Convert Outlook calendars into iCal calendars

Nov 17, '05 06:38:00AM

Contributed by: cougar718

If you're like me, you like sports, but because their are so many games, you need a schedule. Well, this is just great but when it comes to iCal's calendar format, hardly anyone uses it (Apple's iCal Library page lists all of two sports teams).

So, I decided to code an AppleScript importer, which basically takes a Microsoft Outlook calendar and creates an iCal calendar file from it. Now, the importer was coded to work with what seemed to be an Excel formatted file (.cvs), but when it was downloaded, Safari appended a .txt to its name. Here's the downloadable schedule, in Microsoft Outlook format, that I used to develop the converter: Sixers schedule.

The importer may work with other formats, but I doubt it. Since I don't have Microsoft Outlook, I don't know if other formats are available. If there are, let me know by linking/emailing me the other-format calendar, so I can add proper support for it.

The first step is, of course, to download the application (27KB), unzip it, and store it somewhere. After that, to use the converter, just do this:

  1. Download a schedule in the proper format.
  2. Drag-and-drop the schedule/s onto the application, or double-click the application and choose a single schedule to process.
  3. When prompted, type in the name for the calendar to use within iCal -- Sixers 2004-2005, for instance.
Any questions or comments, email or reply to this hint. I'll be sure to follow-up.

[robg adds: This script worked well for me, and the source is viewable/modifiable (just use File: Open from within Script Editor) if you want to see what it does. The biggest challenge may be finding free Outlook calendars to use! In a brief search with Google, I found a site that has schedules available for sale, at not completely cheap prices ($1.99 for one team's NBA schedule?). I had better luck searching for a specific team's schedule with something like Trailblazers outlook schedule download. If you know of any good, free, Outlook calendar compilation sites, please post them in the comments.]

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