Sharing my appointments and meetings across various calendar platforms has always been a struggle for me. While I utilize Outlook for my job, I prefer Google Calendar for my personal affairs. Fortunately, I have found a solution to effortlessly sync my Outlook and Google Calendar, allowing me to efficiently manage all my events in one location. This article will walk you through the process of sharing your Outlook calendar with Google Calendar, enabling you to simplify your scheduling and maintain order.
Step 1: Generating a Shareable Link in Outlook
To begin, open your Outlook calendar and locate the calendar you want to share with Google. Right-click on the desired calendar and select “Permissions.”
A permissions window will appear, displaying the calendar’s settings. Click on the “Publish to WebDAV Server” option, and a new window will appear with a link.
Take note of this link, as you will need it in the next step.
Step 2: Importing the Outlook Calendar to Google Calendar
Now, open your Google Calendar in a new tab or window. On the left sidebar, click on the plus-sign icon next to “Add a friend’s calendar.”
In the dialog box that appears, select “From URL.” Paste the link you obtained in Step 1 into the URL field and click “Add Calendar.”
Google Calendar will now attempt to retrieve your Outlook calendar. Once it’s found, it will display a confirmation message.
Step 3: Adjusting Google Calendar Settings
Now that you’ve successfully imported your Outlook calendar, it’s time to adjust some settings in Google Calendar to ensure a seamless integration.
First, find the imported calendar on the left sidebar and click the three-dot icon next to it. Select “Settings and sharing.”
In the settings menu, you can customize the display name, notification preferences, and control who can see your calendar. Make any necessary adjustments and click “Save” when you’re done.
Step 4: Syncing Your Outlook Calendar with Google Calendar
By default, Google Calendar updates the imported events from your Outlook calendar every few hours. However, if you want to manually sync the calendars, you can force an update.
To do this, click the three-dot icon next to the imported calendar on the left sidebar and select “Refresh.”
Note that when you refresh, Google Calendar will update the events from your Outlook calendar, but any changes you make in Google Calendar will not be reflected back in Outlook.
Conclusion
Sharing your Outlook calendar with Google Calendar can be a game-changer for those of us who use both platforms for different aspects of our lives. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can easily consolidate your events and stay organized in one place.
Now, managing appointments and meetings across platforms is a breeze, saving you time and reducing the risk of scheduling conflicts. Give it a try, and experience the benefits of an integrated calendar system!