Hi.
I’m saving multiple calendar entries to a calendar file (.ics) on a web server.
The file is accessible via a webcal:// link
In my Outlook Desktop (latest), I add it to my shared calendars via the “From Internet” option.
The calendar shows the entries correctly after the initial load; however, fails to update/synchronize after the ics file is updated/added to.
Any ideas? Alternatives?
2024-09-05_15-21-41.png (224.7 KB)
I save the ics file like this:
Hello @mortenma,
The issue you’re encountering might be due to Outlook caching the .ics file and not immediately recognizing updates, which leads to synchronization problems. The cache may refresh only once every 24-48 hours. Try manually removing and re-adding the calendar after updating the .ics file to force Outlook to fetch the latest version.
Does Outlook’s behavior depend on where the .ics file was created? Try generating and then updating the .ics file using a different program (not Aspose.Email) and see if the problem persists.
Thanks for your reply, Margarita.
The calendar was synchronized this morning, 20-24 hours later.
My scenario dictates (the customer wants) a much quicker and 100% non-manual synchronization:
The customer populates an online scheduler in a web application. Events in the scheduler are saved to a unique .ics file. The customer wants to have the online scheduler events show in Outlook.
The Shared Internet Calendar in Outlook is a good solution (if it wasn’t for the synchronization delay).
Deleting the existing file before saving a new file in the same folder does not affect the synchronization, and I can’t find any related settings in Outlook.
2024-09-06_07-52-25.png (51.5 KB)
In my case, AppointmentIcsSaveOptions only has “Action = AppointmentAction.Create” set.
Do you think setting other options or changing the value of Action would trigger a sync?
It is as if Outlook has a hard-coded sync delay timer, and there is not a lot of helpful info on this matter.
Do you know someone on the inside that you can ask?
Alternatively, I’m considering having an Exchange 365 server and using the/a API to a) add calendar, b) add events, and c) share calendar. Not sure it this can work.
The Action property typically controls how the calendar data is handled when saving the .ics file (e.g., creating, updating, or deleting appointments). The synchronization delay is more likely related to Outlook’s internal handling of the internet calendar rather than how the .ics file is being processed.
Using Exchange 365 could be a good solution. I think Exchange provides a more robust solution for managing calendars and events.