Outlook Calendar Integration with OnBase??

[Todd_Brower1]

I am familiar with how OnBase Outlook Integration works with email, and I think this makes it very convenient for specific workflow applications when various users are occasional OnBase users, but very frequent users of Outlook email.

We have a use case where we would like to be able to schedule meetings based upon document status in OnBase.  The target users are already using Outlook for their calendar needs and we'd prefer to NOT create a separate calendaring function in OnBase for this specific use case. 

Is it possible to allow an OnBase user to send a 'meeting request' (or .ics file) with OnBase documents attached, to one or more people/email addresses?

[Eric_Simpson1 · Accepted solution]

I searched the EP3 Workflow and Office 2019 MRGs and didn't find any way to create a calendar file directly in OnBase.  A quick Google search for "create ics file in text" or "icalendar specification" returned many helpful sites.  You may be able to create the calendar (.ics) file externally, import it into OnBase, and attach it to your notification as a related doc, or you may be able to compile the text in a property in Workflow, export it to a file or document, and attach that to your notification. 

[Eric_Simpson1 · Accepted solution]

I searched the EP3 Workflow and Office 2019 MRGs and didn't find any way to create a calendar file directly in OnBase.  A quick Google search for "create ics file in text" or "icalendar specification" returned many helpful sites.  You may be able to create the calendar (.ics) file externally, import it into OnBase, and attach it to your notification as a related doc, or you may be able to compile the text in a property in Workflow, export it to a file or document, and attach that to your notification. 

[Todd_Brower1]

Thanks for the tip Eric!

[Eric_Beavers · Accepted solution]

Creation of .ics content can be done with Action: Set Property to Expression because it is simply text.

iCalendar Specification:  https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc5545

BEGIN:VCALENDARVERSION:2.0PRODID:-//ZContent.net//Zap Calendar 1.0//ENCALSCALE:GREGORIANMETHOD:PUBLISHBEGIN:VEVENTSUMMARY:Abraham LincolnUID:c7614cff-3549-4a00-9152-d25cc1fe077dSEQUENCE:0STATUS:CONFIRMEDTRANSP:TRANSPARENTRRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;INTERVAL=1;BYMONTH=2;BYMONTHDAY=12DTSTART:20080212DTEND:20080213DTSTAMP:20150421T141403CATEGORIES:U.S. Presidents,Civil War PeopleLOCATION:Hodgenville\, KentuckyGEO:37.5739497;-85.7399606DESCRIPTION:Born February 12\, 1809\nSixteenth President (1861-1865)\n\n\n\nhttp://AmericanHistoryCalendar.comURL:http://americanhistorycalendar.com/peoplecalendar/1,328-abraham-lincolnEND:VEVENTEND:VCALENDAR

The storing of a document is a little more challenging. I have done it with WorkView using the Report Processor as it has a built-in <<SaveAsDocument>> token. Outside of WorkView is a little more challenging (pure workflow).

One could export the text using the Action: Export to Network Location and just insert the property as the only field.

I have seen solutions where this text file can be placed on a hosted server, and then have Outlook read the file.

Here are my notes from that setup:

"

Server Setup for Hosting iCalendar File

The final step for setting up the iCalendar file is to host it on a server.  The easiest way to do this is to create a virtual directory in IIS (Internet Information Services).

• Open IIS
• Under Sites, Add a new Virtual Directory
  • Give it an Alias for clients to refer (ex. Calendars)
  • Set the Physical Path to the folder configured to be the Network Location
  • Click OK

Microsoft Outlook Setup

Once the iCalendar file is hosted, users can connect with the calendar through any client that supports iCalendar.  One example is Microsoft Outlook.

• Go to the Calendar
• In the Home ribbon, click Open Calendar and select From Internet
• Enter the server and, virtual directory, and name of the calendar file (ex. webcal://[ServerName]/[VirtualDirectory]/Appointments.ics)
• Click OK

"

[Todd_Brower1]

Thanks for the information Eric - I always appreciate the level of detail you tend to share in your answers!