ICS file viewer

How to open an .ics file

1. Choose the .ics file, or drop it on the page. You can add several files, such as calendars from different people.
2. Read the events. They are listed by date, with the time, place, repeat rule and the start of each description. The summary shows how many events there are and the dates they cover.
3. Change the time zone if you want to see the times for somewhere else, or exactly as written in the file.
4. Search for a word in a title, place or note, or save a copy as an Excel or CSV file.

What is an .ics file?

An .ics file is an iCalendar file, the standard way calendar apps share events. Meeting invitations arrive as .ics attachments, and Google Calendar, Outlook and Apple Calendar export whole calendars in this format. Sports fixtures, school terms and conference schedules are often published as .ics files too. Inside is plain text, with lines such as DTSTART:20261102T150000Z, which is hard to read without a calendar app.

Why look before you import

• Duplicates. Importing the same file twice can add every event twice, and calendar apps have no undo for an import. Checking first, or importing into a new, separate calendar, avoids a clean-up.
• Time zones. An event written for 10:00 in New York shows as 15:00 in London. The viewer shows the times the way your calendar will.
• Size. A calendar export can hold years of events. The summary shows the date range before hundreds of entries land in your calendar.
• Unwanted invitations. Spam invitations arrive as .ics files too. Reading the file shows what it would add, without accepting anything.

Adding the events to a calendar

The viewer only reads the file. To add the events:

• Google Calendar: on a computer, Settings → Import & export → choose the file and a calendar. The phone apps can’t import files.
• Outlook: classic Outlook for Windows: File → Open & Export → Import/Export → Import an iCalendar (.ics) or vCalendar file. New Outlook and Outlook.com: Add calendar → Upload from file.
• iPhone, iPad and Mac: open the file from Mail or Files and tap Add All, or use File → Import in Calendar on a Mac.

Repeating events

A weekly meeting is stored once, with a rule such as “every Monday until June”. The viewer lists it once, on its first date, with the rule in words. Single changed or cancelled dates of a series are listed as their own entries.