How to Add a Shared Calendar in Outlook

Adding a shared calendar in Outlook lets you see a coworker's, family member's, or team's schedule alongside your own. There are a few ways in: accepting a share invitation someone sent you, looking a colleague up in your organization's directory, or opening a calendar by name. This guide covers each method across new Outlook, the web, classic desktop, and mobile.

Before you start

To add someone's calendar, that person usually needs to have shared it with you, or you need permission to view it. The level of detail you'll see (free/busy only vs. full details) depends on the permissions they set when sharing—see How to Publish and Share an Outlook Calendar.

Method 1: Accept a share invitation

If someone shared their calendar with you, you'll get an email invitation.

• New Outlook / web / classic: open the invitation email and select Accept (or Add this calendar). The calendar appears in your calendar list, usually under Shared calendars or People's calendars.

This is the most reliable method because the share and its permission level are already set up.

Method 2: Add from the directory (work/school accounts)

If you're on a Microsoft 365 work or school account, you can often add a colleague's calendar directly.

New Outlook and Outlook on the web

New Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web (outlook.office.com) share these steps.

1. Open the Calendar.
2. In the left pane, select Add calendar.
3. Choose Add from directory.
4. Pick the account whose directory to search, then type the person's name or email.
5. Select Add. If you have permission, their calendar appears; if not, you'll see only free/busy or be prompted to request access.

Classic Outlook desktop

1. On the Home ribbon, select Add Calendar → From Address Book (or Open Shared Calendar).
2. Search for and select the person.
3. Select OK. The calendar opens alongside yours.

Method 3: Open another person's calendar

When you only need a quick look and have the necessary permission:

• Classic desktop: Home → Open Calendar → Open Shared Calendar, then enter the name.
• New Outlook / web: use Add calendar → Add from directory as above; there isn't a separate one-time "open" command.

Add a calendar by link or file

You can also add calendars that aren't tied to a person:

• Subscribe from web — paste an .ics feed URL. See How to Import an .ics File Into Outlook.
• Upload from file — import a one-time .ics file of events.

Both live under Add calendar in new Outlook and on the web.

Mobile

In the Outlook mobile app:

1. Tap the Calendar icon, then your profile or the menu.
2. Tap Add calendar or Add a shared calendar (wording varies by version).
3. Search for the person and add them.

Mobile relies on calendars already shared with you; accepting an invite on the web first is the smoothest path.

Troubleshooting

To confirm which kind of account you have, see Which Calendar Do You Have?.

Once you've added the calendars you need, nocal brings your Outlook and Google calendars into one timeline — see how.