# Google Calendar availability import for cast and crew Source: https://storiara.com/integrations/google-calendar Last updated: 2026-09-14 Author: Nick Harty, Storiara > When a cast or crew member opens the availability request link, they can click Sync with Google Calendar, sign in, and pick which calendars to check. Storiara reads only busy and free times for the shoot dates, adds an optional buffer around each event, and marks the open 15-minute slots as available. It is read-only: nothing is written to Google Calendar and nothing syncs afterward. ## The problem it solves Asking 30 people when they're free across an 18-day shoot by text thread goes badly. Storiara sends each cast and crew member a link to an availability form that shows the production's shooting dates and daily hours as a grid of 15-minute slots. Filling that grid by hand is tedious, so the form has a button that fills it from Google Calendar. Whatever they submit shows up on their card in Cast & Crew and in the day availability panel beside the stripboard. ## What the import reads The sync asks Google for read-only calendar access. After sign-in it lists the person's calendars with every one ticked, and offers a **Buffer Time** of none, 15, 30, or 45 minutes (30 is the default) to pad each event on both sides. It then requests free and busy times across the chosen calendars from the first to the last shooting date, and walks the grid. Any 15-minute slot inside production hours that doesn't touch a busy block (with the buffer added) is marked available. Everything else is left unselected. A worked example: production hours are 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM, which is 48 slots a day. An actor has a dentist appointment from 2:00 to 3:00 PM on Day 4. With the 30-minute buffer, 1:30 to 3:30 PM counts as busy, so 8 slots are blocked and the other 40 are marked available for that date. ## What it doesn't do It doesn't write anything to Google Calendar. Shoot days, call times, and callsheets are never added as events, and there is no calendar subscription or .ics export. It isn't a live connection either. The sync runs once, when the person clicks the button, and Storiara discards the Google access token right after. Later calendar changes don't update the form. Finally, it replaces the grid. Anything the person selected by hand before syncing is overwritten, so sync first and adjust after. ## Setting it up There's nothing to configure on the production side beyond the request itself. 1. Set the production schedule so the form has dates and hours to show. On **Schedule**, click **Set Production Schedule**, pick the shooting days, and set the daily hours ([setting production dates](https://storiara.com/docs/how-to/set-production-dates) has the details). 2. On **Cast & Crew**, make sure each person has an **Email**, then click **Send** on their card. Adding a new person with an email sends the request automatically once dates are set. 3. The recipient opens the emailed link. No Storiara account is needed. 4. On the form, they check **Timezone**, then click **Sync with Google Calendar** under **Select Available Times**. 5. They sign in to Google in the popup and allow calendar access. 6. In **Select Calendars**, they untick calendars that shouldn't count (a shared family calendar, a holidays calendar), choose a **Buffer Time**, and click **Sync Selected Calendars**. 7. They drag across the grid to fix anything, then click **Submit Availability**. Once submitted, the card on Cast & Crew switches from **Send** to **View** and **Edit Availability**. The step-by-step version for your team is [how to import availability from Google Calendar](https://storiara.com/docs/how-to/import-availability-from-google-calendar). ## Limits - Google Calendar only. Outlook, iCloud, and other calendars aren't connected. - The date span runs from the first to the last shooting date as whole days, including any non-shooting days in between. - Availability is informational. The stripboard shows who is free in its day panel, but it doesn't stop you from scheduling someone on a day they marked busy, and it doesn't feed the [Day Out of Days](https://storiara.com/glossary/day-out-of-days) codes. ## Troubleshooting - If the popup closes and nothing happens, the browser likely blocked it. Allow popups for the site and click the button again. - "Authentication Failed" means Google sign-in didn't finish or calendar access wasn't granted. Try again and allow access on the permission screen. - A form that shows "Production Schedule Required" instead of a grid means the production hasn't set shooting dates yet. Set them, and the same link starts working. - If an event didn't block time, check it in Google Calendar. Events set to show as Available instead of Busy aren't returned as busy. - A "Sync Failed" message after picking calendars is usually a dropped connection. Reload the form and sync again. ## Frequently asked questions ### Does Storiara add shoot days to Google Calendar? No. The Google Calendar connection only reads busy times to fill in an availability form. There is no event creation, calendar feed, or .ics export. ### Can Storiara see the titles of my calendar events? The sync asks Google for busy and free blocks across the calendars you tick, not event details. It lists your calendar names so you can choose which ones to include. ### Who uses the Google Calendar import, the producer or the actor? The person receiving the availability request. It runs on their availability form, with their own Google account. The production side can't pull someone's calendar. ### Does it work with Outlook or Apple Calendar? No, only Google Calendar. Production can still set someone's availability by hand, or read a calendar screenshot, from Edit Availability on the Cast & Crew page.