Using Microsoft Calendar actions in action flows



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By connecting the action builder to external systems, such as Microsoft
Calendar, admins can integrate Zendesk with external systems in automated workflows,
improving collaboration and maintaining a seamless experience across multiple
platforms.
Note: The steps associated with external systems in action flows are
referred to collectively as external actions.

This article contains the following topics:
Connecting Microsoft Calendar to action builder
Using Microsoft Calendar actions in action flows
Recipe: Automatically creating handover meeting in Microsoft Calendar when a ticket is reassigned




Connecting Microsoft Calendar to action builder

Before you can include external actions in your action flows, you must connect the
action builder to the external system.
When connecting to external systems for use in action flows, the following best practices are recommended:
All external actions performed by an action flow are attributed to the user who connected the external system. Therefore, it is a best practice to use a dedicated service account rather than personal credentials when connecting to each external system.
All integrations request access to necessary scopes. However, it's important that you review and validate the scopes before authorizing the connection to the external system.
When managing credentials for API key-based tools, such as OpenAI, it's best to store keys in a secure vault or credential manager.



To connect Microsoft Calendar to action builder
In Admin Center, click
Apps and integrations in the sidebar, then select Actions > Action
flows.

Create or edit an action flow.
Open the step sidebar.
Under External actions, click Microsoft Calendar.
Click Connect.
Use Microsoft to authenticate the account. You must use a service account
when connecting to Microsoft Calendar because it uses User Scopes.
Authenticating with a personal account won't work properly.
The
following scopes are required: offline_access,
User.Read, Calendars.Read,
Calendars.ReadWrite,
MailboxSettings.Read,
MailboxSettings.ReadWrite.

Note: All external
actions performed by an action flow are attributed to the user who
connected the external system.



After you've connected to the system, you'll see an indicator that it's connected and
details about the instance you're connected to, as well as the actions available for
Jira.



Using Microsoft Calendar actions in action flows

Microsoft Calendar action steps can be used to automatically create, update, and
manage calendar events in Microsoft Calendar.
The following Microsoft Calendar actions are available:
Create event
Update event
Search for event
Delete event




Creating a calendar event

Use the Create event action to create a new calendar event. For example,
you might want to automatically create follow-up meetings or reminders when
high-priority tickets are created in Zendesk.
This action has the following inputs and outputs:










Variables




Inputs

external_id,
calendar_id, title,
start_time, end_time,
attendees,
description,
location



Output

id, link









Updating a calendar event

Use the Update event action to modify an existing calendar event, such as
rescheduling it when a ticket due date changes.
This action has the following inputs and outputs:










Variables




Inputs

external_id,
calendar_id, event_id,
updated_fields



Output

id, link









Searching for a calendar event

Use the Search for calendar event action to retrieve information about an
existing calendar event. This is useful for checking whether an event already
exists and verifying the details of an existing event.
This action has the following inputs and outputs:










Variables




Inputs

external_id, query (title, date
range, attendee)



Output
events (id, title, start_time, end_time,
attendees, link)








Deleting a calendar event

Use the Delete event action to delete an existing calendar event.
This action has the following inputs and outputs:










Variables




Inputs

external_id,
calendar_id,
event_id



Output
none









Recipe: Automatically creating handover meeting in Microsoft Calendar when a ticket is reassigned

The following example action flow automatically creates a meeting in Microsoft
Calendar when a ticket is reassigned and invites the previous asignee and new
assignee. This ensures consistent transfer of ownership with full context of the
ticket, which reduces delays and improves accountability.
Such an action flow might consist of the following steps:
Add an action flow trigger with the following details:
Click Add trigger.
In the step sidebar, under Zendesk, click
Tickets.
Click Routing and select Ticket agent assignment
changed.


Add a step to look up ticket details:
In the action builder, beneath the action flow trigger, click the
Add step icon ( ).
In the step sidebar, under Zendesk actions, click Look up
ticket.
Under Ticket ID, click into the field and then click
Select a variable instead.
Within the variable menu, select Ticket assignment changed as
the step that output the variable you want to use, and then select
Ticket ID.


Add a step to look up user details about the ticket assignee:
In the action builder, click the Add step icon ( ).
In the step sidebar, under Zendesk actions, click Look up
user.
Under User ID type, select Zendesk user ID.
For User ID, click Add variable.
Within the variable menu, select Look up ticket as the step
that outputs the variable you want to use, and then select
Assignee ID.


Add a step to lookup details about the ticket requester's organization:
In the action builder, click the Add step icon ( ).
In the step sidebar, under Zendesk actions, click Look up
organization.
Under Organization ID type, select Zendesk organization
ID.
For Organization ID, click Add variable.
Within the variable menu, select Look up user as the step
that outputs the variable you want to use, and then select
Organization ID.


Add a step that creates a calendar event based on the information you
collected for the ticket, assignee, and organization:
In the action builder, click the Add step icon ( ).
In the step sidebar, under External actions, click
Microsoft Calendar and then select Create
event.
Under Calendar, select the appropriate calendar from the
connected account in which to create the event.
Under Title, enter Handoff ticket and then click
add variable
Ticket ID.


Click Save.
Click Test to test the action flow.
Click the options menu ( ) and select Activate to begin using the
action flow to automatically schedule ticket handoff meetings when a
ticket's assignee changes.




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