Import Calendar in Google Sheets – Best Ways

Management of calendars plays an important role for everyone, including professionals and businesses that are based on scheduling platforms such as Google Calendar, Outlook, and Apple Calendar. These applications are perfect for scheduling, but they provide limited flexibility in analyzing data, reporting, or structured sharing. Due to this reason, the spreadsheet format becomes important to know how to import calendar in Google Sheets.

In this article, you will learn several ways to import calendar data into Google Sheets through both user-friendly and expert-oriented solutions. We will also cover how the Excel format works well with this process.

Common Reasons to Import Calendar Data into Spreadsheets

The spreadsheet format allows flexibility that calendar applications do not offer. In this section, we will explore various reasons why we need import calendar in Google Sheets before diving into the methods.

• The Google Sheets format helps in easy reporting and analysis of events.
• It provides the feature of custom formatting and filtering.
• Helps in sharing the calendar schedules with non-calendar users.
• This format archives calendar events for compliance or records.
• Spreadsheets convert data for an Excel-based workflow.

Now, let us move to various manual solutions for converting calendar data into easy accessible Google Sheets format.

Understanding of Calendar File Format

The calendar applications mostly export data in ICS format. An ICS file contains data like:

• Events details
• Dates and Times
• Time zones
• Locations
• Descriptions and reminders

But Google Sheets does not open an ICS file directly. This is why users need conversion approaches to transform calendars into Google Sheets.

#1. Import Calendar in Google Sheets through Google Calendar

It is the most used method when you are working with Google Calendar. The step instruction is given below:

1. Export Calendar from Google Calendar:
   • Open the Google Calendar application on your system.
   • Then, move to Settings and click on the Import & Export option.
   • After this, choose the export option to download the calendar as a ZIP file.
   • Then, extract the zip ICS file.
2. Upload ICS to Google Drive:
   • First, Open Google Drive.
   • And then, insert the extracted ICS file.
3. Convert ICS to CSV:
   • Right-click the file, then choose the Open with option, and select Google Docs.
   • Or use an external converter to change the ICS file to CSV format.
4. Import CSV into Google Sheets:
   • Now open Google Sheets on your device.
   • And click on the file tab and choose the Import option.
   • Now, upload the CSV file into it.
   • At last, choose the ” Insert new sheet” option.

#2. Use Excel Conversion to Add Calendar into Spreadsheet Format

This approach helps users who want to import calendar in Google Sheets for reporting or the creation of a dashboard. Also, many users choose Excel as an intermediate step because it handles calendar conversion in a better way. The steps are as follows:

1. You need to open the Microsoft Excel app.
2. Then, go to the File option and click on the Open button.
3. Now, select the ICS file, and then Excel converts calendar data into a table.
4. After this, save the file in CSV format.
5. At last, upload the CSV file into Google Sheets.

#3. Import Calendar in Google Sheets Through Google Apps Script

This method is powerful, but it requires coding knowledge. Also, it is used by advanced users and developers who need to add a calendar into spreadsheet frequently. The following steps are provided below:

1. Go to the Browser and open Google Sheets.
2. Then, navigate to the Extensions tab and click on the Apps Script option.
3. Now, write a script using CalendarApp.getEvents() feature.
4. After that, map the event data to the sheet columns.
5. Finally, run the script and authorise access.

1. Download and install the aforementioned software.
2. Then, click on the Add file option and import the .ics file.
3. After that, choose the output format as CSV from the export list.
4. Now, click on the Browse option to select the location for the output file.
5. At last, tap on the Export button to begin the conversion process.

Best Practises for Safe Calendar Imports

We have also discussed some of the best practises, which will ensure accurate results when you import calendar in Google Sheets.

• You should always keep a backup of the original ICS files.
• Use CSV format for better compatibility.
• Avoid using repeated manual conversions to remove errors.
• Choose an automated method for large file imports.

Final Takeaway

In this blog, we have learned how to import calendar in Google Sheets using 4 user-friendly methods, which include both manual and professional solutions. We have also mentioned the reasons to import the calendar in Excel. The manual method includes Google Calendar, Excel-based conversion, Apps Script and an automated way which is useful for large calendar data. It offers accuracy and fast processing results, helping you to easily add calendar in spreadsheet format.