# How do I open an ics file?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-open-an-ics-file/539094>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 11, 2010, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-open-an-ics-file/539094 "2010-05-11T20:35:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\
**Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-open-an-ics-file/539094/1 "2010-05-11T20:35:30Z")

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I’m running Windows XP. I’ve received some ics files, and haven’t yet found a way to open them. Trying to get Windows to find a program to do this and googling on _how to open ics files_ have not helped, everything I’ve found is confusing to me. Can someone tell me what I need to do to open these files?

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**Author:** ![JXJohns](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jxjohns/32/469_2.png) [@JXJohns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JXJohns)\
**Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-open-an-ics-file/539094/2 "2010-05-11T20:37:55Z")

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> **[ICS File - What is an .ics file and how do I open it?](https://fileinfo.com/extension/ics)**
>
> Learn about .ICS files and view a list of programs that open them.

.ics is a calendar file. You will need a calendar manager such as outlook or exchange to open it.

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**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\
**Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-open-an-ics-file/539094/3 "2010-05-12T00:03:12Z")

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They are text files, so if you want to look at the contents without the benefit of a friendly GUI, you can open them with an editor such as Notepad. The [wiki entry](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icalendar) has information on what the various fields mean.

If you have a Gmail account, you can email the files to yourself as attachments. When you view them through the website, it will automatically display an **Add to calendar** link.

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**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\
**Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-open-an-ics-file/539094/5 "2014-09-09T13:23:46Z")

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Reported.

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**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\
**Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-open-an-ics-file/539094/6 "2014-09-09T13:32:20Z")

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no points on the PAT.