Skip to main content

Calendar Sync & iCal Export

This guide explains how to subscribe to your Resgrid department calendar from an external calendar application (Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, Apple Calendar, etc.) and how to export individual events as .ics files.

Overview​

Resgrid can publish your department calendar as a standard iCal feed that external calendar applications can subscribe to. Once subscribed, events are automatically kept in sync — new events appear, updated events are refreshed, and deleted events are removed on the next sync cycle.

Supported Applications

Any application that supports iCal / ICS calendar subscriptions will work, including:

  • Google Calendar
  • Microsoft Outlook (desktop and web)
  • Apple Calendar (macOS and iOS)
  • Thunderbird
  • Yahoo Calendar

Step 1 — Activate Calendar Sync​

  1. Navigate to Calendar in the left-hand menu
  2. In the right sidebar, locate the Calendar Sync panel below the Types section
  3. Click Activate Calendar Sync
  4. A unique subscription URL is generated and displayed

This URL is personal to your account and contains an encrypted token that identifies your department and user. No additional login is required when a calendar application fetches the feed.

Step 2 — Subscribe in Your Calendar Application​

Google Calendar​

  1. Copy the subscription URL from the Calendar Sync panel
  2. Open Google Calendar
  3. In the left sidebar, click the + next to "Other calendars"
  4. Select From URL
  5. Paste the subscription URL and click Add calendar

Alternatively, click the Google Calendar quick-add link in the sync panel — it opens Google Calendar with the URL pre-filled.

Microsoft Outlook (Web)​

  1. Copy the subscription URL
  2. Open Outlook Calendar
  3. Click Add calendar → Subscribe from web
  4. Paste the URL, give it a name, and click Import

Apple Calendar (macOS / iOS)​

macOS:

  1. Click the Open in Calendar App button in the sync panel (uses webcal:// protocol), or:
  2. Open Apple Calendar → File → New Calendar Subscription
  3. Paste the subscription URL and click Subscribe
  4. Configure refresh interval (recommended: every 15 minutes)

iOS:

  1. Copy the subscription URL
  2. Go to Settings → Calendar → Accounts → Add Account → Other
  3. Tap Add Subscribed Calendar
  4. Paste the URL and tap Next → Save

Other Applications​

For any application that supports iCal subscriptions, use the subscription URL directly. The feed returns standard RFC 5545 iCalendar data with text/calendar content type.

Step 3 — Verify the Subscription​

After subscribing, your external calendar should display department events within a few minutes. All-day events appear as full-day banners. Multi-day events span their full date range. Events include titles, descriptions, locations, and reminders.

Sync Interval

External calendar applications control how often they refresh the feed. Most default to every 15–60 minutes. Check your calendar application settings if you need more frequent updates.

Regenerating the Sync Key​

If you believe your subscription URL has been shared or compromised:

  1. Navigate to Calendar in the left-hand menu
  2. In the Calendar Sync panel, click Regenerate Sync Key
  3. The old URL is immediately invalidated
  4. Copy the new URL and update it in all your subscribed calendar applications
danger

Regenerating the sync key invalidates all previously issued subscription URLs for your account. Any calendar application using the old URL will stop receiving updates and must be re-subscribed with the new URL.

Downloading Individual Events​

You can download any single calendar event as an .ics file:

  1. Navigate to the event detail page (click on an event in the calendar)
  2. Click the Download .ics button
  3. Open the downloaded file with your calendar application to add that single event

This is useful for sharing a specific event with someone outside your department or adding it to a personal calendar without subscribing to the full feed.

How the iCal Feed Works​

AspectDetail
FormatStandard iCalendar (RFC 5545)
Content Typetext/calendar
AuthenticationEncrypted token in the URL (no login required)
All-Day EventsExported with VALUE=DATE format (no time component)
Multi-Day EventsDTEND is exclusive (one day after the last event day), per iCal standard
RecurrencesEach recurrence instance is a separate VEVENT (no RRULE)
RemindersExported as VALARM components with appropriate trigger durations
LocationsExported as LOCATION properties
AttendeesExported as ATTENDEE properties (if populated)

Troubleshooting​

ProblemSolution
Calendar app says "unable to verify account"Ensure the subscription URL is copied completely without extra spaces
Events not appearing after subscribingWait for the next sync cycle (up to 60 minutes depending on your app). Check that the URL starts with https:// or webcal://
Events stopped updatingYour sync key may have been regenerated. Check the Calendar Sync panel for the current URL and re-subscribe
"Calendar sync is not yet activated" messageClick Activate Calendar Sync to generate your subscription URL
All-day events showing wrong datesEnsure your calendar application is set to the correct time zone
Cannot see the Calendar Sync panelCalendar sync may be disabled by your system administrator (ICalFeedEnabled config)