Calendar sync

Ask for this when: you want the court dates and deadlines that are on Clio's calendar to show up on your own Outlook calendar too, or an Outlook meeting to show up on a matter's calendar in Clio.

"Put my Clio court dates on my Outlook calendar." "Is the Delgado hearing on my Outlook calendar?" "Put my call with the adjuster on the Delgado file's calendar." "Sync my calendars for the next three months."

The morning brief also points these out: a Clio entry that is not on Outlook shows up in the schedule as such.

What it does

It compares Clio's calendar with your Outlook calendar for the period you ask about (two months unless you say otherwise, up to six) and sorts Clio's entries three ways: already on Outlook because the assistant put it there; probably on Outlook because there is a same-day entry with a matching title, which it shows you and leaves alone; and missing.

For the missing ones it shows you a short list - what, when, which matter, and whether it is a court-rule deadline - and waits. Say "all of them" or name the ones you want, and it adds each to your Outlook calendar, showing you each entry as it goes. Every entry it adds carries an invisible tag linking it to the Clio entry, so the same hearing can never be added twice, and "undo that calendar entry" removes one if you change your mind.

Times are converted to your own time zone. Nothing is sent to anyone: these are entries on your calendar only, with no attendees.

The other way round is deliberately narrower. Your Outlook calendar has everything on it, and only the meetings that belong on a client file should go to Clio. When you ask, it shows you the Outlook meetings that look like matter work - a client or the other side among the attendees, a matter name in the title - and asks which matter each belongs to. If one of the attendees is a Clio contact it suggests that contact's matter, but you name it; it never assumes. Each entry it adds to Clio is tagged with the Outlook meeting it came from, so the same meeting is never added twice, and "undo that Clio calendar entry" removes one.

What it can't do

• It won't decide which matter an Outlook meeting belongs to. It can suggest one; you name it.
• It can only guess about entries you typed into Outlook yourself. If Outlook has "Hearing" on the same day as Clio's "Motion hearing - Smith", it assumes they are the same and asks before adding.
• It does not keep things in step afterwards. If a hearing moves in Clio, the old Outlook entry stays where it was and the new date shows as missing on the next review.
• If you delete one of its entries from Outlook, the next review shows that date as missing again. It asks before putting it back.