Synchronise Microsoft Outlook Calendar and Google Calendar - Simple instructions!

There are many reasons for synchronising Microsoft and Google accounts. Often you use the synchronisation to access files in the Microsoft Cloud also in the Google account, or you want to use a collected calendar. In this article, we show how to combine the two calendars of the different providers and thus save a lot of time and effort in the different interfaces of Outlook and Gmail. There are different possibilities here, which differ in approach or depending on the end device.

Synchronising Google Calendar with Outlook

The Microsoft Outlook synchronisation programme was unfortunately discontinued years ago. Nevertheless, there is still a simple way to connect your Outlook with Google Calendar. The aim of this synchronisation is that – no matter in which calendar you enter something – the events show up in both calendars Important to know: If you use a smartphone from Apple or Android, you can simply use several calendars in one calendar app. So you can save yourself the synchronisation here. When using Outlook in the online version, it is also possible to use several calendars next to each other.

Merging Microsoft and Google calendars – options at a glance

There are various ways to merge the two calendars. We have listed the best ones below:

  1. The simplest way to merge the two calendars is to export and import the current appointment status of a calendar. However, this is not synchronisation – this is described below.
  2. A continuous updating and extension of the appointments in both calendars at the same time can only take place through synchronisation. However,this requires a third party application.
  3. A very simple possibility is to subscribe to your own Google or Microsoft calendar. In this way, the appointments of the subscribed calendar are transferred and continuously updated.

In the following text, we describe these 3 options for merging Microsoft Outlook and Google Calendar.

  1. Export Google Calendar and import it into Outlook App

To export the Google Calendar, you have to call up the online version of the service in the browser. To do this, you must be logged in to the corresponding Google account in the browser. You can access the calendar via this link: https://calendar.google.com/

  1. In the first step, click on the settings symbol (cogwheel) and then on „Settings“.

2. In the menu on the left side you will find the menu item „Import & Export“. Click on it and the following window appears:

In the list under „Export“youcan now select all the calendars that can be edited and that are to be exported. With a click on the „Export“ button, these are now combinedinto a zipped archive and downloaded. The .ics file contained in the archive is now used to import the Google calendar archive into Outlook. 3. Now the Google Calendar is imported intothe Outlook calendar with the help of the .ics file. To do this, follow the following path in the Outlook app: „File -> Open and Export -> Import/Export“https://www.blitzhandel24.de/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Kalender-Synchronisation-3.png4. In the window that opens, click on „Import iCalender (ICS) or vCalender (VCS) file“ and then on „Next“5. Now select the previously saved.ics filein the „Browse„window and click on „Open“ Now the calendar can be found in Microsoft Outlook under „Other calendars“ or „My calendars“. However, since it is only importing the calendar at a fixed time, the newly added or updated appointments in Google Calendar will not be synchronised.

Synchronising Google and Microsoft calendars

The synchronisation between Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook Calendar works via a third-party application. The best application for this is the free programme Outlook Google Calendar Sync. You can easily download this programme from the official product page: https://phw198.github.io/OutlookGoogleCalendarSync/ Detailed instructions on how to synchronise the two calendars can also be found on the product page. Another good programme for synchron ising the two calendars is https://www.sync2.com/. Here, too, you can find helpful instructions on the product page.

Subscribe to Google Calendar and display it in Outlook

Outlook’s „Subscribe to Calendar“ function is a good way to avoid synchronisation by third-party software. The effect is the same as a real synchronisation. All data is continuously updated by subscribing to the calendar. Moreover, this subscription function is not limited to one’s own calendar. If you have the individual address of another person’s calendar, you can also see their calendar. However, this person can decide whether to allow all appointments to be viewed or whether to set certain appointments to „Private“ to prevent viewing. To subscribe to a Google Calendar with Outlook, simply follow the steps below:

  1. A prerequisite for subscribing to Google Calendar is the exact iCal address.

This can be found in the Google Calendar application in the browser in the left bar under „My Calendars“. Click on the 3 dots next to the name of the selected calendar and then on „Settings and Sharing“.

2. In the window that opens, scroll down. There you will find the iCal address you are looking for in the field „Public address in iCal format“.
3. Then use this iCal address to add the calendar to Outlook. To do this, call up the option „Open calendar -> From the Internet“ in the Outlook app.

4. copy the iCal address into the window that opens. Confirm with „Ok“ to subscribe to the calendar. The calendars can now be organised on top of each other or next to each other.

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