G.J. Software sends calendar reminders in the iCalendar format (.ics) to keep users informed about upcoming events related to their work. These reminders arrive as email attachments that the recipient can add directly to almost any modern email or calendar application. While widely supported, common examples include Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, and Apple Calendar. This ensures that scheduled tasks and deadlines remain visible alongside other appointments.
Each calendar event is created by the office email address (e.g <denver@gjgardner.com>) and appears on the recipient's calendar once they accept the invitation. If the recipient accepts the calendar invitation, subsequent changes to the triggering dates automatically update the event on their calendar. The system only sends .ics files when the trigger date is in the future and greater than today's date.
Note: Calendar invitations are delivered automatically by the system. There is no opt-out or preference setting within G.J. Software to stop receiving them.
Note: Users cannot customise the summary or description on most .ics files — the system generates these fields automatically based on the event data. The exception is Meeting activities: when creating an activity on a contact, job, or sales folder and selecting the activity type as "Meeting", whatever is entered in the description field appears in the calendar event description.
Calendar event types
G.J. Software currently generates iCalendar reminders for the following event types:
Event type | Description |
ToDo's from Schedule Tasks | The system sends a calendar event to the user for whom a ToDo task is created in a Schedule. |
Activities | The system sends a calendar event when a meeting Activity Type is scheduled. |
Note:** Earlier versions of the platform also generated calendar reminders for Maintenance / Warranty tasks, follow-up dates, and tasks from schedules. These calendar event types have been retired, are no longer sent by the system, and have no replacement notification mechanism. ToDo tasks and Activities are the active calendar reminder types.
ToDo's from Schedule Tasks
The system generates a calendar event and sends it to the user for whom a ToDo task is created within a Schedule (Construction, Pre-Construction, or Warranty / Maintenance). This reminder helps the assigned user track upcoming work that originates from the scheduling workflow.
When the system sends the event
The system sends an email with the calendar event when a new ToDo task is created. The triggers that cause ToDo task creation are tied to the Schedule Task configuration — when a Schedule or Gantt chart is created or edited, the system evaluates the task triggers and generates the corresponding ToDo tasks and calendar events.
ToDo calendar event details
Each ToDo calendar event includes the following information:
Field | Description |
Start date | Calculated according to the time criteria specified in the ToDo task. |
End date | The current system date. |
Task summary | A summary of the ToDo task. |
Task description | The memo associated with the ToDo task. |
Organiser | The Office that owns the job or sales folder. |
Attendee | The contact (user) to whom the ToDo task is assigned. |
Activities
The system generates a calendar event when a user creates an Activity with the activity type set to Meeting from the communications log on a contact, sales folder, or job.
Who receives the event
The system sends the calendar invitation to:
The person listed in the Recipient column of the activity.
The user assigned to the activity — so if a user creates the activity on behalf of someone else, the event appears on the assigned person's calendar
Activity calendar event details
Each Activity calendar event includes the following information:
Field | Description |
Start/End date and time | The date and time specified on the activity. |
Task title | The title of the activity. |
Description | The description entered on the activity. |
Invitees | The recipient and assigned user. |
Adding a calendar event
When a user receives an iCalendar email, they can add the event to their calendar using one of the following methods.
Note: Many modern calendar applications (such as Gmail) automatically detect .ics attachments from known email addresses and add them to your calendar. You may only need to follow these steps if your security settings prevent automatic event creation.
Adding an event directly from the email
Open the email containing the calendar invitation.
Click Yes to accept the invitation.
The system adds the event to the user's calendar.
Adding an event via a downloaded file
Open the email containing the calendar invitation.
Click Download to save the .ics file to the computer.
Double-click the downloaded .ics file. The operating system prompts the user to add the event to the default calendar management application on their computer.
Confirm the addition when prompted.
Viewing calendar events in Google Calendar
Users who use Google Workspace can view their calendar events directly in Google Calendar.
Navigate to https://calendar.google.com in your web browser.
Alternatively, from your Gmail account, select the Google apps icon in the top-right corner and choose Calendar.
Displays all events, including those added from iCalendar files.
Select the event bar to view the event details, including the task summary, description, and site information.
How date changes affect existing events
When the system detects a change to a date that originally triggered a calendar event, it automatically updates the existing event on the recipient's calendar. This behaviour applies only if the recipient previously accepted the invitation. The system handles three scenarios:
New event created — The system sends a new calendar invitation to the recipient.
Existing event updated — The system sends an updated invitation that modifies the event already on the recipient's calendar.
Existing event deleted — The system sends a cancellation that removes the event from the recipient's calendar.
This automatic update mechanism ensures that the user's calendar always reflects the current schedule without requiring manual adjustments.