How to Import ICS Calendar Files

How to use ICS calendar files in Google Calendar and Apple Calendar

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by Heinz Tschabitscher
An independent writer who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997.
Updated September 23, 2018

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, various calendar applications will accept these and swallow them whole.

Apple's and Google's calendars are the most popular ones, so we'll focus on those. You have two options: you can merge events from imported .ICS files with existing calendars or have the events appear in a new calendar.

Import ICS Calendar Files in Google Calendar

  1. Open Google Calendar.

  2. Click or tap the gear icon to the left of your profile image on the top right side of Google Calendar.

  3. Choose Settings.

  4. Pick the Import & export option from the left.

  5. On the right, choose the option called Select file from your computer, and find and open the ICS file you want to use.

  6. Select the calendar you want to import the ICS events into from the Add to calendar drop-down menu.

  7. 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.

If you're using the older, Classic version of Google Calendar, the settings are a bit different:

  1. Choose the settings button under your profile image on the far right side of Google Calendar.

  2. Choose Settings from that menu.

  3. Go to the Calendars tab.

  4. To import the ICS file into an existing Google calendar, pick the Import calendar link below the list of your calendars. In the Import calendar window, browse for and select your ICS file, and then choose which calendar to import the events into. Press Import to finish.

To import the ICS file as a new calendar, click or tap the Create new calendar button below your list of calendars. Then return to the first half of this step to import the ICS file into your new calendar.

Import ICS Calendar Files in Apple Calendar

  1. Open Apple Calendar and navigate to the File > Import > Import... menu.

  2. Find and highlight the desired ICS file.

  3. Click Import.

  4. Select the calendar to which you want the imported events added. Select New Calendar to create a new calendar for the imported schedule.

  5. Click 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.