Calendar Problems

How to Track Accepted and Declined Responses in a SharePoint Calendar

Tauseeq Magsi Sep 30, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user needs to find a way to track whether attendees have accepted or declined event invitations within a SharePoint calendar.

How to Track Accepted and Declined Responses in a SharePoint Calendar

Product: SharePoint
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Managing event attendance tracking in a SharePoint calendar that is linked to Outlook.
Observed behavior: Accepted and Declined responses are not written directly to SharePoint events, but instead arrive only as response emails in Outlook.

Before you start

Ensure you have access to Microsoft Power Automate and the necessary permissions to create automated flows and edit your target SharePoint lists.

Solution 1Recommended

Create a Power Automate Flow to Track Responses

Since SharePoint cannot natively sync Outlook attendee responses, using Power Automate allows you to capture email responses and log them automatically into a SharePoint list.

A SharePoint calendar cannot function as Outlook's primary calendar. Because of this architectural limitation, Accepted and Declined responses are not written directly to SharePoint events. Instead, you can create a flow that triggers on incoming response emails and automatically updates a separate SharePoint list with the attendee's response status.

Create a Tracking List in SharePoint

Navigate to your SharePoint site and set up a new custom list. Add columns to store the event name, attendee email address, and their response status (such as Accepted, Declined, or Tentative).

Open Microsoft Power Automate

Log into Power Automate with your Microsoft 365 credentials and select 'Create' from the left menu to start building an automated cloud flow.

Configure the Email Trigger

Choose the trigger 'When a new email arrives (V3)'. Configure the advanced options to specifically monitor your inbox for meeting response emails by filtering the subject line or message type.

Add a SharePoint Action

Add a new step and search for the SharePoint 'Create item' or 'Update item' action. Select your SharePoint site and the tracking list you created earlier.

Map the Email Data

Use dynamic content from the email trigger to populate the SharePoint list columns with the attendee's email address and their meeting response status, then save and test your flow.

Create a Power Automate Flow to Track Responses

Alternative Approach: If you only need basic tracking for a single small event, you can manually check your Outlook inbox for response emails and manually tally them, though this will not reflect in SharePoint automatically.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I natively sync Outlook meeting responses directly to a SharePoint calendar?

No, a SharePoint calendar cannot function as Outlook's primary calendar. Attendee responses will only arrive by email and will not automatically update the SharePoint event natively without third-party tools or automation.

Why do I only receive meeting responses in my Outlook email?

When a SharePoint calendar is linked to Outlook, the invitations are sent from your personal or shared mailbox. As a result, the mail server routes the replies directly to that Outlook inbox instead of routing them back to the SharePoint calendar.

Do I need a premium license to use Power Automate for tracking SharePoint calendar responses?

Standard Microsoft 365 business licenses typically include basic Power Automate features, which are fully sufficient to trigger flows based on Outlook emails and update standard SharePoint lists.

Outlook & Email Problems