How to Sync Multiple Outlook Calendars

Outlook is widely popular among individuals and companies for its calendaring features. However, syncing multiple Outlook calendars in real-time can be a complex process.

If you consider yourself an Outlook power user and aim to simplify the process of syncing multiple Outlook Calendars, this article will prove to be a valuable resource, making your life easier.

How to manually sync multiple Outlook Calendars by importing?

The manual method of syncing two Outlook Calendars is sharing Calendar A and importing it into Calendar B.

This is the process of syncing 2 Outlook Calendars (Calendar A and Calendar B):

1. Open Outlook (Calendar A).
2. Click Outlook. 
3. Select Settings and then click View All Outlook Settings. 
4. Click Calendar (next to the calendar icon), then click Shared Calendars.
5. In the “Publish Calendar” section, find the link to the calendar you’d like to sync. 
6. Click Calendar, then click Can view all details. 
7. Click Publish.
8. Copy the ICS link (towards the bottom, below the HTML link).
9. Open the Outlook Calendar that you want to import this calendar to. (Calendar B).
10. Click Add Calendar.
11. Click Subscribe from web.
12. Paste the URL you copied from Outlook Calendar (Calendar A).
13. Click Import.

That's a lot of steps for syncing one Outlook calendar to another. If you want to sync the second calendar to the first, you have to repeat the same process again. The same goes for syncing more Outlook Calendars.

If you are looking to sync multiple Google Calendars, we wrote a blog post showing how to sync multiple Google Calendars.

Benefits of syncing two Outlook Calendars by importing.

1. Clear visibility into meetings and availability. Your co-workers will have a clear overview of your availability, avoiding confusion and calendar conflicts.
2. The service is offered at no cost. (However, please refer to the issues below for more information on existing limitations.)

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Downfalls of syncing Outlook Calendars by importing.

1. Limited Privacy Options: When importing calendars, you will have limited control over privacy settings. This can be a significant concern for many users, as workspace administrators may have access to events and their details from the imported calendars, which can be a deal-breaker.

2. Updates take 24+ hours: Updates in Outlook Calendar may take 24 hours or even longer to reflect recent changes. Additionally, new events might not synchronize correctly, necessitating you to repeat the same steps again.

3. Not reliable: The reliability of the synchronization process is questionable, with calendars not syncing in real-time and often failing to work as expected.

4. Difficult and time-consuming to set up: Unfortunately, you can only sync one Outlook Calendar to another Outlook Calendar. If you wish to sync multiple Outlook Calendars, you'll have to go through the same steps repeatedly.

How to sync multiple Outlook Calendars automatically?

With the use of third-party software such as OneCal, you have the convenience of syncing multiple Outlook Calendars, customizing event cloning settings, and adjusting your privacy preferences, all in under a minute.

The demo below shows how you can synchronize multiple Google Calendars, in less than one minute, using OneCal.

How to use OneCal to sync multiple Outlook Calendars:

1. Connect your Outlook Calendars

2. Choose which Outlook Calendars to sync

OneCal supports one-way and two-way syncs between multiple Outlook calendars.

3. Configure how events are copied

Choose which information you want to sync over.

4. Your Outlook Calendars are now in sync! 🎉

Events from your source Outlook calendar will appear in your selected target Outlook calendar(s) and OneCal will automatically keep all the Outlook calendars to date.

📆 Now check your Calendars!

What are the benefits of using OneCal to sync Outlook Calendars?

1. Seamless Real-Time Synchronization Between Outlook Calendars. Once you've established this synchronization, you can have complete confidence that your events will consistently and reliably transfer without any concerns.
2. Privacy-focused syncs. This synchronization guarantees your control over the privacy of the calendars you sync. It's important to note that workspace administrators won't have access to view events or calendar details that are replicated by OneCal.
3. Real-time, reliable Outlook calendars sync. When attempting manual synchronization through the import method, you have to go through a 13-step process to sync one Outlook calendar with another Outlook Calendar. After following these steps, the sync might fail, and the changes don't happen in real time. With OneCal, your calendars stay in sync automatically, and you can sync multiple Outlook calendars in one go.

Automatically Sync Multiple Outlook Calendars Using OneCal

To synchronize multiple Outlook Calendars, you have two options: either importing one calendar into the other or employing a third-party application like OneCal.

If your primary concern is syncing just two calendars and you don't need advanced privacy features or absolute reliability, importing can be a suitable choice.

On the other hand, if you have multiple Outlook calendars to sync and you highly value both privacy and reliability, OneCal offers an excellent solution.