iCalendar (iCal) Information
Table of Contents
iCalendar is a standard for calendar data exchange. iCalendar allows users to share event and meeting information via email and on web sites. The standard is sometimes referred to as "iCal", which also is the name of the Apple Computer calendar program that provides one of the implementations of the standard.
The iCal format lets you easily copy event information from the CSUCI Events Calendar to your computer's calendaring software (including Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Entourage) on both Windows and Mac computers. This document contains instructions on how to do this.
- Click the "Download event info as iCal" link or icon on a given page, as shown below for the event in question.
- When prompted, choose the "Open" button.
- The iCal will open as an Appointment in the default contact program (such as Microsoft Outlook). To finish, click the "Save and Close" button, as shown below.
- The iCal now is part of your "Calendar" panel in Microsoft Outlook as shown below.
- Click the "Download event info as iCal" link or icon, as shown below.
- When prompted, choose the "Open With" radio button, select "Microsoft Office Outlook (default)" from the dropdown menu, and click OK.
- The iCal will open as an Appointment in the default contact program (such as Microsoft Outlook) and look exactly like a regular Appointment entry.
- To finish, save the contact entry in Microsoft Outlook by clicking the "Save and Close" button, as shown below.
- The iCal then becomes part of the "Calendar" in Microsoft Outlook
- Click the "Download event info as iCal" link on the Calendar page, as shown below.
- Firefox will prompt for how to handle this file. Choose the "Open with" radio button and click the "Choose" button.
- The Application Helper dialog will pop up. Choose Microsoft Entourage Application and click "Open".
- Then the open with dialog should look like the following. Click "OK".
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The new appointment will open up in Entourage's calendar. Entourage automatically saves the calendar event; this is why the "Save" option is greyed out.
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You can view the appointment in the Calendar in Entourage:
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If you make changes to the event information, the "Save" button will become enabled.
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After clicking the "Save" button, you can view your changed appointment in the Entourage Calendar.
Using iCal with Safari & Microsoft Entourage
- Click the "Download event info as iCal" link on the Campus Directory profile page, as shown below.
- Safari will automatically download it to the Desktop , as shown below. Click OK to continue.
- Then right click the downloaded file and choose "Open With."
- Then choose "Microsoft Entourage" as the application to open; it will likely be located under Applications > Microsoft Office 2004.
- The new Appointment will open up in Entourage. The save icon is greyed out because Entourage automatically adds the event to the calendar when it is opened.
- You can view the event in the calendar.
- Click the "Download event info as iCal" link on the Campus Directory profile page, as shown below.
- Safari will automatically download it to the Desktop , as shown below. Click OK to continue.
- Then click on iCal or the downloaded file and iCal will then appear, as show below.
- Click the "Download event info as iCal" link on the Calendar page, as shown below.
- Firefox will prompt for how to handle this file. Choose the "Open with" radio button and click the "Choose" button.
- In the dialog box, choose "Applications", then "iCal", and click Open.
- You will return to the Firefox dialog box. Click OK to continue.
- Then iCal will open. Click "OK" to continue.
- The iCal calendar information will be available in iCal, as shown below.
- Option: in Step #2 above, you may choose "Save to Disk" to save your iCal to your desktop. From there you can drag-and-drop the calendar information into iCal.
When you download iCalendar event information to your computer, you are storing a "snapshot" of the event information on your computer. If the event information in the CSUCI Events Calendar changes, the event in your computer's calendar software will not be automatically updated. Always refer to the web-based CSUCI Events Calendar for the latest event information.
