How do I create an iCal-type .ics file that can be downloaded by other users?
calendar, icalendar, macos
Solution
That will work just fine. You can export an entire calendar with `File` > `Export…`, or individual events by dragging them to the Finder.
iCalendar (`.ics`) files are human-readable, so you can always pop it open in a text editor to make sure no private events made it in there. They consist of nested sections with start with `BEGIN:` and end with `END:`. You'll mostly find `VEVENT` sections (each of which represents an event) and `VTIMEZONE` sections, each of which represents a time zone that's referenced from one or more events.
Problem
I want to create an iCal Calendar that can be downloaded from my website to the users Calendar program or imported to Google Calendar. What I want to know is if I do a direct Export from iCal on Mac OS X is that the file that I upload to my server? Any catches or caveats I should be aware of? Or is there a better way?