Response related list, the Response field displays the response to the event from the calendar provider in a string format.
      • The response is displayed only when an event is processed. That is, when an event is set to Processed or Error.
      • When an event returns an error, you can view the error-related details in the Response field
    • On the form, you can view details such as:
      • The reservation for which the event is created.
      • Location of the event.
      • State and substate of the event.
      • For what action the event is created.
      • The provider for which the event is created.
      • The error details if an event results in an error.
    • You can also change the Payload, Provider Payload and Response format from string format to JSON format using the Format JSON option. The Format JSON helps with the readability of these fields.
    • If an event fails, you can also manually reprocess the event using the Re-process option.