Microsoft Entra (Azure) Calendar Sync
This document will guide you through how to configure Maptician to synchronize with Microsoft O365 resource calendars.
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Table of Contents
⚠️ IMPORTANT
Maptician's External Calendar Sync requires a working Microsoft Graph API connection in Maptician. If you do not have a Graph API connection set up yet, follow the full setup first: Microsoft Graph API Configuration Guide.
Before You Begin
You will need the following:
- Access to your Microsoft Entra (formerly Azure AD) tenant with the ability to add and grant new API permissions.
- At least one External Resource Calendar is configured in Microsoft Exchange that also has a Teams license applied to it.
- An active Maptician Account Admin user with access to your environment. This requirement applies only if you are configuring the integration yourself without Maptician assistance.
Configure Graph API Permissions for Calendar Sync
ℹ️ NOTE
For additional details on Graph API permissions, refer to Microsoft's Graph permissions reference article.
From the Microsoft Entra ID home screen:
- In the left navigation menu, under Manage, select App registrations.
- In the App registrations list, find and select your existing app (usually named “Maptician Graph API” or similar).
- Once in the app, go to API permissions in the left menu.
- Click Add a permission.
- Select Microsoft Graph.
- Choose Application permissions.
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Add the following permissions:
Calendars.ReadWrite: allows the app to create, read, update, and delete events in all calendars without a signed-in user.Place.Read.All: allows the app to read company places (conference rooms and room lists) without a signed-in user.
- Click Add permissions.
- After both permissions have been added, you will want to click Grant admin consent for [Your Organization] and then confirm it.
⚠️ IMPORTANT
This grants access to all calendars in your Entra tenant. To restrict to room resources only, use Microsoft's PowerShell method outlined in this article: Limiting application permissions to specific Exchange Online mailboxes.
Enable Calendar Sync in Maptician
Step 1: Check Graph API Connection
- As an Account Admin, click the settings button (gear icon) in the top-right corner of the screen.
- Go to Environment > Office 365 Integration.
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Select your Graph API connection and click Check.
- Success: Proceed to enable sync.
- Failure: Click Update, verify fields match Entra ID values, and save.
Step 2: External Calendar Sync Settings
- Navigate to Environment > External Calendar Sync to configure the following options.
- Enable the setting Enable External Calendar Sync (required)
Calendar Sync: Recommended Settings
Use the table to select your environment settings based on your organizational needs:
| Criteria | Recommended Settings | Key Benefits | Key Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|
| As an Admin, I do not want to allow editing of events by users from their Outlook calendars (reservations must be edited only in Maptician) | Enable User Calendar Delegation ONLY |
- Resource as organizer - Users cannot edit events from their Outlook calendar - Allows reservation owner updates in Maptician |
- No RSVPs to event organizers - Move function limited to non-primary locations - Required if trying to use Synced Calendar Email Suppression |
| As an Admin, I need to support a high-security or restricted Azure/Entra tenant organization with no access to read user Outlook calendars | User Calendar Strict Mode ONLY |
- Compliant with restrictions - Reads only resource calendars for event data |
- Limited details from resources - Structural edits revert on sync (e.g., changing organizers) - No user calendar reads from Outlook |
| As an Admin, I want event organizers to have the option to edit Maptician-created reservations in Outlook, while Maptician follows its standard user reservation editing permissions + proper RSVP notifications to the reservation owner. | User Calendar Delegation + Create User Calendar Reservations |
- Users are always the organizer for events - Bi-directional edits from Outlook from Maptician created reservations - RSVP notificatoins sent to organizer/reservation owner - Best for unrestricted environments |
- Cannot change reservation owners for Maptician created reservations - The Synced Calendar Email Suppression settings will NOT work |
↳ “Sync All Calendars” Button
This button triggers a “full sync” of all connected Microsoft 365 resource calendars and their current and future reservations. The process usually takes a few minutes and can be retried only after 10 minutes.
During the “full sync”, events import from Microsoft to Maptician, but reservations created in Maptician do not export to Outlook. This one-way limitation applies only to the “full sync”. Ongoing synchronization remains fully bi-directional for all events and reservations.
Note: This button is useful only after successful setup with at least one active syncing resource in your Maptician environment.
↳ Enable User Calendar Delegation
By default, when reservations created in Maptician sync to Outlook, the primary synced resource becomes the event organizer in Outlook. The reservation owner appears only as another attendee.
Maptician-created reservations:
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The reservation owner and any attendees will not be able to edit or cancel the master event from their Outlook calendars. The organizer is the primary resource room.
- They can only decline the meeting invite on their Outlook calendar, but this does not delete the event from the resource's calendar.
- Edits or cancellations must be done by logging directly into the resource room's Outlook account or by a delegate who has manage access to the resource room.
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Reservations can have their Reservation Owner updated to another user in Maptician.
- This will NOT change the event organizer in Outlook, it will remain the resource room.
- The "Move" feature in Finder will not work when trying to move the reservation to a different resource for the Primary Room. It is the Event Organizer in Outlook, and that cannot be changed.
Outlook-created events:
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Events created directly in a user's Outlook calendar that include a Maptician synced resource keep that user as the event organizer and sync properly (assuming no conflicts on the resource calendar).
- For these reservations in Maptician (once synced), the Reservation Owner cannot be changed.
- The ‘Move’ feature in Finder will work for these reservations since the organizer is the user (not the room).
↳ User Calendar Strict Mode
This setting is very similar to “Enable User Calendar Delegation”. Reservations created in Maptician sync to Outlook with the primary synced resource as the event organizer in Outlook.
The only difference is that for Outlook-originated reservations, Maptician will not read a user's calendar for event data.
This mode is best for high-security environments that restrict user calendar access. It limits detail from user calendars but stays compliant.
⚠️ IMPORTANT
Follow the steps in this article to retain the most data in events on the resource calendars: Retain Meeting Details in Exchange Online Room Calendars
↳ Create User Calendar Reservations
This setting works only when “Enable User Calendar Delegation” is also enabled. Maptician-created reservations sync to Outlook with the Reservation Owner in Maptician set as the Event Organizer.
This allows:
- The organizer to edit the event directly from their Outlook calendar for Maptician-created reservations.
- The ‘Move’ feature in Finder to work for any resource on the reservation.
- RSVP notifications to be sent to the reservation owner.
- A more natural Outlook experience for users.
Drawback:
- The Reservation Owner cannot be changed in Maptician after creation.
- The Synced Calendar Email Suppression settings will NOT work, as events have to be added to a user's Outlook calendar, leading to notifications.
💡 TIP
After configuring these settings, click Save Changes.
You can click Check Connection to confirm Calendar Sync settings are valid and working.
Step 3: Configure Maptician Resources for Calendar Sync
- In your Maptician environment, go to Locations > Manage Rooms/Seats.
- Locate the resource you want to sync and click its name.
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Navigate to the Calendar Sync section and fill in the form fields:
- Type of Calendar to Sync: Select the “Office 365” option.
- Microsoft Connection to use: Select the name of your Maptician Graph API connection.
- External Calendar: Enter the Outlook resource calendar email address.
- External Calendar Sync is Active: Enable this field.
- Click Save Changes and repeat for any additional resources in your environment.
If configured correctly, the Sync Status column in the Manage Rooms/Seats table should up to say “Active”. This status change may take up to 10 minutes.
External Calendar Sync FAQ
How does the External Calendar Sync work in Maptician?
External Calendar Sync supports bi-directional synchronization between Maptician reservations and Outlook resource calendars.
When an event is created in Outlook (treated as a reservation in Maptician):
- The user adds the synced room(s) or seat(s) as a resource/attendee.
- If the resource calendar accepts the invite (no conflicts), the event syncs into Maptician on the matching resource calendar.
- The Outlook event organizer automatically becomes the Reservation Owner in Maptician.
For reservations created in Maptician:
- The External Calendar Sync settings configured in Maptician control whether the resource calendar or the user is set as the event organizer in Outlook.
- This choice affects editing/cancellation rights in Outlook, notification delivery (e.g. RSVPs to the owner), and features like moving reservations in Maptician Finder.
Why does the Event Organizer Matter in Outlook?
Outlook enforces strict rules about who controls an event:
- The event organizer cannot be changed after creation. To transfer ownership, cancel and recreate the entire event (or series).
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Only the organizer can edit or cancel the event (or series) in Outlook.
- This extends to delegates who have manage access to the organizer's Outlook calendar.
- Non-organizers can forward events to attendees or synced resources, but those actions do not update the master event.
- For Outlook edits to sync properly to Maptician, only organizer changes to the master event work. Alternatively (and usually preferred), make the same edits directly in Maptician. Those changes will sync back to Outlook.
Outlook-Created Events vs. Maptician-Created Reservations
Outlook-created events:
- Appear in Maptician after resource acceptance (assuming no conflicts on the resource calendar).
- The event organizer becomes the Reservation Owner in Maptician.
- You cannot change the reservation owner in Maptician due to Outlook limitations.
Maptician-created reservations:
- Calendar Sync settings control whether the resource calendar or the user is set as the Outlook organizer.
- This impacts a user's ability to edit events in their Outlook calendar and how users (such as the Reservation Owner in Maptician) receive email notifications like RSVPs.
Recurring Reservations with Synced Calendars
How recurring reservations work today
Maptician stores each occurrence of a recurring reservation as a separate individual reservation. They share a recurrence pattern, but there is no single "series" object in Maptician. This means you cannot edit the entire series or future occurrences all at once directly in Maptician.
When External Calendar Sync is enabled, a partial workaround may exist because each occurrence links to an individual Outlook event. Editing the series in Outlook can push some changes to Maptician via the bi-directional sync, but this only works under specific conditions.
What you can edit today (Outlook workaround)
If External Calendar Sync is enabled and all rooms in the series are Microsoft-synced resources, edit the series directly in Outlook (as the event organizer). Outlook applies the change across the series (or future occurrences), and Maptician syncs the updates to each occurrence.
Supported changes:
- Add or remove attendees
- Add or remove synced room locations
- Update subject or other basic event fields
‼️ IMPORTANT LIMITATIONS ‼️
- This workaround requires the user to be the Outlook event organizer. It does not work for recurring reservations created in Maptician when using "Enable User Calendar Delegation" (resource/room is organizer). Users would need delegate/manage access to the room's calendar to edit, which is uncommon.
- Maptician-specific details (services, buffer times, etc.) cannot be updated in bulk through Outlook. These changes will have to be made per instance in Maptician.
- Non-synced rooms must be updated individually in Maptician.
- Changing the recurrence pattern (dates, frequency, etc.) can cause Outlook to recreate events, which may even clear Maptician-specific data.
- Environments using Synced Calendar Email Suppression cannot use this workaround.