Overview
You can add your AMS+ activities to a calendar by using an iCal feed. iCalendar (*.ics extension) is a popular file format used to distribute calendar information between different applications over the internet.
AMS+ can distribute a feed of activities in iCal format to your existing calendar application. The feeds URLs and instructions for using them in the calendar programs:
- Apple Calendar
- Microsoft Outlook (2007, 2016, and Office 365)
- Mozilla Lightning
- Google Calendar
Subscribing to your Activities iCal Feed
Finding your iCal Feed URL
Your Activities Calendar feeds can be found in My Account will look like this:
How to Subscribe in Different Calendars
Apple Calendar
To subscribe to an iCalendar feed using Apple's Calendar program:
- Open the Calendar program (in Applications)
- From the File menu select New Calendar Subscription
- Type or paste one of the two feed URLs above into Calendar URL field then click Subscribe
- Change the name and color (optional) and update the Auto-refresh frequency to Every day (important!), then click OK
- The events should now appear in your calendar
Microsoft Outlook 2007
To subscribe to an iCalendar feed using Outlook:
- From Tools menu select Account Settings
- Click on the Internet Calendars tab
- Click the New button
- Type or paste one of the calendar URLs above then click Add
- In the Subscription Options dialog box, you can optionally rename the calendar. Make sure the box is checked in the Update Limit section.
Microsoft Outlook 365 (2013)
- In Outlook, click File > Account Settings
- On the Internet Calendars tab, click New.
- Paste the Internet Web address you copied, by pressing CTRL+V, and click Add.
- In the Folder Name box, type the name of the calendar as you want it to appear in Outlook, and then click OK.
When you start Outlook, it checks the internet calendar for updates and downloads any changes. If you keep Outlook open, it also periodically checks for and downloads updates depending on how often the other service tells Outlook to check for updates.
Note: Internet calendars cannot be edited. They are read-only.
Microsoft Outlook 2016
- Go to Outlook 2016 > Go to the Calendar
- Next, go to the Home Tab in Outlook 2016 and click the "Open Calendar" drop-down. Select "From Internet"
- Paste your iCal URL into the field. Click OK.
- Click "Yes" that you want to add this calendar to outlook and subscribe to updates.
You can view your calendar side by side or in "overlay mode" via View Tab > Click "Overlay Mode". Note, internet calendars cannot be edited. They are read-only.
Mozilla Lightning
Lightning is a calendar plugin for the popular email client Mozilla Thunderbird. You can add an iCalendar feed as follows:
- From the File menu in Thunderbird select New -> Calendar
- Choose On the Network and click Next
- Choose iCalendar format and paste or type the calendar URL from above in Location, then click Next
- Optionally change the Name, Color and notification option then click Next then Finish
- You can set the refresh frequency in Tools->Options->Lightning->General->Refresh Settings. Once or twice a day is sufficient.
Google Calendar
To subscribe to an iCalendar feed using Google Calendar, go to 'settings', and click on 'Calendars'. From here look for the 'Other Calendars' section:
- In the far right column, click on the 'Browse interesting calendars' link. On the right side under 'More Tools' choose 'Add by URL'
- Enter the URL provided in the iCal feed section of your 'My Account' under 'My Activities' in the dialog box then click Add Calendar.
- You are all set! Some operating systems take awhile to sync, while others are instantaneous.
Sync Questions & Issues
How do I force Google Calendar to refresh iCal more frequently? Can I choose a refresh frequency?
Many have asked this question before and to be honest, there really isn't a good answer. Sorry! Google does not currently allow for refresh frequency in Google Calendar, bummer, I know. For more details from Google, check out this article on the Google product discussion forums.