ics attachment

[Carmen]

Someone sent us a "ics" file attachment and I can't open it. We have Windows
XP & Outlook Express 6. Can someone please help.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

..ics is a file type used for exchanging calendar information. You would need a calendar program, such as Microsoft Outlook, to be able to use it.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[Carmen]

We have Microsoft Outlook 2002. When I try and open the attachment from
Outlook Express it says cannot start microsoft outlook. cannot import
vcalendar file.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

Try saving the file, then starting Outlook and using the FIle | Import and Export command to import it.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[Carmen]

I tried this and it says vcalendar/icalendar import failed. The input file
may be corrupt.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

And indeed it may be. The only way to know is to look at the file in Notepad and try to figure out what's wrong with it. If you want to go that route, save one of your own appointments in .ics format so you have a basis for comparison.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[Carmen]

I opened it in Notepad and this is what is says

BEGIN:VCALENDAR
METHOD:REQUEST
PRODID:Microsoft CDO for Microsoft Exchange
VERSION:2.0
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:GMT -0500 (Standard) / GMT -0400 (Daylight)
BEGIN:STANDARD
DTSTART:16010101T020000
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;WKST=MO;INTERVAL=1;BYMONTH=10;BYDAY=-1SU
END:STANDARD
BEGINAYLIGHT
DTSTART:16010101T020000
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;WKST=MO;INTERVAL=1;BYMONTH=4;BYDAY=1SU
ENDAYLIGHT
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20060505T143254Z
DTSTART;TZID="GMT -0500 (Standard) / GMT -0400 (Daylight)":20060515T080000
SUMMARY:Updated: Monthly Union Mtg (Howard & Tina)
UID:040000008200E00074C5B7101A82E00800000000B02375B52D70C601000000000000000
0100000008BF679E9C235A54EB22F04974BB770DF
ATTENDEE;ROLE=REQ-PARTICIPANT;PARTSTAT=NEEDS-ACTION;X-REPLYTIME=20060505T14
2500Z;RSVP=TRUE;CN="Mutigli, Joelene":MAILTO:[email protected]
m
ATTENDEE;ROLE=REQ-PARTICIPANT;PARTSTAT=NEEDS-ACTION;RSVP=TRUE;CN="Jones, Je
annie":MAILTO:[email protected]
ATTENDEE;ROLE=REQ-PARTICIPANT;PARTSTAT=NEEDS-ACTION;RSVP=TRUE;CN="'local17a
@raex.com'":MAILTO:[email protected]
ORGANIZER;CN="Ferguson, Bob":MAILTO:[email protected]
LOCATION:Fishbowl
DTEND;TZID="GMT -0500 (Standard) / GMT -0400 (Daylight)":20060515T090000
RRULE:FREQ=MONTHLY;INTERVAL=1;BYDAY=3 MO;WKST=SU
DESCRIPTION:\N
SEQUENCE:0
PRIORITY:5
CLASS:
CREATED:20060505T143255Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20060505T143258Z
STATUS:CONFIRMED
TRANSP:OPAQUE
X-MICROSOFT-CDO-BUSYSTATUS:BUSY
X-MICROSOFT-CDO-INSTTYPE:1
X-MICROSOFT-CDO-INTENDEDSTATUS:BUSY
X-MICROSOFT-CDO-ALLDAYEVENT:FALSE
X-MICROSOFT-CDO-IMPORTANCE:1
X-MICROSOFT-CDO-OWNERAPPTID:-643475498
BEGIN:VALARM
ACTIONISPLAY
DESCRIPTION:REMINDER
TRIGGER;RELATED=STARTT00H15M00S
END:VALARM
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR

Can you tell by looking at it, if it is corrupted?

 

[Carmen]

Can someone follow-up on this, I still didn't get an answer that really helps
me.

Thanks!
Carmen

 

[Gordon]

Can someone follow-up on this, I still didn't get an answer that
really helps me.

Thanks!
Carmen

I think that Outlook has a problem with ics files in general - I cant get
outlook 2003 to import any ics file at all, and I /know/ that they are good
files. It says they are ALL corrupted, and I know for a fact that they are
not.

 

[Carmen]

What program should I use to open these?

I think that Outlook has a problem with ics files in general - I cant get
outlook 2003 to import any ics file at all, and I /know/ that they are good
files. It says they are ALL corrupted, and I know for a fact that they are
not.

 

[Gordon]

What program should I use to open these?

Try Sunbird, the free Calendar from the Mozilla Foundation.
http://www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/sunbird/index.html

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

It worked fine here in Outlook 2003 SP2. I don't have an Outlook 2002 machine handy right now.

What you might want to do is, as I suggested, save a meeting that's in your own calendar out to an .ics file and compare them. Or use a POP account to send a meeting request to an account that you access with OE.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers