Some imported Outlook calendar items can’t be changed, here’s why and how to make the imported appointment editable. Understanding issues with an Outlook imported appointment can help you manage calendar inconsistencies.
Usually an imported appointment (via a downloaded .ics file) can be edited just like most Outlook calendar items. Often that’s necessary to add more details or change the setting (like duration, time zone etc.) When dealing with an Outlook imported appointment, ensuring it’s editable is crucial.
But we’ve hit some .ics imported appointments which can’t be edited in Outlook. Very annoying and unnecessary. Naturally enough, Office Watch could not stand for it, so we went digging for the reason and a solution. This should help other people in the same situation with an Outlook imported appointment.
The Problem .ics file
.ics are plain text Internet Calendar files that you can download then import into Outlook calendar. If you’ve ever seen a ‘Add to your calendar’ link on a web site, it’ll be a .ics download. An Outlook imported appointment from these files can sometimes be problematic.
When done right, .ics calendar imports are great. They save a lot of typing or mistyping of event details. Sadly, in many cases the .ics file is incomplete or wrong. We often wonder if the web developers have done even basic testing.
Things go off the rails when the .ics imported calendar item can’t be changed! That’s because of a stray line in the .ics file which serves no purpose and only causes trouble for user. The line is:
ORGANIZER;CN=:MAILTO:[email protected]That tells Outlook the appointment or event is an invitation, managed by someone at the given email address. Only the inviter can change the event. Thus, outlook imported appointments become read-only.
Why is that line added to events that it doesn’t apply to? Even worse with a nonsense email address! That’s what the British Film Institute (BFI) has been doing to its members and patrons for some time now. After booking, you’re offered a ‘Send my calendar’ link that includes this utterly pointless but also troublemaking line.
ORGANIZER;CN=:MAILTO:undefinedThat single line makes the whole appointment ‘read only’ in Outlook. That’s a problem because all BFI events via .ics have a fixed 1 hour duration even though most of their screenings go for 2 hours or more. There are other problems with the current .ics made by the BFI but that’s the main two. This is a common occurrence with Outlook imported appointments.
How to fix a ‘Read Only’ Outlook appointment
The only way to fix a ‘read only’ Outlook appointment is to delete it and try again after changing the broken .ics file.
.ics Internet Calendar files aren’t written in stone. They are plain text files that you can edit quite easily and, in this case, you have to.
Delete the Outlook appointment/s made when the .ics file was imported.
Open the downloaded .ics file in any plain text editor like Notepad or Notepad++.
Delete all ORGANIZER: lines. There’s probably one for each outlook imported appointment or event in the .ics file.
Save the fixed .ics file and import into Outlook again. Now the calendar items can be changed to your hearts content.
If pain persists
If a web site’s calendar download keeps doing the same thing, try sending a polite email to the organization. Explain the problem and simple fix. Most likely they are unaware of the trouble they are causing with Outlook imported appointments.
But don’t expect any swift fix. IT departments can be stubborn and hard to move.
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