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How do I import an .ics appointment file into the iCloud calendar?

There is an .ics calendar invite a webinar I signed up online. I was able to download the .ics file to my desktop and I want to add it to my iCloud calendar. How can I import this .ics appointment file into my iCloud calendar? Seems like Apple has made this extremely difficult to use.

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Mar 21, 2013 12:54 PM

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Posted on Jan 31, 2017 11:45 PM

yeah i dont have the option to add all the appointments from ics file to my iphone calendar either. In the upper right corner is just the ability to press 'done'. I have found that im able to add one event at a time and then i need to close the mail app and go back to home screen, re-open the mail app and then try to import the next event: but to those of is importing a whole calendar year of a hundred or so events, this method is tedious, impractical and ridiculous. I wish apple would figure this issue out already as it makes using apple's calendar app pointless.

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Jan 31, 2017 11:45 PM in response to Loach

yeah i dont have the option to add all the appointments from ics file to my iphone calendar either. In the upper right corner is just the ability to press 'done'. I have found that im able to add one event at a time and then i need to close the mail app and go back to home screen, re-open the mail app and then try to import the next event: but to those of is importing a whole calendar year of a hundred or so events, this method is tedious, impractical and ridiculous. I wish apple would figure this issue out already as it makes using apple's calendar app pointless.

Jun 17, 2013 5:11 AM in response to Loach

Same as Alex. Clicking on the .ics icon on an email message in my iPad brings an "open with..." Pop up window with 24 app icons, none of the calendar app. Opening the same email message with Google email shows an "open in Calendar" button in the email message, but clicking it does not transfer the ics file to either Calendar nor Google Calendar. From this and other threads, I see that this problem also affects OSX. This is a major functional limitation that makes the whole Apple Calendar system almost useless.

Jun 17, 2013 5:32 AM in response to reichberg

Ok...since it's been a while I tried again (thanks to Reichberg for keeping this thread alive). I'm running iOS 6.1.4 and was able to add my yearly calendar ics file to my iPhone calendar.


I sent myself the .iCS file and opened the email. I thenk clickeck on the .iCS file where a list of all the enclosed appointments displayed. In the upper right-hand-corner I clicked Add All and the eventes added to the selected calendar.


So it seems that iOS 6.1.3 was the culprit which doesn't help the iPad users as they are still running that very iOS version.

Oct 30, 2013 10:01 PM in response to jgzero18

Hello gentlemen,


I could not get this to work. I think there is something very subtle about the import process I and others are missing


On my iPhone, if I long pause on the ICS file from the email it prompts me to open it with an app. Unfortunately none are the Apple calendar apps. BUT if I click on the file it does open the calendar data in iMessage mode.


But I do not see in the upper right hand corner any prompting to add to my calendar


I agree though... importing or exporting data into our calendars is more difficult than it seems to be. And not well documented or intuative. Maybe Senator McCain can help :-)



Any more details, please let us know

Thanks

Ed

Oct 30, 2013 11:14 PM in response to egish

My calendar has nearly 800 entries... If I tap in a single event it will let me import that single event to whatever calendar I choose


How do i do all the events, at once?


It would of been to easy just to drag the ics on the icloud icon similar to Excel spreadsheets and numbers,... .it is easily done

Jan 23, 2014 2:42 PM in response to Loach

Here's a workaround that's worked very well for me, which is based on the fact that the gmail app can handle outlook invites:


1. Create a rule that sends a copy of all invitation requests to your gmail account


2. Generate a link to your gmail calendar to be used for sharing


3. Use that link to add a calendar to your iCloud account, which will sync with your gmail calendar


4. Open your calendar invite from the gmail app. When you accept the invite it will notify the sender, the event will be added to your gmail calendar and then automatically be added to your IOS calendar.


Once setup properly it works very smoothly. Hope that helps.

Mar 2, 2014 5:46 PM in response to Loach

this may help some people, what i did was download a heap of alternative calendar apps... i then emailed myself the .ics file and used the "open with" option and selected one of the calendars i had downloaded and after trying 2 or 3 calendars it worked ! i have all my appoints in the default Calendar app without syncing to Google anymore !


apps like Pocket Informant and the calendar app by Readdle should work 😀

Aug 2, 2014 9:10 AM in response to Loach

Folks. This worked for me. I emailed the ICS file to an email address I monitor on my iPad. On the iPad I opened the email. It showed the file in the body of the email. Touch on the file and it shows all the import dates. In my case the Dallas Cowboys 2014 Schedule. It let me pick which calendar I wanted to import to. Touched Done and the dates were there. Checked my iCloud on my PC and dates were there a few minutes later. Checked my iPhone and dates were there too. Woo Hoo!!

How do I import an .ics appointment file into the iCloud calendar?

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