Guides

Use calendar files and meeting share links safely

Understand what an ICS event and a meeting-planner share link contain, how to verify imported times and how to retry a blocked download.

Choose the format for the task

The meeting planner offers three different outputs. Copy result produces a readable summary of the selected candidate, including each city's start and end dates, IANA zone and offset. Copy share link preserves the cities, date, duration, work periods and weekend setting so someone else can reproduce the search. Download calendar exports the selected candidate as one .ics event.

A share link restores conditions, not a separately saved selected-result index. Tell the receiver which proposed interval you agreed on, or send the copied result alongside the link. A calendar file is better for importing a specific appointment; the link is better for comparing alternatives. Neither mechanism checks availability or sends invitations.

Verify the UTC event before importing

For a New York meeting on October 13, 2026, from 09:00 to 10:00, the selected city's UTC−04:00 rule gives this event interval:

DTSTART:20261013T130000Z
DTEND:20261013T140000Z

The trailing Z denotes UTC. A calendar set to Tokyo should display 22:00–23:00 on October 13, not 13:00–14:00. A calendar set to New York should display 09:00–10:00. The underlying instant stays the same while presentation follows the calendar's chosen zone.

The export includes a stable event identifier, creation timestamp, summary and detailed description. Its start and end are UTC; it does not depend on a calendar correctly interpreting a short abbreviation such as CST. Date boundaries and DST changes are already represented by the selected absolute interval. A repeated local input still needs to be resolved before an instant can be chosen.

Import once and compare the result

Open or import the downloaded file in your calendar application's normal import flow. Before saving, compare the displayed start date, end date, duration and calendar time-zone setting with the planner result. Check the event description for the other cities' readings.

Repeated imports may create duplicates or update an existing event, depending on the application. The website cannot promise a particular import policy. If you change the appointment, confirm the replacement with participants rather than assuming that downloading another file will update their calendars. The export is a single event, not a recurring series.

If downloading or copying does not work

Some browser environments block automatic downloads. After requesting the file, use the visible download retry link if needed. It points to the browser-generated file; changing planning settings or selecting another candidate removes the old link to prevent an outdated download. Generate the new file again.

If no file appears, check the browser's downloads list and any blocking notification. Do not assume the event was saved merely because the button was pressed. If clipboard access is unavailable, the tool offers text for manual copying. These fallbacks do not require uploading your meeting to a server.

Know what the URL reveals

Anyone with the share URL can read its conditions. Browsers, messaging systems and hosting logs may retain the URL and query parameters. Do not include names, email addresses or confidential notes; the tool's sharing format does not require them. Revoking a copied link from other people's messages is not supported.

Importing the file into a third-party calendar puts a copy under that service's controls. Removing a downloaded file does not delete an imported event. Read the privacy policy and the meeting planning guide before sharing sensitive arrangements.

Technical reference: RFC 5545 iCalendar.

Questions, answered

Does downloading an ICS file invite participants?

No. The file describes one event. It does not email invitations, reserve participants' calendars or connect to a calendar account.

Does a share link preserve my selected candidate?

It restores the planning conditions. The receiver generates recommendations from those conditions; the selected result is not separately stored in the link.