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Setting up Microsoft Integrations

At absentify, we know how important it is to be able to set up your account to fit your exact needs, and since absentify is integrated with the Microsoft environment, we've created a whole set of synchronizations so that absentify will perform exactly the way you want within your company!

With our selection of Microsoft Integrations, you can configure your account to complete a variety of functions including; automate user upload, synchronize managers, automatic outlook configuration and Teams notifications. Not only that but we're thinking of new ones everyday to make sure your staff scheduling always runs smoothly!


We hope that the Microsoft Integrations we offer make it easy for you and your Team to automate your absence planning, so you can manage your time more efficiently.

Please be advised that the rights for these settings are only available for the Microsoft tenant administrator.

Jump to:


Outlook calendar synchronization
Out of office reply
Manager synchronization
Teams and Entra ID
Azure AI Integration

To access the integrated features with Microsoft, start by going to Settings > Microsoft.




Outlook Calendar Synchronization



Wouldn’t it be great if your absences could automatically appear in your Outlook calendar without lifting a finger? With absentify, you can make that happen in just a few clicks.

By default, whenever an absence is created, users will receive an email via iCal asking if they’d like to add it to their Outlook Calendar. For instance, Diego received the following email. After adding the invite to calendar by clicking Yes, the absence from absentify will sync with his Outlook calendar.

Example E-Mail

Automatic sync


If you prefer a more hands-off approach, you can activate automatic synchronization. With this feature enabled, absences will automatically sync with the user's Outlook calendar—no email or manual steps required! This way, your staff can effortlessly keep track of their leave across all platforms.

Once activated, you can customize the synchronization rules for each leave type by following these steps:

Go to Settings > Leave types.
Select the synchronization rule from the dropdown menu under Enable Calendar Synchronization for each leave type.

Synchronization Settings

Synchronization options:


- Synchronize upon entry creation: Leave types will sync with Outlook as soon as they’re requested.
- Synchronize approval only: Only approved leaves will be synced.
- Synchronize disabled: This leave type won’t sync with Outlook.

Synchronization Options

Setup absence display



If you’re on the Business or Enterprise plan, you can also decide how absences are displayed in Outlook’s Free/Busy Options. This feature is helpful when scheduling meetings, as it allows others to see if a user is available, busy, or busy with reservations.

To customize this setting:

Go to Settings > Leave types > Edit.
Choose how the absence should be displayed.

Display Settings

After setting up the synchronization, users will see the leave type displayed as the selected option from their Outlook calendar



For more information on setting up Outlook calendar sync, check out our detailed guide here.


Out of office reply



Activate this feature to allow your users to set up an out-of-office message template for each leave type, synchronizing their scheduled absences in absentify with their automatic out-of-office replies in Outlook.

If you deactivate this feature, your users will need to manually set up their out-of-office replies in Outlook each time they are out of the office.

Take advantage of absentify's automatic activation of your team's out-of-office messages by turning on this toggle! Once activated, you can choose between two options for setting up your users' out-of-office messages:

1. Individual Setup per User

Each user can set up their own individual message by navigating to My Preferences > Automatic Replies.



Send your employees this helpdesk article on creating out-of-office replies for more information on using helpful variables within absentify, avoiding the need to edit the message every time your staff book leave.

2. Company-Wide Setup

As an admin, you can set up the out-of-office message for your users by navigating to Settings > Integrations > Outlook Out of Office.


Check out this article on enabling out-of-office messages for more information on setting up automatic Outlook emails for your entire company.

Customize each message according to department and leave type, and use helpful variables so you don't need to edit the message each time a staff member books leave!


Manager synchronization



Activate this toggle function to synchronize a user's approver with their designated manager directly from their Microsoft profile.

Changing the user's manager in Microsoft


First log in to your Microsoft Admin Portal account.

From there, select Users > Active users from the left side rail.



Select the user whom you'd like to change the manager of and click Edit manager or Add manager.



Delete the old manager and select the desired new one from the roster.

Don't forget to click Save at the bottom of the page to save your changes!



You should see a confirmation pop up that it has been saved.


Synchronize the approver with the Microsoft manager


Now that you've successfully updated the user's manager, you can synchronize that same manager to be their approver in absentify!

Go to Settings > Users > and click the pencil icon for Edit.



Select Approver from the right hand side and then you'll see the option to synchronize the user's approver with the manager from their Microsoft profile. Select this and click Save.



Please note that this feature is only available with an upgrade. Interested? See our Plans and pricing to pick the right plan for your organization!


Teams and Entra ID (Azure Active Directory) Groups synchronization



Enable this permission to sync your entire organizational structure within absentify to reflect the setup within your Microsoft environment. Sync Teams and Entra ID groups so that you no longer have to edit department membership in multiple accounts!

By enabling this feature, you can efficiently manage departmental assignments based on group memberships, ensuring that your organizational structure within absentify reflects the most up-to-date information. By enabling this feature, you can access the following:

Syncing group membership
Enable this permission to use the feature that automatically links departments with Entra ID. Whenever new users are added to or removed from a group in Microsoft, this change is also reflected in absentify. Read more about this feature here.

Sync group manager positions
Sync group managers in Microsoft with department managers in absentify, ensuring that the managers in both systems are aligned. Read more about this feature here.

Prefill User Export with data from Entra ID
Simplify the Excel import process by pre-filling it with data from Entra ID. By enabling this feature, absentify will automatically populate your upload Excel file with users from Teams and Active Directory groups. Read more about this feature here.

Enhance your absentify experience by utilizing the Microsoft Entra ID/Teams group synchronization feature!

This integration gives you access to the following features:


Auto-Creation of user accounts
Manage department membership on group updates
Archive users not assigned to departments
Sync group owners as department managers

Learn more about these helpful feature by visiting our support article on Microsoft Entra ID/Teams Group Synchronization.


Azure AI integration



Coming soon: make your work life easier with absentify's Azure AI integration. This feature will expedite your absence request process, saving you time and reducing manual effort!

With the Azure AI integration, our Teams Bot can automatically record and manage absences. Simply ask our Teams bot to log your vacation without having to submit the request yourself!

The integration is seamless within the Microsoft Teams environment and provides accurate absence tracking.

This feature is disabled by default, so no data is sent to an AI unless the feature is enabled.

We cover the cost of using Azure AI for our users, but this feature is only available within the Enterprise plan. Interested? See our Plans and pricing to pick the right plan for your organization!


Need help?



For further assistance, feel free to contact absentify support. If you have suggestions for new features, please leave recommendations on the absentify roadmap. We're here to help you make the most out of absentify!

Related:



Integrate absentify in Microsoft Teams
Power BI custom connector guide
Mutual sign-In with Microsoft

Updated on: 13/08/2024

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