Event Series
An Event Series in Salesforce is a recurring calendar event: a single configuration that produces multiple individual Event records, one per occurrence, on a defined schedule.
Definition
An Event Series in Salesforce is a recurring calendar event: a single configuration that produces multiple individual Event records, one per occurrence, on a defined schedule. The Event Series record holds the recurrence pattern (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, with end date or occurrence count); each occurrence is a separate Event record tied to the series. Editing the series updates future occurrences; editing a single occurrence breaks it from the series for that one event only.
Event Series support the standard calendar use cases: weekly 1:1s, monthly team meetings, yearly events. They live on the Event object (the same object that holds one-off events), distinguished by the IsRecurrence flag and the RecurrenceActivityId field that links occurrences to their parent series. Reports, calendar views, and sync to Outlook and Google Calendar all support them, though with some caveats on the sync side.
How Event Series work in Salesforce
The series and the occurrence model
Event Series follow a parent-child pattern. The series record holds the recurrence configuration. Each occurrence is its own Event record with RecurrenceActivityId set to the series Id. Edit the series record to change every future occurrence; edit a single occurrence''s record to detach it from the series and customize that one event.
Recurrence patterns
Salesforce supports daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly recurrence. Each pattern has detail options: weekly with day-of-week selection, monthly with date or day-of-week, yearly with date. Patterns can include an end date or an occurrence count. The flexibility covers most calendar use cases without needing custom code.
Editing series versus single occurrences
When you edit an Event Series, Salesforce prompts: edit this occurrence, edit this and following, or edit all in series. Each choice has different impact. Edit this occurrence detaches the single record; future series edits no longer affect it. Edit all in series updates every occurrence. Edit this and following splits the series at this point, with future occurrences becoming their own series.
Reporting on Event Series
Reports on Event Series can group by series Id or filter by recurrence flag. Salesforce''s Activities report type joins to Event Series, letting you build reports like meetings per week by series or detached occurrences in the last 30 days. Reporting tools that pre-date Event Series may show occurrences as individual Events without the series relationship; check report type compatibility.
Sync to Outlook and Google Calendar
Lightning Sync (deprecated as of 2024) and Einstein Activity Capture support syncing Event Series to and from Outlook and Google Calendar. Two-way sync preserves the recurrence model on both ends. One-way sync (Salesforce to external) preserves it; external to Salesforce can lose recurrence info depending on the source calendar''s representation.
API access to Event Series
The Event Series and its occurrences are all on the Event object in the API. Querying SELECT Id, Subject, IsRecurrence, RecurrenceActivityId FROM Event returns both the parent series and the child occurrences. Filter on IsRecurrence = true to get series records; filter on RecurrenceActivityId NOT NULL to get occurrences. The recurrence pattern fields (RecurrenceType, RecurrenceInterval, RecurrenceDayOfWeekMask) are on the series record.
Limits and the maximum-occurrences cap
Salesforce limits the number of occurrences per series. By default, the cap is 300 (10 years of weekly meetings) or the end date the user configured. Daily-recurrence series can hit limits faster. The platform enforces the cap at series creation; deleting old occurrences does not free room for new ones in the same series.
How to create and manage an Event Series
Creating an Event Series takes about 30 seconds: open the calendar, click New Event, set the recurrence options, save. Managing the series afterward is mostly about deciding when to edit single occurrences versus the whole series.
- Open the Salesforce calendar or an Event record
Salesforce, then Calendar (or open the New Event quick action from any record page). The Event creation form appears.
- Fill the basic Event details
Subject (Weekly 1:1 with Manager, Monthly Pipeline Review), Start and End times, Related To if relevant. The standard Event fields apply.
- Check Create Recurring Series
On the Event form, find the Repeat or Recurrence checkbox. Check it. The recurrence pattern options expand.
- Set the recurrence pattern
Frequency (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Yearly), interval (every 1 week, every 2 weeks), day-of-week selections, start date, end condition (end date or occurrence count). Preview the next few occurrences.
- Save the series
Click Save. The platform creates the series record and the first N occurrences (up to the configured cap).
- Edit a single occurrence or the series
To change one meeting, edit that specific occurrence and choose Edit this event when prompted. To change the recurrence pattern, edit the series and choose Edit all in series. Salesforce handles the appropriate cascade.
The event title. Appears on the calendar and in records.
The first occurrence start and the duration applied to all occurrences.
Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Yearly. Drives how often the series repeats.
End date or maximum occurrence count. Caps the number of generated events.
- Editing one occurrence detaches it from the series. Future series-wide edits no longer affect that one event. This is by design; it lets you handle exceptions.
- Series records and occurrences are all on the Event object. Apex triggers fire on both. Be careful: a trigger that fires on every Event insert will fire for every occurrence in a series.
- Maximum occurrences per series is 300 by default. Daily series for several years can hit the cap; split into separate series if needed.
- Sync behavior to Outlook and Google Calendar varies by integration. Einstein Activity Capture handles series cleanly; older integrations may flatten to individual events.
Trust & references
Straight from the source - Salesforce's reference material on Event Series.
- Events OverviewSalesforce Help
- Recurring Events and SeriesSalesforce Help
About the Author
Dipojjal Chakrabarti is a B2C Solution Architect with 29 Salesforce certifications and over 13 years in the Salesforce ecosystem. He runs salesforcedictionary.com to help admins, developers, architects, and cert/interview candidates sharpen their fundamentals. More about Dipojjal.
Test your knowledge
Q1. What is an Event Series?
Q2. What kinds of recurrence do Event Series support?
Q3. Can edits apply to just one occurrence or the whole series?
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