How to Share Outlook Calendar With Others

To share your Outlook calendar, open the Calendar, select Share (or Share Calendar), enter the person's email address, pick a permission level such as Can view all details or Can edit, and select Share. The recipient gets an email invitation; once they accept, your calendar appears alongside theirs. The steps are slightly different in new Outlook for Windows, Outlook on the web, and classic Outlook, and sharing with people outside your organization has its own rules. This guide walks through every version, explains each permission level, and covers publishing a calendar as a public link.

How to share your Outlook calendar in new Outlook and on the web

New Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web (outlook.com) use the same interface, so the steps are identical.

1. Select the Calendar icon in the navigation pane.
2. On the Home tab, select Share calendar (in some layouts it is simply Share on the toolbar).
3. If you have more than one calendar, choose the one you want to share.
4. In the box, type the name or email address of the person you want to share with.
5. Select the permission level from the dropdown next to their name.
6. Select Share.

The person receives an email invitation. When they accept, your calendar shows up in their calendar list at the permission level you chose. You can change or revoke access at any time by returning to Share calendar and editing the entry, or selecting the trash icon to remove them.

How do I share my Outlook calendar in classic Outlook for Windows

Classic Outlook (the traditional ribbon desktop app) uses a Calendar Properties dialog instead of the inline panel.

1. Select Calendar at the bottom of the navigation pane.
2. On the Home tab, select Share Calendar and choose the calendar from the dropdown.
3. In the Calendar Properties dialog, select Add.
4. Search for or type the email addresses of the people you want to share with, then select OK.
5. Select each name, choose a permission level, and select OK.

Classic Outlook can also email a static snapshot: select E-mail Calendar on the Home tab to send a read-only view of a date range as a message, which is useful for one-off requests where ongoing access is overkill.

Before you set this up by hand, note that the slow part of calendar work is usually entering events, not sharing them. Highlight the event text anywhere in your browser, right-click, and the Text to Outlook Calendar extension creates the event for you - dates, times, and locations filled in automatically - so the calendar you are sharing actually stays current.

Outlook calendar permission levels explained

When you share, you decide exactly how much each person can see or do. Outlook offers these access levels:

• Can view when I'm busy - shows only your free/busy availability, with no event titles or details. Best for coordinating meeting times without revealing what you are doing.
• Can view titles and locations - shows availability plus the subject and location of each event, but not the body or attendees.
• Can view all details - shows the full content of every event, read-only. Good for an assistant or teammate who needs context but should not make changes.
• Can edit - the person can view everything and add, change, or delete events on your behalf.
• Delegate - the person can edit your calendar and also send and respond to meeting invitations on your behalf, plus optionally receive meeting requests. This is the highest level and should be reserved for an executive assistant or someone you fully trust.

Choose the lowest level that gets the job done. You can always upgrade someone later. For a deeper breakdown of who can do what, see our guide to Outlook calendar permissions.

Share your Outlook calendar with people outside your organization

Sharing externally (for example, with a Gmail address or a client in another company) works, but with limits.

1. Use Outlook on the web for the most reliable external sharing if you have a Microsoft 365 or Exchange Online mailbox.
2. Follow the same Share calendar steps above and enter the external email address.
3. Choose one of the view-only levels: Can view when I'm busy, Can view titles and locations, or Can view all details.

You cannot grant Can edit or Delegate access to people outside your organization - those levels are internal only. External recipients also get the best experience when they open the shared calendar with a Microsoft 365 or Outlook.com account; some other email providers will only show free/busy information. If you see a "This calendar can't be shared" message, your organization's admin has restricted external sharing, and you will need to publish the calendar instead (see below) or ask IT to enable it.

If the person you are sharing with lives in Google Calendar, you may find it simpler to sync your Outlook calendar with Google Calendar so both sides stay current automatically.

How to publish an Outlook calendar as a public link

Publishing creates a link anyone can open without an Outlook account at all - ideal for a team schedule, a public events calendar, or a website embed.

1. In Outlook on the web, select Settings (the gear icon).
2. Go to Calendar > Shared calendars.
3. Under Publish a calendar, choose the calendar and the level of detail to expose.
4. Select Publish.
5. Copy the links Outlook generates:
   • The HTML link opens a read-only view of your calendar in any web browser.
   • The ICS link lets people subscribe to your calendar in their own app (Outlook, Google Calendar, Apple Calendar) so updates flow through automatically.

Published calendars are view-only and accessible to anyone who has the link, so only publish information you are comfortable making public. To stop sharing, return to the same screen and select Unpublish.

Keeping a shared or published calendar useful means keeping it filled in. Rather than retyping every date from an email or webpage, highlight the details, right-click, and let the Text to Outlook Calendar extension turn them into a proper event in seconds. The first five events are free. If you are setting up a team calendar from scratch, our walkthrough on how to create a shared calendar in Outlook is the next step.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I share my Outlook calendar with someone?

Open the Calendar, select Share or Share Calendar, type the person's email address, choose a permission level such as Can view all details or Can edit, and select Share. They receive an email invitation, and once they accept, your calendar appears in their calendar list at the access level you selected.

What are the Outlook calendar permission levels?

Outlook offers five levels: Can view when I'm busy (availability only), Can view titles and locations, Can view all details (full read-only), Can edit (can add and change events), and Delegate (can edit plus send and respond to meeting invites on your behalf). Pick the lowest level that meets the person's needs.

Can I share my Outlook calendar with someone outside my organization?

Yes, but external sharing is limited to view-only levels: Can view when I'm busy, Can view titles and locations, or Can view all details. You cannot grant Can edit or Delegate access externally. If sharing is blocked entirely, your admin has restricted it, and you can publish the calendar as a link instead.

What is the difference between sharing and publishing an Outlook calendar?

Sharing invites specific people and requires them to accept, giving them access tied to their account. Publishing generates a public HTML or ICS link that anyone with the link can open or subscribe to without an Outlook account. Use sharing for individuals and publishing for a public or team-wide read-only calendar.

Why can't I share my Outlook calendar?

If you see a "This calendar can't be shared" message, your organization's administrator has likely disabled external calendar sharing, or you are trying to give edit/delegate access to someone outside your org, which isn't allowed. Try a view-only permission level, use Outlook on the web, or publish the calendar as a link instead.