How to Send Out-of-Office Alerts from Google Calendar to Slack with Make

Dashboard > Create scenario > + > Google Calendar

Create New Scenario

Start building your scenario in Make. You'll connect Google Calendar as the trigger and Slack as the action module.

1. 1Click the blue 'Create a new scenario' button from your Make dashboard
2. 2Click the + icon in the center of the canvas
3. 3Search for 'Google Calendar' in the app list
4. 4Select 'Watch Events' from the trigger options

Google Calendar module > Connection > Add

Connect Google Calendar Account

Link your Google Calendar account to Make. This creates the authenticated connection needed to monitor calendar events.

1. 1Click 'Add' next to the Connection field
2. 2Select 'Google' as the connection type
3. 3Click 'Continue' to open Google's OAuth window
4. 4Authorize Make to access your Google Calendar
5. 5Name your connection something like 'Work Calendar'

Google Calendar module > Settings

Configure Calendar Watch Settings

Set up the trigger to monitor the right calendar and watch for new events. This determines which calendar events will start your automation.

1. 1Select your target calendar from the 'Calendar ID' dropdown
2. 2Set 'Watch Events' to 'Events Created'
3. 3Leave 'Show Deleted Events' unchecked
4. 4Set 'Max Results' to 100
5. 5Click 'OK' to save the module settings

Module connection line > Set up filter

Add Filter for OOO Events

Create a filter between modules to only process events with OOO-related titles. This prevents the automation from running on every calendar event.

1. 1Click the gear icon on the line between modules
2. 2Click 'Set up a filter'
3. 3Name the filter 'OOO Events Only'
4. 4Set condition: 'summary' contains 'OOO' OR 'summary' contains 'Vacation'
5. 5Add another condition: 'start.date' exists (for all-day events)

Canvas > + > Slack > Create a Message

Add Slack Module

Connect Slack as the action that will post your OOO notification. This module sends the actual message to your team channel.

1. 1Click the + icon after your filter
2. 2Search for 'Slack' in the apps list
3. 3Select 'Create a Message' from the actions
4. 4Click 'Add' next to Connection to link your Slack workspace

Slack module > Connection > Create connection

Connect Slack Workspace

Authenticate your Slack workspace so Make can post messages. You'll need admin permissions or approval to install the Make app.

1. 1Click 'Create a connection' in the connection dropdown
2. 2Select your Slack workspace from the list
3. 3Click 'Allow' to grant Make posting permissions
4. 4Name your connection after your workspace name

Slack module > Channel settings

Configure Slack Channel

Select the target channel for OOO notifications. This is where team members will see the automated alerts.

1. 1Select 'Channel' as the target type
2. 2Choose '#team-updates' from the Channel dropdown
3. 3Leave 'As User' unchecked to post as the Make bot
4. 4Set 'Parse' to 'None' for now

Slack module > Text field

Build Message Template

Create the message format that will post to Slack. Map calendar data into a readable notification format.

1. 1Click in the 'Text' field to open the message composer
2. 2Type: '🏖️ *' then click to add the 'organizer.displayName' field
3. 3Add: '* is out of office\n📅 ' then add the 'summary' field
4. 4Add: '\n⏰ Starting ' then add the 'start.date' field

📬 New entry: {{1.name}}
Email: {{1.email}}
Details: {{1.description}}

Scenario controls > Run once

Test the Scenario

Run a test to verify your automation works correctly. This processes a real calendar event through your complete workflow.

1. 1Click 'Run once' at the bottom left of the screen
2. 2Create a test event in your Google Calendar titled 'OOO - Testing'
3. 3Make it an all-day event for tomorrow
4. 4Wait 2-3 minutes then check the Make execution log

Scenario controls > ON/OFF toggle

Enable Auto-Scheduling

Turn on automatic execution so your scenario runs continuously. This switches from manual testing to production mode.

1. 1Click the toggle switch in the bottom left to turn 'ON'
2. 2Set scheduling to 'Immediately' for real-time processing
3. 3Click 'OK' to confirm the scheduling settings
4. 4Verify the scenario shows 'ON' status in green

Drop this into a Make custom function.

formatDate(start.date; "MMMM D") + if(end.date != null; " - " + formatDate(end.date; "MMMM D"); "")

formatDate(start.date; "MMMM D") + if(end.date != null; " - " + formatDate(end.date; "MMMM D"); "")