How to Share Your Calendars From iPhone and iPad

Maintaining your own calendar on an iPhone or iPad is a handy way to keep track of your appointments. But what if you want to let family or friends view one of your calendars so they know if you're free on a certain date and time? You have a couple of options, especially if you maintain more than one calendar.

You can share a private calendar with just people you know and allow other people to edit that calendar. And you can share a public calendar with anyone, a helpful option to publicize events, such as your childrens' soccer games. Let's go over the options for sharing both a private and a public calendar.

First, you need to make sure you're syncing your calendars using iCloud. In iOS 10.3 or later, tap on Settings > [your Name at the top of the screen] > iCloud. Under Apps Using iCloud, turn on the button for Calendars. (In iOS 10.2 or earlier, tap on Settings > iCloud to get here.)

Now, maybe you want to create a new calendar or calendars to hold special appointments and events. To do this on your iOS device, open the Calendars app. Tap the Calendars link at the bottom of the screen. Tap the Edit link at the top. In the iCloud section, tap the link to Add Calendar.

Name your new calendar and then assign it a color to distinguish it from your other calendars. Tap the Done link in the upper-right corner. Now you can populate your new calendar with specific events.

Okay, let's say you want to share your new calendar with someone else, maybe a family member. In the Calendars app, tap the Calendars link at the bottom. Tap on the red Info circle next to the calendar you wish to share. In the Edit Calendar screen, tap the link to Add Person.

Start typing the name of the person with whom you want to share the calendar. If the person is in your address book, the name and email address should pop up. Tap the person's name. You can add more than one person if you wish.

When done, tap the Add link at the upper right of the screen. At the Edit calendar screen, tap on the View & Edit link. At this screen, you can turn "Allow Editing" on or off depending on whether you want the person to be able to edit the calendar. You can also resend the invitation if necessary.

Once the person accepts your invitation to share the calendar, he or she will be able to view it, and edit it if you chose that option. The person can view your shared calendar via the iCloud calendar, the iOS Calendar app, or Microsoft Outlook on a Windows PC.

Share a Calendar Publicly

Okay, now let's say you want to share a calendar publicly. In the Calendars app, tap the Calendars link at the bottom. Tap the red Info circle next to the calendar you wish to make public. Scroll to the bottom of the Edit Calendar screen and turn on the button for Public Calendar. Tap Share Link.

You can share the link to the calendar with anyone else via email, messaging, Facebook, Google+, Twitter, or other services. People who want to view your public calendar can do so using the macOS Calendar app, Microsoft Outlook in Windows, or any app that supports the iCalendar file format.

For more, check out:

• How to Find the Best Android Calendar App
• How to Manage Multiple Time Zones in Google Calendar
• Beware of Apple Calendar Spam
• 14 Google Calendar Tricks You're Probably Not Using

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