Calendar parsing

Calendar Parsing Skill

Purpose

Extract structured event data from visual calendar PDFs where events are rendered as colored blocks on a timeline.

Parsing Process

1. Identify the timeline axis: Read hour labels (12am-11pm) along the left edge. Each space between adjacent dashed horizontal lines represents 15 minutes.

2. Extract metadata: Date and timezone from the calendar header (e.g., "Mon Mar 9, 2026 (Eastern Time - New York)").

3. Map colored blocks to events:

   • Determine each block's start/end by its vertical position relative to hour labels
   • Read the event title text within or beside each block
   • Note the block color — this determines priority

4. Color semantics:

   • Pink/Red/Salmon blocks: Fixed appointments — cannot be moved or overwritten
   • Blue/Purple blocks: Low-priority/flexible tasks — treat as available; can be overwritten by meeting requests
   • Yellow/Olive blocks: Fixed appointments — cannot be moved
   • Dark gray blocks: Out of office / unavailable — hard block
   • Green labels: Event title labels (not a block type)

5. Build availability map: Combine free gaps + blue/overwritable blocks into a unified list of available time slots.

Output Format

Available slots on {date} ({timezone}):
- HH:MM AM/PM - HH:MM AM/PM (duration)

Edge Cases

• Blocks that appear adjacent with no visible gap: treat as back-to-back (no free time between them)
• 15-minute precision: all times should snap to 15-minute boundaries
• When timezone differs between requester and calendar, convert to calendar timezone for scheduling