Cannot find google calendar description

[amas]

Hi,

I’m trying to parse some text from the description field of a Google Calendar event.

I’m using the “Event Started” trigger in Google Calendar.

The issue is that the test response I receive when setting up the trigger is from an old event from 2021, and it doesn’t contain any description — so the field I’m trying to parse isn’t available in the sample data.

I’ve already tried disconnecting and reconnecting my Google account, but it still loads that same outdated event as the test response.

Interestingly, when I use the “Event Added” trigger instead, it does detect the latest event I added and shows the description correctly.

But with the “Event Started” trigger, I can’t get it to load a recent event for testing.

How can I refresh or change the test data for the “Event Started” trigger so it uses a recent event with a description?

Thanks!

 

[ArshilAhmad]

HI @amas,

Please create a new dummy event in your Google Calendar with a 'Description' and wait for it to start. Then, click on 'Save & Send Test Request' in the 'Event Started' trigger step to see if it helps fetch the latest event in the trigger step.

 

[amas]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply.



I’ve already done that several times — created new dummy events with a description and waited for them to start. I’ve also tried disconnecting and reconnecting the calendar. But it cotinues retrieving undesired past events.



What’s strange is that I have several calendars in my Google Calendar account, and in all of them the “Event Started” trigger correctly retrieves the most recent event.


However, in my main calendar it always pulls a random old event from 2021(see images) even though there are more recent events that have already started.


Any idea why this might be happening?


Thanks again!

PD: Is it possible that the problem is the emoji in the name?

EDIT:
Hi, I’ve identified that the issue seems to be related to old recurring events in my main calendar. For some reason, when I use the “Event Started” trigger, it always retrieves one of these old recurring events — even though there are more recent events that have already started. I’ve tried deleting the problematic events, but it then just picks the next recurring one. Since there’s no easy way to list or remove all recurring events in bulk from Google Calendar, it’s difficult to clean up completely. Any suggestions on how to force the trigger to fetch a recent, non-recurring event instead?

 

[ArshilAhmad]

Thank you for the update. Could you please share the Workflow URL where you have this concern?

 

[amas]

here it is: https://connect.pabbly.com/workflow...fAjkLH1FVAVcDcFxSVUdcX1IoBktRKlARCjkMUlhwA2I#


Just to share what I’m currently trying — it’s a workaround that helped me get the test data I needed, but I’m still testing whether the actual trigger will fire correctly when a new event starts.

At first, I tried deleting all the old recurring events, since they seemed to prevent the trigger from detecting the latest event that had started. But there were too many of them, so I gave up on that approach.

Instead, I identified the specific recurring event that the trigger keeps returning, and edited its content to include the data I currently need for my workflow.

After that, I clicked “Save & Send Test Request” again, and it returned the same recurring event — but now with the updated content I had just added.

So this helped me move forward with setting up the workflow.

However, I still need to confirm whether new events will properly trigger the flow when they start, because it doesn’t seem to be firing as expected yet.

Hopefully this can help others in the meantime — and I’d really appreciate any advice on how to make the trigger behave more reliably with recurring events.


Thanks!

 

[Preeti Paryani]

Hello @amas,

Thank you for sharing the update and the workaround. I hope it will help other users in resolving similar issues as well.

Appreciate your contribution!

 

[amas]

Hello @amas,

Thank you for sharing the update and the workaround. I hope it will help other users in resolving similar issues as well.

Appreciate your contribution!

Sorry, Preeti! I edited my previous post because even though I managed to get the correct data using the workaround, the workflow is still not triggering when new events start.

I do have a filter as the second step in the flow, but as far as I understand, that shouldn’t prevent the trigger itself from running — right?

Would really appreciate any insights on this. Thanks again!

 

[Preeti Paryani]

Hello @amas,

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Upon testing, we were able to replicate the same issue on our end.

Please allow us some time to investigate further. We’ll monitor the situation closely and get back to you with updates as soon as we have more information.

Appreciate your patience and understanding.

 

[amas]

Hello @amas,

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Upon testing, we were able to replicate the same issue on our end.

Please allow us some time to investigate further. We’ll monitor the situation closely and get back to you with updates as soon as we have more information.

Appreciate your patience and understanding.

No problem. I ´ll wait patiently. Thank you for your time and effort.

 

[Preeti Paryani]

Hello @amas,

Please try setting up a new workflow for the same trigger event and capture the response. If the issue persists with the new workflow as well, kindly share the workflow URL with us so we can further investigate.

Let us know how it goes!

 

[amas]

Hi,

I’ve tried creating a brand new workflow from scratch with the same trigger (“Event Started”), and unfortunately, it still doesn’t work — the start of the event does not trigger the workflow.

I also tested it using a different calendar under the same Google account, and the result is the same: the trigger doesn’t fire when the event starts.

Here are the workflow URLs for your review:

copy: https://connect.pabbly.com/v2/app/w...dATwKHlJWA1VTIFJcAxEDAFQuBksCeVYPWmkJVwcvVTQ#

copy with other calendar:

Pabbly Connect

connect.pabbly.com

Thank you

 

[Preeti Paryani]

Hello @amas,

Upon checking, we found a task history for the workflow named Test alimmenta. However, for Test calendario 25 abril 2025, we were unable to locate it. Could you please confirm if an event for the calendar named masendocrino has been started? This will help us better understand and resolve the issue.

 

[amas]

Hello @amas,

Upon checking, we found a task history for the workflow named Test alimmenta. However, for Test calendario 25 abril 2025, we were unable to locate it. Could you please confirm if an event for the calendar named masendocrino has been started? This will help us better understand and resolve the issue.

View attachment 55745

View attachment 55746

Yes, I can confirm that 3 different events started since I created the new workflow and I have waited 20 min to see if the workflow was triggered (the Test alimmenta worflow dleyed 15 min but worked!).

It seems the problem is only in the main calendar (Masendocrino) but the setting are exactly the same as the others that work.

*EDIT:
The only significant difference I see between the calendars is that my main calendar contains recurring events. Maybe this is what’s causing the issue.

According to ChatGPT, recurring events in Google Calendar are handled as virtual instances, and sometimes platforms like Pabbly might detect those first — even if there are more recent, non-recurring events that have already started. That could explain why the “Event Started” trigger isn’t firing as expected.

I’ve tried deleting some of the old recurring events, but I can’t remove all of them because some are still needed for my calendar. Even when I create new, non-recurring events, the trigger still doesn’t fire.

Hope this helps.

 

[ArshilAhmad]

Please create a new event named 'PC Test' in the 'Masendocrino' calendar, wait for it to start, and let us know if it doesn’t trigger your workflow. Do not click the 'Save & Send Test Request' button in your trigger step.

Pabbly

connect.pabbly.com