How to Update Calendar Event with Google Apps Script

Google Apps Script is a programming language that allows users to automate tasks and create custom functionality in various Google applications. One of the most popular applications that Google Apps Script is used for is Google Calendar. This application allows users to schedule events, set reminders, and manage their calendars. In this article, we will discuss how to update calendar events using Google Apps Script.

Step 1: Access Google Calendar

The first step in updating a calendar event using Google Apps Script is to access Google Calendar. To do this, you will need to open a new Google Apps Script file and add the following code:

function accessCalendar() {
    var calendar = CalendarApp.getCalendarById('insert_calendar_id_here');
}

In this code, we are calling the getCalendarById function to retrieve the calendar by its unique ID. You will need to replace the ‘insert_calendar_id_here’ text with the actual ID of the calendar you want to access. You can find this ID by opening the calendar and clicking on the three dots next to its name. Select ‘Settings and sharing’, and then scroll down to ‘Integrate calendar’. The ID will be listed there.

Step 2: Retrieve the Event to be Updated

Once we have accessed the calendar, we can retrieve the event that we want to update. We can do this by adding the following code:

function accessCalendar() {
    var calendar = CalendarApp.getCalendarById('insert_calendar_id_here');
    var event = calendar.getEventById('insert_event_id_here');
}

In this code, we are calling the getEventById function to retrieve the event by its unique ID. You will need to replace the ‘insert_event_id_here’ text with the actual ID of the event you want to update. You can find this ID by opening the event and clicking on the three dots in the top right corner. Select ‘Edit event’, and then scroll down to ‘Event details’. The ID will be listed there.

Step 3: Update the Event

Now that we have retrieved the event, we can update it using the setTitle and setDescription methods. These methods allow us to change the title and description of the event respectively. We can add the following code to update the event:

function accessCalendar() {
    var calendar = CalendarApp.getCalendarById('insert_calendar_id_here');
    var event = calendar.getEventById('insert_event_id_here');event.setTitle('new title');
    event.setDescription('new description');
}

In this code, we are calling the setTitle and setDescription functions to update the event’s title and description. You will need to replace the `new title` and `new description` text with the actual title and description that you want to use.

Step 4: Save the Changes

Once we have updated the event, we need to save the changes by calling the updateEvent function. We can add the following code to save the changes:

function accessCalendar() {
    var calendar = CalendarApp.getCalendarById('insert_calendar_id_here');
    var event = calendar.getEventById('insert_event_id_here');
    event.setTitle('new title');
    event.setDescription('new description');
    event.updateEvent();
}

In this code, we are calling the updateEvent function to save the changes to the event.

Step 5: Run the Script

Finally, we can run the script by clicking on the play button in the toolbar. This will update the event with the new title and description that we specified.