Thanks for being one of the first to try Hetk. This guide shows you how to set up and test calendar sync safely before connecting your main calendars.
Start with secondary calendars
Both Google and Outlook let you create additional calendars. This is the safest way to test — your real events stay untouched.
Google Calendar: Click the + next to “Other calendars,” then Create new calendar. Name it something like “Hetk Test.”
Outlook: Right-click My calendars, then Add calendar → Create blank calendar. Name it “Hetk Test.”
Start by syncing between these test calendars. Once you’re comfortable, switch to your real ones.
Connect your accounts
- Go to app.hetk.io and sign in with your Google or Microsoft account
- Connect your second account — if you signed in with Google, link your Microsoft account (or vice versa)
- Select the test calendars you created from the calendar list
Create your first sync
Pick a source calendar and a target calendar, then choose a direction:
- One-way — events flow from source to target only
- Bidirectional — events flow both ways
You’ll also see a few settings:
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Mark Private | Replaces event titles with “Busy” and removes all details on the synced copy |
| Show As | Controls how synced events appear — busy, free, or tentative |
| Transform Identity | Swaps your email between accounts in the organizer field |
For your first test, leave these at defaults. Experiment with them later once sync is working.
What to test
Create a test event
Add an event to your source calendar with a recognizable title, like “Hetk Test — Team Meeting.” Give it a description and location too.
It should appear on your target calendar within about 30 seconds. Check that:
- The title, description, and location match
- Start and end times are correct
- All-day events stay as all-day events
Update and delete
- Change the event title or time on the source side — the change should sync within a minute
- Delete the event from the source — it should disappear from the target
Try privacy mode
Create a new sync (or edit your existing one) with Mark Private turned on. When you create a new event, the synced copy should show up as “Busy” with no description, location, or other details. This is useful when you want to block time on your work calendar without sharing personal event details.
Bidirectional sync
If you chose bidirectional, try creating events on both sides and verify they appear on the other calendar. Edits and deletes should work in both directions.
Good to know
Source wins in one-way sync. You can edit, change, or delete the synced copy on the target calendar — nothing breaks. But the next time the source event is modified, the sync overwrites the target copy with the latest version from the source.
Always edit the original event. If you edit a synced copy, Hetk rolls it back (quickly in bidirectional sync, or the next time the source event changes in one-way sync). To make changes stick, edit the event on the calendar where you created it.
Bidirectional sync creates events on both sides. When you use bidirectional sync, new events created on either calendar are synced to the other. Each side acts as a source for events that originate there.
Attendees are not copied. When an event syncs, the attendee list is intentionally left out. This prevents the destination calendar from sending duplicate invitations to people who are already invited on the original event.
Recurring events sync as individual occurrences. Each instance of a recurring event is synced independently, not as a recurring series.
Existing events sync too. When you create a sync, Hetk picks up all events from 3 months back to 12 months ahead — not just new ones.
Events older than 3 months? We don’t sync those today. If that matters to you — for example, you’re migrating from one calendar provider to another — let us know. It sounds like a great use case.
Events more than 12 months out? They get synced automatically as time goes by — Hetk extends the sync window forward each month. If you really need to plan further than 12 months ahead, drop us a line and we might make it configurable.
Cleaning up
If you want to start fresh:
- Delete the sync relationship in the Hetk dashboard
- Delete any synced events manually, or just delete the test calendar entirely
Deleting a sync relationship stops future syncing but doesn’t remove events that were already synced. This is intentional — Hetk doesn’t delete events it didn’t create.
Something not working?
- Events aren’t showing up — check that both accounts show a green status in the dashboard, and give it up to 60 seconds
- Events show as “Busy” unexpectedly — check if Mark Private is enabled in your sync settings
- Duplicate events — make sure you don’t have overlapping one-way syncs in both directions. Use bidirectional sync instead
We’re actively improving Hetk based on early adopter feedback. If you run into anything unexpected, let us know at [email protected].