The term “iCalendar support” refers to a software's ability to read, generate, or process the open standard “iCalendar” (RFC 5545). iCalendar is used to structure and exchange calendar information—such as appointments, events, tasks, or reminders—between calendar applications, email clients, or planning tools. The aim is interoperability across different programs and platforms in the area of time and schedule management.
Import of iCalendar files (.ics): Reading appointments and events from external sources into the internal calendar system.
Export of calendar data in iCalendar format: Providing appointments and schedules for sharing or synchronizing with other systems.
Calendar synchronization: Automatic syncing of calendar data via iCalendar-compatible protocols (e.g., CalDAV).
Subscribing to external calendars: Integrating public or shared calendars (e.g., holiday schedules, team plans) using an iCalendar URL.
Recurring appointments: Supporting complex recurrence patterns (e.g., weekly meetings, annual events) as defined by the iCalendar specification.
Sending iCalendar invitations: Automatically generating and sending .ics invitations compatible with Outlook, Google Calendar, and others.
Compatibility with calendar clients: Supporting programs such as Microsoft Outlook, Apple Calendar, Google Calendar, and other iCalendar-compliant systems.
A project management tool offers the export of project milestones as .ics files for team members' personal calendars.
A CRM system automatically sends appointments for customer meetings in iCalendar format to sales reps’ Outlook calendars.
An event portal allows visitors to import event dates directly into their personal calendars.
A team calendar is integrated via an iCalendar feed into multiple users’ calendars and kept in sync regularly.
