Updated Google Calendar Sync

Version 11.5 of PowerChurch Plus allows you to sync from the Events Calendar to Google Calendar. In November 2014, Google's API will be changing, forcing us to redesign the sync process. If you have not yet done so, download and install the latest Maintenance Release to get the updated sync process.

www.powerchurch.com/mr

This update requires that .NET 4.0 is installed. Below is a link to download the update, if necessary, from the Microsoft web site:

www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=3556

Setup

The Events Setup screen found under File > Preferences has been updated. No longer does this screen ask for a password. It only needs an e-mail address.



The Remove Synced Events From Google Calendar button remains, but the process that follows is new. This can be used to remove events if the wrong Google account was used in a previous sync, or if you want to rework your calendars and start over with a clean slate. Refer to the Removing Synced Events from Google Calendar section later in this article for detailed information.

Authorizing

The sync process can still be found under Events > Sync Events With Google Calendar. Instead of asking for the password on the Events Setup Options screen, there is a new process to authorize this program to directly access your Google Calendar account.

This form will appear the first time you sync after installing the Maintenance Release update. If you have the sync program running as a scheduled task in Windows, you will need to manually complete the authorization process once before the scheduled sync will work.



The authorization process starts with a web address for you to visit. Type the address in your browser or use the Copy button to copy and paste the address. As noted on the screen, it is important that you authorize this program to run under the correct Google account. If you have multiple Google or Gmail accounts, make sure you are logged in under the one that has the calendar you want to update. The safest approach is to completely log out of any Google accounts before starting the authorize process.



Once you have clicked the link and logged in, enter the code that is shown on the authorize screen in PowerChurch or use the Copy button and paste it into the form.



You will then have "Allow Access" and "No thanks" buttons. Click "Allow access" to give the PowerChurch Event Calendar Sync process authorization to manage your Calendars. Back on the sync screen in PowerChurch, click the Continue button.

Performing the Sync

When you complete the authorization form, the sync process will begin automatically. There are four steps that you will see the program progress through:

1. Connecting to Google Calendar Service. This is the initial connection to the Google servers. If the sync process is unable to connect to the Google Calendar Service, you will see an error status listed in red at the bottom of the screen.
2. Checking calendar settings. The sync process requests a list of all calendars from the Google account and compares them to the Events/Activity settings in PowerChurch.
3. Getting events to sync. The list of events for the selected calendars is requested from PowerChurch Plus.
4. Updating calendars. The new/changed events are uploaded to the Google Calendar.

When the process is complete, click the Finish button to close the sync window.

Removing Synced Events from Google Calendar

If you have problems with the sync process such as syncing to the wrong Google account, or would just like to wipe the Google Calendar of all events that came from PowerChurch, you can do so from the Events Setup screen found under File > Preferences > Events Setup. Click on the Google Calendar tab. Click the Remove Synced Events from Google Calendar button.

The process will begin with a warning that all events created by PowerChurch will be removed from the Google Calendar attached to the e-mail address found on the Events Setup screen. It is important to note that this process will not delete calendars. It only removes the PowerChurch events from those calendars. Click Yes to continue.

When the removal process begins, there will be multiple status message that are shown. The first is shown while connecting to the Google service, Then a message is shown for each calendar as it is being processed. Events are removed from one calendar at a time and are processed in batches of 50 events.

If a problem occurs during the removal process, error text will be shown at the bottom of the screen.

When the process is complete, click Finish to close the window.