Overview

When attendees register for an event on Goldcast, they’ll receive a registration confirmation email and a calendar invite. The calendar invite email includes an iCalendar (.ics attachment) that allows attendees to RSVP and add the event to their calendars. The calendar invite is available for all event types, including virtual, hybrid, and in-person events. 

How to turn on/off the calendar invite

By default, Goldcast sends a calendar invite when an attendee registers for the event. However, you can turn it on/off as required:

1. Log in to Goldcast Studio and select your preferred event from the Events list. 
2. Navigate to Email → Schedule using the left sidebar. 
3. Click the Registration email to open the Edit Registration Email drawer. 
4. Turn on/off the Include Calendar Invite Email toggle. If you turn the toggle off, Goldcast will not send the calendar invite with the registration email. In this case, registrants must manually add the event to their calendars.

Customizing the calendar invite

In Goldcast, you can customize the calendar invite to align with your requirements. Here are a few points to remember while editing the default calendar invite: 

• The title defaults to the Event Name. 
• The subject is the same as the one in the Registration Email. 
• The calendar invite has a location text field to add the event venue. 
  • The location field defaults to #### (the magic link) for virtual and hybrid events. 
  • In case of an in-person, the location field is set to ##event_location to pull in the location details from your event. 
• Use the description text field to customize the body of the Calendar Invite. You can add more info about the event or text encouraging attendees to RSVP Yes and add the date to their calendars. 
  • By default, this field is set to the text “Access the event here” with a link to the magic link for virtual and hybrid events. 
  • The default text for in-person events is, “Check into the event using your QR code here,” with a link to the check-in QR code. 

Follow these steps to edit the calendar invite: 

1. Log into Goldcast Studio and select your preferred event from the Events list. 
2. Navigate to Email → Schedule using the left sidebar. 
3. Click the Registration email to open the Edit Registration Email drawer. 
4. Edit the Location and Description text boxes. Include appropriate merge tags to dynamically populate the body of the invite with event-related information. 

5. We highly recommend sending a test email to check if the calendar invite is customized to your needs. 
6. Once satisfied with the changes, click Save in the top right corner. 

Resending calendar invites

There might be scenarios when your event agenda changes from what was initially planned. In such cases, Goldcast allows you to automatically resend modified calendar invites to guests who have registered for the event. They’ll receive an updated calendar invite with the latest event info. 

Goldcast gives you the option to automatically resend calendar invites when you modify one or more of   the following event details:  

• Date
• Duration 
• Start and End Time
• Timezone

You can see the following prompt once you edit the event details using the Edit Event button and save the new changes. 

You can update the subject line of the Calendar Invite to reflect the latest changes and send the modified invites to all registrants. 

FAQs

1. What merge tags can I use in calendar invites? 

Currently, we support these merge tags in calendar invites. 

2. What happens to the calendar invite when I change the event type from virtual to hybrid or vice versa? 

The calendar invite will retain the default location and description texts for your original event type, even when you change a virtual event to a hybrid one or vice versa. So, if you change the event type, you’ll need to customize the calendar invite to suit your specific requirements. 

3. What happens to the calendar invite when I duplicate an event? 

The calendar invite settings are copied over to the duplicate event as well. 

4. Are calendar invite settings copied when creating a template? 

Yes. When you save an event as a template and create new events using this template, the calendar invite settings are carried over to the new events.

5. What happens to calendar invites for existing events or templates? 

All existing events will have the calendar invites populated with the default settings based on the event type. For templates, the location is set to #### (magic link), and the description is “Access the event here.” 

If you have previously reached out to support to set custom values for the location and description fields for the calendar settings, you’ll continue to see the custom settings in your event.