Send email to gmail so it gets added to the calendar

Question

What I would like to write an email (doesn't matter the client) and send it to my Gmail account. I would like to craft it in such a way so that Gmail knows that it is an event and can add it to the calendar automatically.

I get emails confirming hotel books and flights that automatically get added. I am wondering if there is some plain text way of writing something and emailing so that it is automatically added.

Answer 1

I am wondering if there is some plain text way of writing something and emailing so that it is automatically added.

There is no plain text method for adding calendar entries to a recipient's calendar (can you imagine the abuse?).

As I understand it, Google will "automatically scan" certain incoming emails, picking out important pieces of information. This feature is documented here: Events from Gmail.

In the Troubleshooting section, there is a section titled "Events from Gmail don't show up in Calendar", which explains why things might not appear.

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An alternate option might be to send an iCalendar invitation (*.ics file) as an attachment, with a suitable message in the email's body.

Gmail will show a calendar banner over the email, allowing you to easily click "Yes" / "Maybe" / "No" in response, and the event will be added to your calendar tentatively:

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