Automated daily Outlook calendar meeting digest

Automated Daily Outlook Calendar Meeting Digest

Overall Goal

This workflow automatically runs at a scheduled time (daily at 8 AM by default), calculates the current day's date range, fetches all calendar events from a specified Microsoft Outlook account for that day, formats these events into a user-friendly HTML email, and then sends this digest to a designated email address.

How it Works (Step-by-Step Breakdown):

Node: Schedule Trigger (Schedule Trigger Node)

• Type: n8n-nodes-base.scheduleTrigger
• Purpose: Automatically starts the workflow at a predefined time.
• Configuration:
  • Rule > Interval > Trigger At Hour: 8
    (Triggers every day at 8:00 AM according to the n8n server's timezone)
• Output: Triggers the workflow execution at the scheduled time.

Node: Code (Code Node)

• Type: n8n-nodes-base.code
• Purpose: Dynamically calculates the start and end timestamps for "today," based on when the workflow is triggered.
• Configuration (JS Code):
  • Gets the current date and time (workflow runtime).
  • Sets today to beginning of current day (00:00:00).
  • Sets tomorrow to beginning of next day (00:00:00).
  • Converts these to ISO string format (e.g., 2023-10-27T00:00:00Z).
• Output: JSON object with today and tomorrow ISO date strings.

Node: Microsoft Outlook (Microsoft Outlook Node)

• Type: n8n-nodes-base.microsoftOutlook
• Purpose: Fetch calendar events from Outlook within the calculated date range.
• Configuration:
  • Resource: Event
  • Filters (Custom):

    start/dateTime ge '{{$json.today}}' and start/dateTime lt '{{$json.tomorrow}}'
    

  (OData filter to fetch events starting on or after today and before tomorrow, i.e., all today's events.)

• Output: List of event objects from Outlook.

Node: Edit Fields (Set Node)

• Type: n8n-nodes-base.set
• Purpose: Transform and simplify the event data structure from Outlook.
• Configuration: Maps fields from Outlook event to new field names:
  • id
  • subject
  • description (from bodyPreview)
  • meeting_start
  • meeting_end
  • attendees
  • meeting_organizer
  • meeting_organizer_email
  • meeting_link
• Output: List of JSON objects with simplified meeting details.

Node: Generate HTML (Code Node)

• Type: n8n-nodes-base.code
• Purpose: Generate a single HTML email body summarizing all meetings and create the email subject line.
• Configuration (JS Code):
  • Processes all meeting items from "Edit Fields" node.
  • Defines generateMeetingReminderEmail function to format each meeting into an HTML "card."
  • Escapes HTML special characters, formats times, attendees, etc.
  • Concatenates all cards into a full HTML document.
  • Generates subject line (e.g., "🗓️ Your Meetings Today – Friday, Oct 27").
• Output: JSON object with:

  {
    "subject": "email subject string",
    "html": "generated HTML content string"
  }
  

Node: Send Email (Email Send Node)

• Type: n8n-nodes-base.emailSend
• Purpose: Send the generated HTML digest email to the designated recipient.
• Configuration:
  • From Email: [email protected]
  • To Email: [email protected]
  • Subject: {{ $json.subject }} (dynamic from Generate HTML node)
  • HTML: {{ $json.html }} (dynamic from Generate HTML node)
• Output: Email sending status.

Sticky Notes

• Update Time: Near "Schedule Trigger" node; configure trigger time as needed.
• Update Email Details: Near "Send Email" node; change sender and receiver email addresses.

How to Customize It

• Schedule (Schedule Trigger node):
  Modify the trigger hour, minutes, or days of week to change when the workflow runs.

• Date Range (Code node):
  Adjust JS to change date range (e.g., next business day, upcoming week).

• Outlook Calendar (Microsoft Outlook node):
  Specify Calendar ID or refine OData filters for event selection.

• Event Details (Edit Fields node):
  Add/remove/modify event fields extracted.

• Email Appearance and Content (Generate HTML node):
  Change CSS styling, meeting details, or subject line logic.

• No Meetings Scenario:
  Use an "If" node after "Edit Fields" to handle no-meeting days (e.g., send "No meetings today!" email or skip email).

• Email Recipients (Send Email node):
  Update "From" and "To" emails; multiple recipients separated by commas.

Error Handling

• Use "Error Trigger" nodes to catch and handle failures (Outlook API, SMTP errors).
• Send alerts or log errors accordingly.

Use Cases

• Automated Daily Personal Meeting Briefing: Get daily email summaries of your meetings.
• Automated Team Meeting Digest: Send daily team calendar digest emails.
• Proactive Daily Planning: Automatically stay informed of your day’s schedule.

Required Credentials

Add these credentials in your n8n instance under Credentials:

• Microsoft Outlook (OAuth2 API):

  • Used by: "Microsoft Outlook" node
  • Credential Name in Workflow: Outlook (ID: JcYqVJwcwZIhB8oy)
  • Requires OAuth2 with Calendars.Read permission.

• SMTP:

  • Used by: "Send Email" node
  • Credential Name in Workflow: SMTP account (ID: vCexcphurglwGBfk)
  • Requires SMTP server details (host, port, username, password).

Ensure these credentials are configured correctly with required permissions. Activate the workflow for scheduled execution.

Made with ❤️ using n8n by Akhil.