Invitations in iCloud, Google Calendar, Exchange, and Outlook are primarily managed at the account level. When someone sends an invite, it can be delivered in two main ways: as a direct update to your calendar account (common for users on the same service such as Google Calendar or using CalDAV-compatible platforms) or as an email with an `.ics` attachment. The `.ics` file contains all the event details, such as the title, time, location, and participants, allowing recipients to accept or decline the invitation and add it to their calendar.

Behind the Scenes: How Invitations Reach Your Calendar

1. Email Delivery:

   • Invitations are always delivered to your email inbox.
   • These emails contain the .ics file, which is the standard format for calendar events.

2. Calendar Inbox Sync:

   • iCloud and Google Calendar are designed to automatically detect these invitation emails.
   • When such emails arrive, they "courteously" transfer the event details to your "Calendar Inbox," making it easier to manage invites directly from your calendar app.

3. Why You Might Miss an Invite in BusyCal:

   • Occasionally, this automatic transfer from email to the Calendar Inbox doesn't happen. Common reasons include:
     • Google Calendar Settings: Google has a specific setting that controls whether invitations are added to your calendar automatically. If this is disabled, the invite stays in your email inbox and doesn’t sync with your calendar.
     • Invite Sent to the Wrong Server: If you use an email address like username@gmail.com for your iCloud account, invitations might be intercepted by Google Calendar instead of being delivered to iCloud. This happens because the email is routed to your @gmail.com address, which Google manages. To avoid such conflicts, it's best to share an email address that clearly corresponds to the intended calendar service, such as @me.com or @icloud.com for iCloud. These domain-specific addresses ensure the invite is routed to the correct server without ambiguity.

Note that BusyCal relies on the events being available in your calendar account's Inbox - it does not read your emails and has no access to your emails. If the invite isn’t transferred from your email to the calendar (e.g., due to the reasons above), BusyCal won’t be able to auto-import it because it doesn’t see the event in the calendar data.

Best Practices to Ensure Invitations Sync Properly

1. Enable Automatic Invitation Handling:

   • For Google Calendar users, make sure the setting to automatically add event invitations is enabled. This can usually be found in your Google Calendar settings under Event Settings > Add invitations to my calendar.

2. Check Your Email Inbox:

   • If you don’t see an invitation in BusyCal, look for the original email with the .ics attachment. You can manually add the event by opening the .ics file.

3. Sync Troubleshooting:

   • Ensure your calendar account is properly synced in both your email and BusyCal.
   • Check for any connectivity issues or temporary outages in your calendar service.

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