Create an ICS file from an email

Short answer: copy the text of the email, paste it below, check the title, date, time and place, and download an .ics file. The Subject line becomes the title. The email is read in your browser and goes nowhere else.

How to turn an email into a calendar file

1. Open the email and select its text, the Subject line included.
2. Paste it into the box above.
3. Check the title, date, time and place. Fix what is wrong.
4. Press "Download .ics file" and open it, or attach it to your reply.

What it picks up from an email

• Title: a "Subject:" line, otherwise a word like meeting, interview or webinar.
• Date and time: in sentences or in labelled lines such as "Date:" and "Time:".
• Place: a "Location:" or "Where:" line, a street address, or a name after "at".
• Several dates: an agenda with one date per line becomes one card per line.

The rest of the email is not copied into the event, so you can add the parts you want in the Notes field.

Gmail and Outlook can do some of this

Gmail can offer a "Create event" button for emails that contain a time, and Outlook can turn an email into a meeting with its "Meeting" button. They only work inside that mail program. This page is for the cases they do not cover: an email in another program, an invitation in a forwarded message, a plain text agenda, or a calendar you cannot reach from your mail.

Send the event on

Attach the downloaded file to a reply, or use "Copy share link" under the event card to send a link that lets the other person pick Google Calendar, Outlook, Yahoo or a file. Guests can be added under "More options". For a button you can paste into a newsletter, see the add to calendar link generator.

How to use the file

• Google Calendar: open the downloaded file, or use Settings, Import and export, Import.
• Outlook: double-click the file, or use File, Open and export, Import/Export.
• Apple Calendar: double-click the file and choose the calendar to add it to.
• iPhone and Android: open the file from your email or your Files app and choose your calendar app.

More detail in our guides to importing an .ics file into Google Calendar, Outlook and Apple Calendar and to opening an .ics file on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android.

When the invitation is a screenshot or a PDF

Plans often arrive as a screenshot, a chat or a PDF you cannot copy from. Yotei is a Windows and Mac app that reads the event from your screen: press a shortcut, drag a box around it, check the details and confirm. It adds the event to Google Calendar, Outlook or iCloud directly. See how Yotei works, or test it yourself in your browser.

Get Yotei for free

FAQ

Can I create an ICS file from an email?

Yes. Copy the email text, paste it in the box, check the details and download the file.

Is the email uploaded?

No. The text is read in your browser and nothing is sent to a server.

Does it work with Outlook and Gmail emails?

Yes, it works with any text. It does not matter which mail program the email came from.

What if the email has several dates?

Put one date per line, or paste an agenda with date headings, and each date becomes an event in the same file.

Will the file contain the whole email?

No. Only the title, date, time, place and the notes you add. That keeps private details out of a file you share.

Can I attach the file to an email?

Yes. Most mail programs show an attached .ics file with an "Add to calendar" button.