iCalendar (or iCal) files are data files that contain details of events including the date, time and location. iCal files can either be opened in Outlook as a new Outlook Calendar (separate from your existing calendars) or the iCal file can be saved and imported into your existing Outlook Calendar.


  • Open an iCal file in Microsoft Outlook 
  • Import an iCal file into your Outlook Calendar 


Open an iCal file in Microsoft Outlook


Opening an iCal file in Microsoft Outlook will create a new calendar in your Outlook Calendars that contains the events from the iCal file. This calendar will be completely separate from your other Outlook calendars and will exist in Outlook until you choose to remove it.


To open an iCal file in Outlook:

1. Click on an iCal link on a website

2. When prompted, click Open. The iCalendar will appear in your Outlook Calendar under 'Other Calendars'.


Import an iCal file into your Outlook Calendar


If you would like to add information from an iCal file into your Outlook Calendar:

1. Click on an iCal link on a website

2. When prompted, click Save and save the file to your computer

3. Open Microsoft Outlook and go to File > Open > Import

4. When prompted select Import an iCalendar (.ics) or vCalendar file (.vcs) and click Next

5. When prompted, browse for the iCal file that you saved to your computer and click OK (the file will have the file extension of .ics e.g. basics.ics).

6. When prompted, click Import

7. The dates from the iCal file will now be imported into your existing Outlook Calendar