Providers can subscribe to an iCal feed of their active jobs to integrate their schedule on Octoo with their calendar of choice on their computer or mobile phone.
Providers can utilize an iCal feed to display their active jobs from Octoo on their computer or mobile phone using a calendar application of choice. This feature allows providers to easily integrate their jobs alongside their personal or other calendar events, making it easier to manage their time and commitments.
iCal Feed
First, generate a secure token for your iCal feed from within Octoo: https://app.octoo.com/profile/calendar
The calendar URL is protected by a secure and unique token; the secure token will be included in the URL for the iCal feed, which will look like this:
If a device is lost or compromised, the user can generate a new token to invalidate the old one, ensuring that their job schedule remains secure.
WARNING: The token is sensitive information and should be treated like a password. If someone gains access to your token, they can view your job schedule. Always keep your token secure and do not share it with anyone.
Token expiration
Secure tokens have an expiration date (six months from the date of creation). After this date has passed, the token will no longer be valid, and you will need to generate a new token to continue accessing the iCal feed.
You will see an alert and warnings within the calendar feed itself to remind you to generate a new token before the expiration date. You can generate a new token at any time, and the old token will be invalidated immediately. This allows you to maintain control over your calendar feed and ensure that it remains secure.
Jobs included in the feed
The calendar/jobs.ics feed includes all active jobs for the provider. It includes jobs looking back the past six months and includes all jobs in the future. The calendar feed is updated any time your job status changes in the API (however, actual fetching/refresh is managed by your calendar client). It will include:
All active jobs (assigned, continent, pending, and seeking replacement)
Title and topic and location of the job
Remote connection information (if applicable)
Team member information (if applicable)
Note that cancelled jobs are currently not included in the feed
How to subscribe to the feed
To subscribe to the iCal feed, you will need to use the secure token URL provided by Octoo. Each calendar application has its own method of subscribing to an iCal feed. Generally, you will need to copy the URL provided by Octoo and paste it into your calendar application by “adding a subscription”.
NOTE: The calendar feed is read-only and only updated approximately once per hour. A timestamp from the last update is included in the body of the event.
Method One: Open the Calendar app, tap on “Calendars” at the bottom, then tap “Add Calendar” and select “Add Subscribed Calendar”. Paste the secure token URL provided by Octoo.
Method Two: Navigate to Settings > Calendar > Calendar Accounts > Add Account > Other > Add Subscribed Calendar, then paste the secure token URL provided by Octoo.
MacOS Calendar App
See the MacOS help document for detailed information.
Open the Calendar app, go to File > New Calendar Subscription.
Paste the secure token URL provided by Octoo into the Calendar URL field.
For the Location, select iCloud to sync with your iCloud account and all devices or On My Mac to keep it local.
Update Auto-refresh to Every hour or at a higher interval if desired (less than an hour is not recommended).
Google Calendar
Google only updates subscribed calendar feeds once or twice per day and does not provide any mechanism for increasing the refresh rate. If you need more frequent updates, consider using a different calendar application.
See the Google Calendar help document for detailed information.
Open Google Calendar
Click on the + icon next to Other calendars
Select From URL, and paste the secure token URL provided by Octoo.
Do not check the box marked make this calendar public
Screen shot from Google Calendar
Google Calendar will report that the feed is 🔓 PUBLIC when you view the event. This just means that anyone who has the feed URL (that is, you) can see the event details. Do not share this URL with anyone else.
Microsoft Outlook
See the Microsoft Outlook help document for detailed information.
Open Outlook, go to File > Account Settings > Internet Calendars and click “New”.
Paste the secure token URL provided by Octoo.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Below are some common questions and answers about the iCal feed subscription feature:
Why aren't all past jobs included in the feed?
We limit the feed to the past six months of jobs to keep the feed size manageable. A subscription feed is not paginated (that is, it loads all jobs at once), so including every past job can result in a very large feed that will continue to grow over time. If you need access to older jobs (going back to the beginning of time or before that), you can always log into Octoo and view your job history there.
Why aren't job changes reflected immediately on the calendar?
When a change is made in Octoo, the cache for the iCal feed is immediately updated in the API. However, each person's calendar application will refresh the feed at its own interval. This means that changes made in Octoo may not immediately appear in your calendar application. The iCal protocol is designed for periodic updates, not real-time updates, and doesn't allow for a "push" mechanism to notify calendar applications of changes.
Why aren't consumer names shown?
Out of an abundance of caution, we do not include consumer names in the iCal feed. This is to protect consumer privacy and ensure that sensitive information is not inadvertently shared through the calendar subscription. The feed will include job titles, topics, and locations, but not personal information about consumers. You can follow the link in the event description to the job brief to see the consumer name and additional details about the job.
If I subscribe to this feed, will it overwrite my current calendar events?
No, subscribing to the iCal feed will not overwrite your current calendar events. The iCal feed is read-only and will only add an entirely new event calendar to your app. You can usually assign it a color and toggle it on and off as needed. It will not interfere with your existing calendar events or appointments and you can hide it at any time. Because it is read-only, you cannot edit or change the events.
Can I copy the event to my own calendar?
Yes, you can copy the event to your own calendar. Most calendar applications allow you to duplicate or copy events from a subscribed calendar to your personal calendar. This way, you can make changes to the event without affecting the original iCal feed. However, keep in mind that any changes made to the copied event will not be reflected in the original iCal feed.
Will I get a notification when an update occurs?
No, you will not receive a notification when an update occurs in the iCal feed. The iCal protocol does not support push notifications for updates. You will continue to receive updates via email or in-app notifications for job changes, but the iCal feed itself will not trigger any notifications.
Do I have to manually refresh the feed?
No, you do not have to manually refresh the feed but you can if you want! Most calendar applications will automatically refresh the iCal feed at regular intervals (usually every hour). However, if you want to see the latest updates immediately, you can manually refresh the calendar in your application. The exact method for doing this will depend on the calendar application you are using.
