ICS Calendar Event Integration¶

TaskNotes provides integration with ICS calendar events, allowing you to create notes and tasks directly from calendar entries. This feature bridges the gap between scheduled events and actionable content in your vault.

Overview¶

The ICS integration allows you to:

View detailed information about calendar events
Create notes from calendar events with customizable templates
Generate tasks from events with proper scheduling and context
Link existing vault content to calendar events
Maintain relationships between events and created content

When you interact with a calendar event in TaskNotes, an information modal displays event details and available actions. The modal provides:

Event Details¶

Event title and description
Start and end times (formatted according to your locale)
Location information
Source calendar name
Event URL (if available)

The modal shows a list of existing notes and tasks that are linked to the calendar event. Content is automatically categorized as:

Task - Files containing the configured task tag
Note - Files without the task tag

The relationship is maintained through the ICS Event ID field in the content's frontmatter.

Available Actions¶

Create Note - Opens a creation dialog for generating a new note from the event data.

Create Task - Creates a task immediately using the event information with default settings.

Link Note - Opens a file selection dialog to link an existing note to the calendar event.

Refresh - Reloads the list of related content to reflect recent changes.

Note Creation from Events¶

The note creation process allows customization of the generated content:

Basic Settings¶

Title - Default combines event title and date, but can be modified
Folder - Destination for the new note (uses default ICS note folder if configured)
Template - Optional template file to structure the note content

Template Usage¶

When a template is specified:

The template file is processed with ICS-specific variables
Standard TaskNotes template variables are also available
Template content replaces the default event description format
Frontmatter from templates is merged with required ICS fields

Default Content¶

Without a template, notes include:

Event title as the main heading
Formatted start and end times
Location information
Source calendar name
Event description (if provided)
Event URL (if available)

Task Creation from Events¶

Tasks created from calendar events include relevant event data:

Scheduled Date and Time¶

Tasks are scheduled using the event's start time as an ISO timestamp, preserving both date and time information. This allows for accurate scheduling that reflects the original event timing.

Task Properties¶

Title - Uses the event title
Status - Set to the default task status configured in settings
Priority - Set to the default task priority
Contexts - Event location is added as a context (if provided)
Time Estimate - Calculated from event duration (if start and end times are available)
Tags - Includes the ICS event tag and any default task tags

Content¶

Task content includes formatted event details similar to note creation, providing context about the original calendar event.

Linking Existing Content¶

You can establish connections between existing vault content and calendar events:

Link Process¶

Select an existing markdown file from your vault
The file's frontmatter is updated to include the event ID
The modification date is updated to reflect the change
The connection appears in the related content list

Bidirectional References¶

Calendar events can display all linked content
Content files maintain references to their associated events
Multiple pieces of content can be linked to a single event
Content can be linked to multiple events (stored as an array)

Field Mapping Integration¶

The ICS integration extends the field mapping system with two new fields:

ICS Event ID Field¶

Stores the unique identifier connecting content to calendar events
Default field name is icsEventId
Values are stored as arrays to support multiple event associations
Field name can be customized through field mapping settings

ICS Event Tag Field¶

Tag automatically applied to content created from events
Default tag is ics_event
Used to identify ICS-related content throughout the system
Can be customized through field mapping settings

Template Variables¶

Templates used for ICS content creation have access to event-specific variables in addition to standard TaskNotes variables:

Event Information¶

{{icsEventTitle}} - Event title
{{icsEventStart}} - Start date and time (ISO format)
{{icsEventEnd}} - End date and time (ISO format)
{{icsEventLocation}} - Event location
{{icsEventDescription}} - Event description
{{icsEventUrl}} - Event URL
{{icsEventSubscription}} - Calendar subscription name
{{icsEventId}} - Unique event identifier

Standard Variables¶

All standard TaskNotes template variables remain available: - {{title}}, {{date}}, {{time}} - {{priority}}, {{status}}, {{contexts}} - And others as documented in the template system

Configuration¶

ICS integration settings are located under Settings → TaskNotes → Integrations:

Default Templates¶

Configure template files for consistent content creation from events. Templates are optional and the system provides sensible defaults when not specified.

Default Folders¶

Set destination folders for content created from events. This helps organize ICS-generated content separately from other vault content if desired.

Folder paths support template variables for dynamic organization:

Date variables: {{year}}, {{month}}, {{day}}, {{monthName}}, etc.
ICS event variables: {{icsEventTitle}}, {{icsEventLocation}}, {{icsEventDescription}}
Other variables: See template variables section below

Example folder paths:

Daily/{{year}}/{{month}}/{{day}} creates date-based hierarchy
Events/{{year}}/{{icsEventTitle}} organizes by year and event title
Meetings/{{monthName}} groups by month name

Filename Formats¶

The system uses the standard TaskNotes filename generation with event-specific context, ensuring unique and descriptive filenames for created content.

Technical Implementation¶

Event Identification¶

Calendar events are identified by their unique ICS event ID, which is maintained in the frontmatter of created content. This allows the system to track relationships even if event details change.

Content Type Detection¶

The system distinguishes between tasks and notes by checking for the presence of the configured task tag in the content's frontmatter tags array, rather than relying on file structure or naming conventions.

Error Handling¶

The integration includes error boundaries for network issues, file operations, and template processing. Failed operations provide user feedback without interrupting the overall workflow.