SYNCDATE DocsTeam sync rules: set what your Team's members can copy
How a Team owner limits what members' syncs copy: the team default, groups by email domain, exceptions, what each setting does, and how a change reaches existing copies.
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Team sync rules let the owner of a Team decide what members' synced copies can show and where they can go: titles, descriptions, locations, guests, meeting links, privacy and more. You write the rules once, and they apply to every member's syncs for as long as the member belongs to the Team. Every Team owner has them on the Team tab in Settings.
You see the rules and how far they have been applied. You never see the contents of a member's events.
Who this is for
Team sync rules are for the owner of a Team plan whose members copy calendars that belong to other organizations. A consultant copies a client's calendar into the company calendar. A clinic keeps patient names off shared calendars. An agency shares only busy time with each client.
Only the Team owner sees the rules. Members see the choices they are allowed, and a reason next to each choice they are not. The owner's own syncs follow the same rules.
On the owner side the feature is the Team sync rules section of the Team tab in Settings. It appears once Team sync rules are turned on for your Team. The button How Team sync rules work in that section opens this page beside the screen.
Manage the Team through MCP
Team admins can use Platform MCP to read Team settings, invite members, resend or revoke invitations, promote or remove members, and read, preview and publish Team sync policies. The same admin checks apply as in the dashboard. Admins do not gain access to members' events.
Calendar Hub MCP is included with each active Team seat and reaches only that person's connected calendars. Connect an assistant and check its access.
The model in one minute
There are three layers. The most specific one wins, one setting at a time.
| Layer | What it is | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Team default | The rules for every member | Sets the rule for every setting. Accounts that are in no group use it. |
| A group | A list of email domains you choose, such as your company's or a client's | Its choices replace the team default for copies made from that group's accounts. Settings it leaves alone use the team default. |
| An exception | Different rules for copies from one group into one other group | Its choices replace the group's own, for that direction only. |
The group's sheet says it in one line: "Settings you change here replace the team default for copies from Company. Everything else uses the team default." A group can loosen a rule as well as tighten it. If the team default shows only Busy and a group is set to Original, copies from that group show the original title.
A rule belongs to the account a copy comes from. A copy made from an account in the group Company follows Company's rules. The account the copy lands in only matters when you add an exception.
An example
The team default makes Title always Busy and Guests Leave out. A group called Company holds company.com and replaces Title with Original. It leaves Guests alone.
| Copy made from | Title | Guests |
|---|---|---|
| An account at company.com | Original (Company replaces the team default) | Leave out (uses the team default) |
| An account at any other domain | Busy (Team default) | Leave out (Team default) |
Each direction is checked on its own
In a two-way sync, each direction is a separate copy path and is checked separately. Allowing company.com to copy into client.com does not allow client.com to copy into company.com. The reverse direction is the other group's own rules or exception.
How an account lands in a group
A group is a list of exact email domains. An account belongs to the group that holds the domain of its address.
- Google and Outlook accounts use the address the provider reports when the account is connected.
- Calendar accounts connected with a login that is an email address, such as an iCloud or CalDAV login, use that address.
- Accounts connected by calendar link, and accounts with no address, have no domain. They are always Other accounts and use the team default.
- A domain matches only itself. Subdomains are allowed as separate entries: add both company.com and mail.company.com if accounts use both addresses. You can put them in the same group.
If your Team has an auto-join domain, the group editor offers a button to add it. Auto-join controls who can join the Team; sync-rule groups classify connected calendar accounts. The auto-join domain is not added to a group automatically, and any subdomain still needs its own entry.
Groups follow the address on the account. They are not verified. SYNCDATE does not check that the person owns the domain, and you choose which domains each group holds. A member who connects a calendar login that is an address at another domain is grouped by that address.
If two groups hold the same domain, they have equal standing and have to agree. A rule that forbids copying wins over one that allows it. If the groups disagree on a setting in a way that cannot be combined, copying between those accounts is blocked, and the member is told to ask a Team admin.
What each setting controls
Every setting uses the same name your members see on their sync form.
| Section | Setting | What it controls |
|---|---|---|
| What a copy shows | Title | What the copy's title says: Original, Busy, Text first or Custom. |
| What a copy shows | Title text | The text a Custom or Text first title uses. |
| What a copy shows | Description | Whether the copy carries the original description. |
| What a copy shows | Location | Whether the copy carries the original location. |
| What a copy shows | Guests | Whether copies list the people invited: Leave out, As text or Full list. |
| What a copy shows | Privacy | Who can see the copy's details. |
| What a copy shows | Free or busy | On keeps free events free. Off shows every copy as busy. |
| What a copy shows | Branding | Whether a Synced by SYNCDATE line is added to the description. |
| Meetings | Meeting link | Whether the video meeting link is copied. |
| Meetings | Open with source account | Whether the member's address is added to Google Meet links. Anyone who can see the copy can read it. |
| Meetings | Dial-in and codes | Whether dial-in numbers and meeting codes are copied. |
| Which events are copied | Source privacy | Copy every event, or only private or non-private ones. |
| Which events are copied | Invitations | Which invitations are copied, by the member's reply. |
| Which events are copied | Skip events | Days, hours and kinds of events that are never copied. |
| Which events are copied | How far ahead | How far into the future copies go. |
| Look and feel | Color | The color copies get. |
| Look and feel | Copy colors | Whether each copy takes the color of the calendar it came from. Applies to the whole sync. |
| Look and feel | Reminders | Which reminders copies get. |
| Custom rules | Members can write Custom rules | Whether members can use Custom rules at all. |
The four settings under "Which events are copied" apply to the whole sync, not to one direction.
How you limit a setting
Each row has one control with the same few modes.
| Mode | What it means |
|---|---|
| Use team default | Group sheets only. The setting uses the team-wide rule. Every row starts here. |
| Use source rules | Exception sheets only. The setting uses the rules for copies from this source. Every row starts here. |
| All options | Members can choose anything. On a group's sheet this lifts a limit that the team default set. |
| Some options | You tick the values members may choose and pick the Default a new sync starts with. |
| One option | One value is allowed. Members can't change it. |
| Always on or Always off | For on and off settings: the value is fixed. |
| Default | For text, colors and skip rules: members start from your value and can change it. |
A Default is a starting point that members can change within what you allow. Always on, Always off and One option are fixed, and members can't change them. If you only want to suggest a value, use a Default. If a value must never change, fix it.
Quick settings
Each sheet starts with Quick settings. A tile replaces the settings on that sheet, and you can change any row afterwards.
- Share availability only: copies say Busy, with no description, location, guests or meeting details, and no Custom rules.
- Hide guests and meeting details: no guests, meeting link or dial-in on copies. Everything else stays open.
- No limits: every setting is open to members. On a group's or exception's sheet this tile reads "No changes", and every setting follows the layer below.
Custom rules and what your limits switch off
Members can write Custom rules is one switch. Set it to Not allowed and members can't use Custom rules anywhere in the Team. Leave it on Allowed and members can write Custom rules, within the other limits you set. The rules themselves are explained in Custom text and rules.
When you limit a part of the copy, members can't use that part in a rule, either as a result or in a condition. One unavailable part turns off the whole rule for that field, not just one branch of it.
| If you limit | Members can't use in Custom rules |
|---|---|
| Title so that Custom isn't allowed | A Custom title |
| Title so that neither Original nor Text first is allowed | The original title |
| Description or Location to Leave out | A Custom description or location, and the original description or location |
| Guests to Leave out | The guest list, the organizer and the guest count |
| Meeting link to off | The meeting link and the meeting service |
| Dial-in and codes to off | Dial-in numbers, meeting codes and meeting notes |
| Privacy to anything but All options | A Custom privacy |
| Free or busy to one value | A Custom free or busy |
The sheet lists these under "What your limits also turn off", so you can see the effect before you apply.
A Custom rule a member saved earlier is kept, but it stops applying. Its copies show that field's most private value: the title Busy, no description or location, privacy Private, and free or busy Busy.
What members see
Members never see all the rules or other members' domains. On a sync form they see:
- A note that "Your Team's sync rules apply to this sync", with the choices the Team doesn't allow turned off.
- A reason next to a choice that is off, such as "Your Team doesn't allow this choice."
- A message when the Team doesn't allow copying between the calendars they picked, or when the Team's rules for them don't agree.
- A line saying what leaving the Team would do to that sync.
The guide Why a Team rule limits my sync lists the messages and what to do about each.
What happens when you apply a change
Nothing changes until you apply. Edits stay in your draft. Press Review changes to see what the draft changes, an estimate of how many existing syncs it affects, and what will happen to copies that already exist. Then press Apply rules, or Keep editing. If someone else saved a newer version first, you are asked to reload before applying, and your edits are kept.
From the moment you apply, copies that haven't been written yet follow the new rules. A change that was already on its way to a calendar can still land, and it is corrected afterwards.
For copies that already exist, you choose under When the rules change:
- "Rewrite them to follow the rules": copies that break the rules are rewritten to allowed settings. A sync with no allowed setup pauses and shows Needs attention.
- "Pause the sync and remove the copies that break the rules": the sync is paused and the copies that break the rules are removed. Original events and copies that follow the rules are not touched.
Rewriting or removing details on existing copies can take several minutes when many copies have to change. You can leave the page while it runs.
Applying, Applied and Needs attention
The state shows beside the Team sync rules heading and in the status box under it.
| State | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Applying | SYNCDATE is updating your Team's syncs and copies. | Nothing. Press Refresh status to see progress. |
| Applied | Every sync has been checked and nothing is waiting. | Nothing. |
| Needs attention | Some syncs aren't finished. The reasons are listed with a count. | Read the reasons and follow the line under each. |
The status shows counts and reasons only. It never shows a member's event titles or details. Counts in the review step are estimates and can change while the rules are applied.
When someone joins or leaves
When a person joins the Team, their existing syncs are checked against the rules. Any that break them go through the choice you made under When the rules change.
When someone leaves the Team, or is removed, the choice under When someone leaves the Team runs once for the syncs that were under restrictions. Syncs that only used defaults are left alone.
- "Do nothing": their syncs keep running and no longer follow the Team sync rules. This can allow broader copying. Changes already under way still finish.
- "Keep their last allowed settings and pause them": this is the starting choice. Their restricted syncs stop running and keep the last settings the rules allowed. The person can resume them after saving a change that follows the rules that apply to them now.
- "Delete their restricted syncs and all copies": the syncs and every copy SYNCDATE made for them are deleted. This can't be undone.
Members can read the choice you made, on each sync that it applies to.
Limits and honest caveats
- Rules apply to copies SYNCDATE makes. They can't reach an event that another tool copied, or one a person created by hand.
- You can't see event contents. That is deliberate. The rules control which parts of an event cross, not what members write in them.
- Groups follow the address on the account, and nothing is verified. A member who connects a login with another domain is grouped by that address.
- Accounts connected by calendar link are always Other accounts, so they use the team default. A calendar link has no address to match.
- Team sync rules hold up to 32 groups, 100 domains in each group and 64 rules and exceptions.
- Copies show what the rules allow, not what the member typed. Marking an event private doesn't replace withholding its details.
- The rules are checked wherever a sync is changed, not only in the sync form, and a choice a member saved earlier can't override a rule.
Common questions
What is the difference between Team default and a group?
The team default applies to every member. A group is a list of email domains you pick, and what you set on a group replaces the team default for copies from those domains. Anything the group leaves alone uses the team default.
Can a group have looser rules than Team default?
Yes. A group's choice replaces the team default, so it can be stricter or more open. To lift a limit for one group, choose All options, or Some options with every option ticked. Use team default keeps the limit.
Why is a setting greyed out for a member?
Because a rule that applies to their copy doesn't allow that choice. The sync form shows the reason beside it. If the choice is wrong for the member's work, change the rule, or add an exception for that direction.
Why does Applying take a while?
Changing the rules can mean changing copies that already exist on members' calendars. Each change has to be made on the calendar and confirmed there. A large Team with many copies takes longer than a small one.
What is the difference between Default and Always?
A Default is where a new sync starts, and the member can change it within what you allow. Always on, Always off and One option fix the value so members can't change it.
Do rules reach events already copied?
Yes. The choice under When the rules change decides whether existing copies are rewritten or removed. Some existing copies can't be changed automatically, and they are listed under Needs attention.
Can I stop one group from copying into another?
Yes. Open the group, find "Different rules for copies from Company into one group", press Add exception, and turn off the switch for that direction. The reverse direction is set from the other group.
Troubleshooting
I don't see Team sync rules in Settings
Only the Team owner sees Team sync rules. If you are the owner and the section is missing, email support@syncdate.app.
Review changes is greyed out
There is nothing to review: your draft matches the saved rules. The status line reads "No changes to review."
A save is refused
The message names the group or setting and what to fix, and nothing is changed. The most common causes are an empty set of allowed values, a default that isn't one of the allowed values, and two groups holding the same domain with settings that can't be combined.
Someone else saved a newer version
You see "Someone else saved a newer version of these rules." Press Reload latest rules to keep your edits on top of it, or Discard my edits to start from the saved version. Nothing was overwritten.
Needs attention, and what each reason means
| Reason shown | What to do |
|---|---|
| The rules do not allow copying between these calendars | Expected: the rules block copying between these accounts. |
| A setting is not allowed by the rules | The member needs to pick an allowed setting. |
| A required setting isn't available for this type of calendar | Nothing to do. That calendar type cannot hold this setting. |
| Several parts of the rules conflict for these syncs | Simplify the exceptions so only one applies to these accounts. |
| We couldn't load the rules for these syncs | Press Refresh status. If it stays, contact support. |
| We can't reach a calendar to update its copies | Ask the member to reconnect the calendar. |
| This type of calendar can't update these copies automatically, so they stay as they are | Ask the member to update those copies by hand, or remove them. |
| A calendar didn't confirm a change, so we're still checking | No action needed. We check again automatically. |
| Paused because the rules no longer allow this sync | The member can resume once their settings follow the rules. |
| Paused because the person left the Team | Nothing to do unless you want the copies removed. |
Related
Set up Team sync rules for your Team
Start Team sync rules, set the team default, add a group for each email domain that needs its own rules, then review, apply and watch it finish.
Share only busy time with a client's calendar domain
Give your company and a client each a group, then add an exception so copies from your people into the client's domain show only Busy.
Why a Team rule limits my sync
If a choice on your sync is turned off, or a sync is paused, with a message about your Team, here is what each message means and what you can do.
Custom text and rules: decide what each copy says
Write a copy's title, description or location yourself with pieces of the original dropped in, and use if-this-then-that rules for text, privacy and free or busy.
Plans and limits
The five numbers that limit a setup, what each one means, and which one actually stops people.
What SYNCDATE can't do
The limits no plan removes: syncs don't chain, special event types are Google-only, feeds are read-only, and colour is approximate between providers.