How to Import ICS Calendar Files

Email & Messaging

by vmsands@gmail.com

Updated March 17, 2019

Whatever the format or age of your calendaring application, there's a good chance that it just spits out your entire collection of events and appointments as an ICS file. Fortunately, most calendar applications can import ICS files.

Apple and Google calendars are the most popular, so this article focuses on those.

You have two options: Merge events from imported ICS files with existing calendars, or have the events appear in a new calendar.

Import ICS Calendar Files Into Google Calendar

Open Google Calendar at calendar.google.com.
Select the gear icon to the left of your profile image on the top right side of Google Calendar.
Choose Settings.
Pick the Import & export option from the left.
On the right, choose the option called Select file from your computer, and find and open the ICS file you want to use.
Select the calendar you want to import the ICS events into from the Add to calendar drop-down menu.
Choose Import.

To make a new calendar that you can use the ICS file with, go into Settings from Step 3 above and then choose Add calendar > New calendar. Fill out the new calendar details and then finish making it with the CREATE CALENDAR button. Now, repeat the above steps to use the ICS file with your new Google calendar.

Import ICS Calendar Files in Apple Calendar

Like Google Calendar, Apple Calendar also makes ICS files easy to import:

Open Apple Calendar and navigate to the File > Import > Import.
Find and highlight the desired ICS file.
Click Import.
Select the calendar to which you want the imported events added. Select New Calendar to create a new calendar for the imported schedule.
Select OK.

If prompted that "Some of the events in this calendar have alarms that open files or applications," click Remove Unsafe Alarms to avoid all security risks from calendar alarms that open potentially harmful applications and documents, and then check that all desired alarms for future events are set.