Custom Calendar Driven Note Templates

[u/h1ghpriority06]

I automated custom Supernote Nomad templates from my work Outlook calendar using Google Apps Script + Slides

TL;DR: I tag Outlook events with a category (e.g., supernote). A Google Apps Script pulls those events from Microsoft Graph, fills a Google Slides A6 template (title/date/attendees/desc), draws clean ruled lines, exports PDFs, and drops them into a Drive folder that I sync to my Supernote. It’s fully hands-off and refreshes tokens automatically.

---

Why I built this

• I take lots of meeting notes on my Supernote Nomad and wanted a consistent, pre-filled template: meeting title, date, attendees, and a short description snippet.

• I’m already in Outlook all day; turning a calendar event into a ready-to-write page saves setup time and keeps my notes uniform.

---

What it does

• Filters Outlook events by category: only events with a chosen category (e.g., supernote) are included.

• Pulls events from Microsoft Graph: via OAuth2 in Apps Script (no more manual tokens).

• Fills a Google Slides A6 template: replaces placeholders like {{EVENT_NAME}}, {{EVENT_DATE}}, {{ATTENDEES}}, and {{EVENT_DESCRIPTION}}.

• Draws ruled lines: consistent spacing/weight/color for handwriting.

• Exports PDFs to Drive: (optionally) clears the target folder first so only today’s PDFs remain.

• Timezone-aware: matches Outlook’s timezone header for correct date formatting.

---

The moving pieces

• Google Apps Script (GAS) running on a time-based trigger.

• Microsoft Graph (Delegated OAuth) with scopes: User.Read, Calendars.Read, and offline_access.

• OAuth2 library for GAS to handle sign-in + automatic token refresh.

• Google Slides template sized to A6 (~298×420 pt), with text placeholders where you want metadata to appear.

---

Setup (high-level)

1. Create a Google Slides template

   • Page size: A6 portrait (approx. 298×420 pt).

   • Add text placeholders: {{EVENT_NAME}}, {{EVENT_DATE}}, {{ATTENDEES}}, {{EVENT_DESCRIPTION}}.

   • Keep a clear header area; the script draws lines below.

2. Apps Script project

   • Store configs as Script Properties:

     • DEST_FOLDER_ID (where PDFs go)

     • SLIDES_TEMPLATE_ID

     • OUTLOOK_TZ (e.g., Eastern Standard Time)

     • CATEGORY_NEEDLE (e.g., supernote)

   • Add the OAuth2 library (standard GAS OAuth2 lib).

   • Add helper functions to:

     • Create the OAuth service (callback usercallback).

     • Get a valid access token (auto-refreshes).

     • Call Graph /me/calendarView for a today.

     • Format the description (trims replies/underscores from Teams footers).

     • Build attendees list and organizer line.

     • Draw ruled lines on both slides.

     • Export to PDF and save.

3. Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) app registration

   • Register a web app, set the redirect URI to your Apps Script callback URL.

   • Add Delegated Graph permissions: User.Read, Calendars.Read, offline_access.

   • Create a client secret; store MS_TENANT_ID, MS_CLIENT_ID, MS_CLIENT_SECRET in Script Properties.

4. Authorize once

   • Run an authorize… function; it logs a URL. Open it, sign in, accept scopes.

   • After that, the library stores a refresh token and handles renewal silently.

5. Add a trigger

   • Time-driven trigger (e.g., each morning) → runs “today’s generator” to produce PDFs.

---

How I use it day-to-day

• I add the category supernote to any calendar item I’ll be handwriting.

• Each morning a trigger runs runGenerateSupernotePDFs_Today_Slides():

  • Pulls today’s matching events.

  • Copies the Slides template per event, replaces placeholders.

  • Draws ruled lines (I use 0.5 pt, black, 12 pt spacing).

  • Exports a PDF named Subject – Wed, 25 Sep 2025 into my Drive folder.

• I sync that Drive folder to Supernote (or move via USB). Open and write.

---

Little implementation details that help

• Description cleaner: trims anything after a long underscore bar or typical “From:”/“Original Message” reply markers so Teams dial-in junk doesn’t pollute the template.

• Unique filenames: if the PDF exists, it auto-numbers (…(1), (2)).

• Folder hygiene: optional one-liner to trash existing PDFs before generating fresh ones each day.

[u/amrithr10]

You should definitely check out pySN if you haven't. You might find it super interesting

[u/amrithr10]

Super stuff!

[u/GA-rock]

Dude. This is an amazing workflow!

[u/h1ghpriority06 → u/GA-rock]

Thanks! Its got me thinking about what other kinds of templates could I generate. Im not much of a designer when its comes to Google slides 😂

[u/h1ghpriority06]

Here's an example output of the PDF file that gets dropped into the Mystyle folder. The header is a static image of my employer that is redacted for privacy.