How to Check Someone’s Calendar in Outlook 365?

If you don’t know how to check someone’s calendar in Outlook, then don’t worry, we will simply explain the entire procedure. We will provide you with the exact steps for your source calendar type, be it Outlook, offline ICS data, or some link you got from a colleague. Let us start with the most common method to access Outlook calendar, i.e., the browser.

Learn How to See Other Calendars in Outlook 365 Web Directory?

Step 1. Log in to Outlook.

Step 2. Go to the Calendar screen using the icon on the leftmost menu side.

Step 3. Toggle the slider pane via the three horizontal line icon.

Step 4. Click on Add Calendar.

If you don’t have an M365 business/enterprise subscription, then you won’t have access to Add from directory option. If available, click on it.

Step 5. Choose an account that will see someone else’s calendar.

Step 6. Pick a person/group/resource from your organization’s directory listing. This selection is limited to one at a time.

Step 7. People Calendars is the default selection; you can, however, change the calendar from the flyout menu.

Step 8. Once done, press Add

How do I See Other People’s Calendars in Outlook 365?

Subscribe to someone else’s calendar from the web.

Step 1. Ask for an .ics link from the real owner of the calendar.

Step 2. Put the link in the space assigned for it

Step 3. Fill in the name >> Select the “Add to” calendar and hit Import.

Note: If you use the HTML link in place of ics, you can get a Temporary Preview (Without adding the Calendar itself)

How to Add Someone’s Calendar in Outlook on the Web?

In the case where you have an on-device calendar in ICS format, you can upload it via the mechanism provided in the  Outlook web app.

Step 1. Find the ics file on your machine, hold the file with your cursor, and bring it to the browser, then release the cursor to trigger a file upload request.

Step 2. Choose a pre-existing Outlook calendar container for the file and press Import.

For professionals who prefer hard copies, you can even save Outlook calendar as a PDF document for easy sharing and record-keeping.

Moreover, if you don’t want to log in/log out repeatedly or already have a desktop client set up ,you can use it. Given below are the steps for it.

Steps for Checking Someone’s Calendar in Outlook Classic

There doesn’t seem to be any calendar request option. However, the feature-rich dashboard of the classic client allows for a multipronged calendar addition.

Step 1. Launch Outlook Classic Edition >> Visit the calendar tab.

Note: Should you encounter unresponsive calendar functionalities, refer to this guide to fix Outlook calendar not responding issues.

Step 2. In the Home menu bar, you will see a big + icon with the text Open calendar.

It contains all the available options.

From Address Book

Step 1. With this option, you can search & select any member inside the Offline Global Address List.

Step 2. Use Ctrl + A to select all, Shift + Arrow Keys/Cursor to make a continuous mass selection, or hold Ctrl Key and select a distributed list of calendars whose access you require.

Step 3. After selecting, click on the Calendar button to add these >> Press OK to confirm.

Every calendar you select will open up in the Dashboard; it may clutter the page, so deselect it from the left menu pane.

The Room List option is similar to user calendars, the only difference being that these contain available/occupied data of organizational resources.

How to check someone’s calendar in Outlook using the From Internet option. Get a .ics link from the owner, paste it in the pop-up, and press OK.

Open Shared Calendar allows you to select and view a calendar made public by any of your contacts.

How to See Someone Else’s Calendar on Outlook New Variant?

You will notice that the majority of the steps are almost identical to the ones discussed for Outlook Web. This is because the UI is the same, with the only difference being that on the desktop version, you can also access calendars outside Outlook/Hotmail/Microsoft, like Google, Yahoo, etc.

For Personal Account

Step 1.  Open the New Outlook Client.

Step 2. Toggle the Calendar screen via the vertical icon bar on the left side.

Step 3. Click on the 3 horizontal bars in the top left corner of the calendar list that are hidden from view.

Step 4. Press the Add Calendar button.

Account is Part of an M365 Business/Enterprise Subscription Plan

You will see an Add from directory option, click on it.

Step 1. Pick the account that will take ownership of someone else’s calendar.

Step 2. Select or search for a person/group/resource from the organization directory. Note: You can only select one ID at a time.

Step 3. Then, choose a calendar subsection from the dropdown list. By default, it is put inside the People Calendars  >> hit Add.

How to View a Calendar by Uploading a Copy?

In this option, you require an .ics link. So, ask the original calendar owner to provide it to you.

Step 1. Paste the link >> Type a suitable name.

Step 2. Add the color and charm sections (you can also set them later).

Step 3. Expand the Add to bar and pick a place from the list >> Press Import.

Alternatively, if you possess an offline calendar, go over to the Upload from File section.

Step 1. Then browse for the .ics file or drag and drop it directly on the dashboard.

Step 2. Pick a calendar where you want this data >> click on Import.

Desktop apps are just one means of viewing someone else’s calendar. Moreover, modern smartphones are more than capable of helping you see someone’s calendar on Outlook. Let’s see how.

Steps to View Someone Else’s Calendar on the Outlook Mobile App

The procedure you see here does not vary between Android and iOS, as every step takes place within the Outlook mobile application itself. However, if you are an Apple device holder and want a dedicated guide, check out how you can import Outlook calendar to iPhone/iPad calendar for better productivity on the go.

Step 1. Open the Outlook Mobile App >> Use the Bottom bar menu to switch to the calendars.

Step 2. Hit the calendar icon in the top left corner >> This expands the Left pane where you need to tap on the + icon.

Step 3. Three distinct options emerge: Add an account, Calendars on device, and Interesting Calendars.

• The first one opens a new sign-in portal from which you can add any secondary account and bring its calendar alongside.
• The second option fetches every account logged in on your mobile and brings in the corresponding calendars.
• Interesting Calendars are to be used when you want details of sports/other public events right on your Outlook mobile app.

GUI and apps are the paths that end users take to add and see others’ calendars. However, in an organization, it is the admin who can either enable/disable this calendar sharing.

So, ensure that the following settings are enabled in the admin center.

Admin Options to Allow Calendar Delegation in Outlook 365

Step 1. Visit the admin center >> From the left side pane, expand the Settings tab

Step 2. Go to Org settings >> Scroll and click on Calendar

Step 3. In the Right Pane, mark the checkboxes next to the permissions you want users to have. >> Once Done, hit Save.

If you want, you can visit the Exchange Online admin center and assign a more precise calendar sharing permission/rule. There is one more feature that admins can utilize.

PowerShell Script to Grant One User to See and Interact with Someone Else’s Calendar

# Connect to Exchange Online
Connect-ExchangeOnline

# Define variables
$calendarOwner = "[email protected]"
$delegateEmail = "[email protected]"
$permissionLevel = "Reviewer"

# Grant calendar access with CanViewPrivateItems flag
Add-MailboxFolderPermission -Identity "$calendarOwner:\Calendar" -User "$delegateEmail" 
-AccessRights $permissionLevel -SharingPermissionFlags CanViewPrivateItems

# Send notification email
$subject = "Calendar Sharing Notification"
$body = "You have been granted $permissionLevel access to $calendarOwner's calendar. 
You can now view and potentially edit (depending on the permissions granted) their calendar."

Send-MailMessage -From "Exchange Admin" -To $delegateEmail -Subject $subject -Body $body

This script modifies the calendar access and also informs the recipient about the change via email.

You can make your adjustments to the script to add more functionality

By default, only the admin can use these PowerShell commands to perform the calendar delegation; however, this can be changed if the recipient is given the ability ( i.e,. the appropriate role) to run these commands on their own.

Tip: Instead of explicitly assigning permissions on an individual basis, create a role group where you can add/remove users.

Here’s How to View Someone Else’s Calendar on Outlook in Bulk

In such scenarios, you can rely on the trusty SysTools Import PST to Office 365 Tool to bring offline calendar items into live Outlook 365 accounts. After which, thanks to the Microsoft Cloud sync feature, the calendars will be available on every device, from desktops to mobiles.

Download Purchase

The specific scenario where this tool shines is when you need to hand the editing rights of many different calendars to a single person

As the tool allows many-to-one mapping, one calendar admin can become the single point of control for managing events organization-wide.

Given below are the steps you can use to make the change.

Step 1. Install the software on your machine. Launch it and select the appropriate endpoints for the transfer process.

Step 2. Scroll down and mark the checkbox next to Calendar workload. You can apply a date filter, which ensures that only the items from that particular period are selected and made visible on your Outlook app.

Step 3. Browse for the source calendar file, bring it in, and validate. Wait for the green signal and then click Next.

Step 4. Perform an admin-level validation and hit Next.

Step 5. The user mapping screen allows for three distinct options to gather the user list: Fetch, Import, or Download as you please.

Step 6. Once the user list is available in the preview tab, select the ones who will become the de facto owner of the calendar, prioritize according to your liking, validate, and Start Import.

If the source calendar is part of the Google Workspace platform, then you can use a similar tool to perform a G Suite to Office 365 migration of only the calendar workloads.

Best Practices to Follow While Checking Someone’s Calendar in Outlook?

Always check the availability of a person by viewing their calendar before booking a meeting/interview/event with them in Outlook 365 or anywhere else.

Use color coding to distinguish between calendars. This will help you avoid scheduling clashes and manage the delegated tasks calendar more easily.

Don’t toggle every O365 calendar shared with you at once. If you do, your Outlook app may slow down or even crash. Plus it also increases the risk of mistakes. Only keep the ones you are managing at the moment and disable the rest.

Reasons Why You are Unable to View Someone’s Calendar in Outlook & How to Troubleshoot?

The most probable reason is that the owner has not shared the calendar with you. Confirm with them and try again.

Able to see a calendar on the Desktop but not on mobile. This is a common symptom when there is a syncing issue in your account. Check your internet connection, stop and restart the Outlook mobile app, or simply wait for the issue to resolve itself.

The calendar you got is blank. This can be a mistake on the part the owner; they may have given the wrong calendar to you. It may also be the case that the calendar is made private after sharing. Communication is key to resolve this confusion.

Conclusion

We hope that by reading this, you were able to find out how to check someone’s calendar in Outlook desktop client (both new and classic), web portal, and mobile app.

The different strategies proposed here cover everything from basic native GUI-based calendar viewing to the highly technical PowerShell modules.

Moreover, we have also included a professional solution useful in cases where there is an organization-wide request to see someone else’s calendar on Outlook.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q 1. Is there an account number limit on checking someone’s calendar in Outlook?
Ans. There is no explicit limit hard-coded into Outlook that prevents you from adding more calendars after a set number are already there. However, calendar management best practices state that you should not add more than 30. Organizations may set their own internal limit that is higher or lower than this general value.

Q 2. I am able to see a person’s O365 calendar, but when I try to change anything, I am not able to. Why so?
Ans. This is a classic case of a share permission mismatch. You expected to get the edit permissions, but you only received the view-only permission. It is not a big deal, ask the owner to

Q 3. Can I see who can check a particular Calendar Outlook?
Ans. If you are the owner, then yes, otherwise no.

Q 4. How many different people/accounts can check someone else’s calendar in Outlook at a time?
Ans. The answer to this is as many people as the owner has allowed access to. If too many people have edit access and try to make changes together, the sync operation may break down, and some people may no longer be able to look up someone’s schedule in Outlook for Windows.