Free tool
Add an event to any calendar.
Paste a link into an email or a page. The other person confirms once.
Add a title to generate links.
- Outlook
- Yahoo
- ICS file
How to create an Add to Calendar link
Enter the title, the place, the meeting URL, and the start and end. Pick the time zone the event is held in. Each reader's calendar converts that time to their own zone.
Choose Google, Outlook, or Yahoo and copy the link. The ICS download is the fourth option, and it is the only one that includes a reminder.
Paste the link where the reader already is: the body of an email, a button on a page, or a line in a post. They open it, see the event filled in, and confirm once.
Leave the repeat count empty when the event should continue. Set a count when it should stop after a known number of times. A weekly rule with a count of four is four occurrences, not four months.
Where to use it
A webinar thank-you page and the confirmation email both need the same event. Put one link in each so the guest can save the session without retyping the time.
A product launch email can carry the announcement and a calendar link under it. The reader saves the date without leaving the mail.
A newsletter event section can list one link per event. Each link is independent, so a reader adds only the sessions they want.
A blog post that announces a talk or a release can end with the link. The post stays the record, and the calendar holds the time.
A landing page can place the link under the registration call to action, after the reader has already decided to attend.
A social post or a link in a bio can use the same URL. Shorten it if the network needs a short link. The destination is still the calendar compose page.
Google, Outlook, Yahoo, and Apple
Google, Outlook, and Yahoo each get a web link from this page. Apple Calendar has no public compose URL, so Apple uses the ICS download on the same form.
Repeating events
Daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly rules are written on the Google link and in the ICS file. Outlook and Yahoo open the event, and those URLs do not include the repeat rule.
Questions
Do I need an account?
No. The links are built in your browser as you type. OnlyBusy does not receive the title, the time, or the meeting URL, and there is no signup and no cap on how many links you make.
Which calendars can open the link?
Google, Outlook, and Yahoo each get a web link. The other person sees the details already filled in and confirms once. Apple Calendar has no public web URL for this, so Apple uses the ICS download, which also opens in any app that imports iCalendar files.
Do reminders travel with the web links?
No. A reminder is written only into the ICS file, as a VALARM. Google, Outlook, and Yahoo URLs do not carry a reminder. After the event is added, set the reminder in that calendar app.
Does a repeating event stay repeating?
Daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly rules are on the Google link and in the ICS file. If you set a repeat count, that count is included. Leave the count empty and the rule has no end. Outlook and Yahoo open the event, but those URLs do not include the repeat rule.
Where does a meeting link go?
The ICS file stores the meeting URL as its URL property. Google, Outlook, and Yahoo links place that same URL in the description so the other person can click to join.
Can I use the link as a button?
The link and a button are the same URL. Paste it into the href of an anchor, for example Add to Google Calendar, and style the anchor with the page you already have. Mailchimp, HubSpot, and a plain email body all accept that URL.
Writing a private Busy block into someone else's Outlook or Google calendar is a different job, covered in show busy on Google Calendar and Outlook without sharing the event.