The link opens an iCalendar (.ics) file that you create in your calendar app and upload to Dotdigital. Contacts download the file and open it to save the event. It isn't a calendar invite, so the event isn't added to their calendar automatically.
You can add a calendar link to a page or form in Surveys, pages, and forms, or to a triggered campaign, in the same way.
Before you start
You need your event saved as an ICS or ICAL file. The steps in this article use Microsoft Outlook. If you use a different calendar app, check its help for how to save or export an event as an ICS file.
The file must be 50MB or less. Learn more in Insert links into your campaign.
After you send your campaign, you can't change the calendar link or the file it opens. Replacing the file in the document manager doesn't update links in a sent campaign. If your event details change, create and send a new campaign with the updated file.
Required permissions
To use this feature, you must have the following user permission:
Edit campaigns
To add a calendar link to a page or form, you must also have the Surveys, pages, and forms permission.
Learn more in Manage user access and permissions.
1. Create and save your event
These steps use Microsoft Outlook.
Create your event in your Microsoft Outlook calendar.
Open the event in your Microsoft Outlook calendar and select File > Save As, ensure Save as type: is set as iCalendar Format (.ics file) Don't save the event in any other format, such as an Outlook message (.msg) file. You can't upload other formats to use as a calendar link.
Select Save.
2. Add your event to an email campaign
While creating or editing a campaign in EasyEditor, drag a text block onto the canvas.
Enter the text you want for your calendar link. For example, Add to your calendar.
Highlight the text, expand the Link drop-down menu, then select Link.
In the Add a link window, select Link to a document.
To upload your calendar invite, select Show document manager in the bottom right corner.
Under Upload new document, select Choose file, select your calendar invite, and then select Upload.
Close the Document manager window to go back to the Add a link window.
Under Select a document, select your calendar invite. If you can't see your file, select the folder you uploaded it to.
Select Insert.
Save and continue editing your campaign.
You can use a button instead of text. Select the Button block, then in the Settings panel, select Add a link. Then follow steps 4 to 10. Learn more in Buttons.
When contacts select the link, the ICS file downloads. They open the file to save the event to their calendar. How the file opens depends on their device and calendar app.
Test your calendar link
Before you send your campaign, send a test to yourself. Select the calendar link, open the file, and check that the event's date, time, and details are correct.
If you can, check the link on a phone as well as a computer.
If your calendar link doesn't work
If the file downloads but doesn't open, try opening the .ics file on your own computer. If it doesn't open there either, save the event from your calendar app again and upload the new file.
If the file opens on some devices but not others, the contact's device or calendar app is controlling how it opens. Dotdigital can't change this.
If you expect contacts to forward your email, use a text link instead of a button. Forwarding an email from Microsoft Outlook for Windows can stop button links from working.