An ICS file is a calendar file format used by various email and calendar programs, including Microsoft Outlook, Google Calendar and Apple Calendar. It allows users to share calendar events with others in a standardized format that can be easily imported into different calendar applications.
When a user publishes an ICS file, they are making their calendar events available for others to subscribe to. When a user subscribes to an ICS file, they are essentially creating a link between their calendar and the published ICS file. This means that any changes made to the ICS file will automatically be reflected in the user's calendar. And exactly where Flatcal comes in as a in between micro service that can modify published ICS file stream before it reaches the subscribers.
All major calendar providers like Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, Apple Calendar, and others, allow you to share your calendar as an ICS link. You can easily find the ICS link for your calendar in the settings of your calendar app. Check our integrations page for instructions on how to get the ICS link for your calendar.
Once you have the ICS link, you can add them to Flatcal as sources. This is where the magic happens! You can connect all of your calendars from different providers and have them all in one place.
After connecting your calendars, you can choose how you want to transform your calendar. Flatcal allows you to merge all of your calendars into one, combine busy times, remove duplicates, and more. To check all Flatcal features and transformations, visit our features page.
Finally, you will receive a new ICS link that you can use to view your new calendar. You can use this link to view your new calendar in your favorite calendar app or share it with your peers. Just like you would do with any other calendar link.
Processing an ICS file once is easy, but calendars are constantly changing. Flatcal is designed to automatically process your calendar files every time they change. This means that you can add, remove, or modify events in your calendar, and Flatcal will automatically update the ICS file it creates.
Flatcal is designed to be a set-and-forget solution. Once you set it up, it will automatically process your calendar files every time they change. This means that you can focus on your work, and let Flatcal handle the rest.
We do most of the work in the background. Regularly, we check your calendar files for changes. If we detect a change, we process the calendar file and update the ICS file. This means that you can continue to use your calendar as you normally would, and Flatcal will automatically keep your ICS file up to date.