Share calendars with friends and groups online

Everyone has hectic schedules nowadays and without some sort of calendar many of us would simply miss important appointments. There are also numerous occasions when calendar information needs to be shared with others ­ the meeting dates for a club or group, say.

Simply telling people the dates and times always leaves room for mistakes and misunderstandings, but the ICS calendar format lets everyone have access to the same information. In this feature we’ll reveal how to share a calendar with others and how to stay safe.

Calendars are undeniably useful. In the workplace, programs such as Microsoft Outlook allow colleagues to share their calendars, making it easy to see when everyone is available for a meeting. Shared calendars can be useful in many other situations, too.

Small groups and clubs can use them to keep all members up to date about meetings, events and sports fixtures without everyone having to be contacted individually. Special events such as weddings can also run more smoothly if everyone knows what is happening when. Many sports clubs and arts venues also make calendars in ICS format available, so people can have fixtures, forthcoming attractions and more automatically added to their own calendars.

Make a date
The ICS format, sometimes referred to as iCal, allows the data in a calendar to be saved as a file and then placed on the internet for others to access. It also allows the creator to define exactly who has access to the calendar. Publicly accessible pre-created calendars, such as those listing public holidays, can be used by anyone and imported into calendar programs or online services. You can also put special restrictions on a shared calendar, limiting access to viewing only.

The ICS format is supported by a wide range of calendar programs including Microsoft Outlook, as well as online calendars such as Windows Live Calendar and Yahoo Calendar. In this feature, we’ll be using Google Calendar, which is free, as well as Windows Calendar, which is included with Windows Vista. Before sharing a calendar that contains private information with other people, there are important safety considerations to bear in mind. Be sure to read through the box opposite entitled ‘Keep your calendar secure’.

We’ll now look at how online calendars can be used, taking Google Calendar as our example. Go to the Google Calendar site and sign into your account if you already have one. If you don’t yet have a free Google account, click on the link labelled ‘Create an account’ and follow the sign-up process.

Find your favourite
At the top of the Google Calendar page is a button labelled ‘Search Public Calendars’; click this to open a list of calendars linked to various events, organisations and even celebrities. The options are just the tip of the iceberg, and you can use the search field next to the button to look for sports teams, theatres, churches and more. Click the ‘Add to Calendar’ button to synchronise the information in this calendar with your own Google Calendar. That way, if a date or time changes, your calendar will be automatically updated.