SharePoint Calendar iCal Feed Generator

Do you want to synchronize your SharePoint 2013 calendar with your iPhone, or your iPad - or your Android phone or tablet but haven't been able to find a solution to make this happen? The out of the box functionality to Connect to Outlook only works with, as the name implies, Microsoft Outlook.

XSPECTS has a solution to allow you to subscribe to your SharePoint calendars from iCal compatible devices and devices that use the Google Calendar app. It adds a new menu group to the ribbon for all Calendars in your SharePoint site - once clicked the App creates a Calendar feed file (.ics file) in the iCal format. This Calendar feed ics file is stored via a public URL.

You can either click the link generated to automatically Subscribe to the feed (if you are browsing your SharePoint site with your mobile device), or you can manually Subscribe to the Calendar Feed using the link provided.

The Calendar Feed URL can be shared with all of your users via email or by posting the Calendar Feed URL on your site - because the feed is stored on a public URL even people who do not have accounts to browse to your SharePoint site can use the URL to Subscribe to your Calendar Feed!

Will the iCal Calendar Feed file always be available?

Yes! The Calendar Feed file is stored using Windows Azure Blob Storage with server redundancy, so even if your SharePoint site goes down the feed will still be available.

Will the iCal Calendar Feed file be updated with calendar events added after I subscribe?

Yes! The Calendar Feed file is updated every time someone else subscribes, and it is also updated whenever a new event is added, deleted or updated on a calendar that has been previously subscribed to.

How much does the iCal Calendar Feed App cost?

The App costs $49.00 per month on a subscription basis. Only 1 license is needed for your site, there is no per user licensing fee and even people without an Office 365 account can access the feed after it has been generated by a user on your site.

Is there a Trial version?

Yes! A 15 day trial is available so you can test the App

How does it work?

When the Generate iCal Link icon is clicked the App reads through all event items in the Calendar and writes out a text file with a .ics extension listing your events in the iCal format. This ics file is then written out to Windows Azure Blob Storage and a public link to the file is displayed to the user. Anytime the calendar is updated a remote event receiver is triggered re-writing and re-publishing the .ics iCal file, ensuring the feed is always up to date.

Does the iCal Feed Generator handle recurring events?

Yes! The iCal Feed Generator creates recurring events in the ics file in accordance with the iCal format

Does the iCal Feed Generator work for iPhones, iPads and MACs?

Yes! The feed generator is compatible with MACs and iOS mobile devices - just click the iCal link on your iOS device and the feed will be added to your devices subscribed Calendars.

Does the iCal Feed Generator work for Android devices?

Yes! The ics feed is supported by Google Calendars which most Android devices use as a calendar app.

Is there an on premises version?

Yes! We have a wsp solution version of the App available for SharePoint 2013 Server (on premises). For more information visit https://www.xspects.com/services/Pages/CalendarSubscribe.aspx

Can the iCal Feed Generator App be customized?

Yes! We can customize the App or on premises version for you. Contact us at info@xspects.com