How to add a shared calendar in Outlook

If a colleague has shared their calendar with you, or you need to open a team or room calendar, follow the steps below for your device.

Opening a calendar someone has shared with you

When someone shares their calendar, you’ll usually receive an email invitation with an Accept button. Click it, and the calendar will appear in your calendar list. If you didn’t receive the email or it’s expired, you can add it manually.

Outlook on the web

1. Go to Calendar (click the calendar icon in the left sidebar).
2. Click Add calendar in the left pane.
3. Select Add from directory.
4. Type the person’s name or email address and select them.
5. Click Add. The calendar will appear under People’s calendars.

Outlook on Windows

1. Open the Calendar view.
2. In the ribbon, click Open Calendar (or Add Calendar in newer versions) > From Address Book.
3. Search for the person’s name, double-click it to add, then click OK.
4. The calendar will appear in the left pane under Shared Calendars.

Outlook on Mac

1. Open the Calendar view.
2. In the ribbon, click Open Shared Calendar (under the Organise or Home tab).
3. Type the person’s name or email address and press Enter.
4. Select the correct person from the results and click Open.

Opening a room or resource calendar

Meeting rooms and shared resources (projectors, pool cars, etc.) have their own calendars. To view one:

1. Follow the same steps as above for your device.
2. When searching, type the name of the room or resource instead of a person.
3. The calendar will appear in your list and you’ll be able to see when the resource is booked.

What you can see depends on permissions

The calendar owner controls how much detail you can see. You might see full event details, only free/busy times, or nothing at all. If you can see the calendar but the events just show as "Busy" with no details, the owner may need to update their sharing permissions. Ask them to share their calendar with you directly, or raise a support ticket if you need us to adjust permissions on a shared resource.

Removing a shared calendar

To remove a shared calendar you no longer need, right-click it in your calendar list and select Remove or Delete. This only removes it from your view. It doesn’t affect the original calendar or anyone else’s access.

Can’t find the calendar you’re looking for, or seeing a permissions error? Raise a support ticket and we’ll check the sharing settings.