How to add an .ics file to your email

You will learn

• How it works
• How to capture an .ics file from your tool
• Known limitations and behaviors
• Cloning an email with an .ics file
• Why Workshop only supports attaching one .ics file
• Alternative options to send an .ics file in Workshop

How it works

1. Compose your email as usual in Workshop — regular or automated email.

2. Upload your .ics file using the attachment option.

3. Workshop will automatically read the event details — including event title, date, and time — so you can verify everything looks correct before sending.

Downloading an .ics file from your calendar or webinar tool

Before uploading your .ics file to Workshop, you’ll need to capture or download it from your event source. The steps vary slightly depending on the tool or platform you’re using:

Google Calendar

Below are two methods that could be used to download a .ics file from Google

Option 1:

1. Open Google Calendar in your browser
2. Create a new event and add an email address you have access to, or a colleague as an attendee
3. Save the event
4. The attendee you invited will receive an email, at the bottom of that email will be an invite.ics file that you can download 
5. Attach the invite.ics file in Workshop

Option 2:

1. In Google Calendar (web), on the left under “My calendars”, hover the calendar the event is on.

2. Click the three dots (⋮) → Settings and sharing.

3. Scroll down to “Export calendar” and click it.

   • This downloads a .zip containing an .ics file for the entire calendar (or the selected calendar).

4. Unzip the file and open the .ics in a text editor (VS Code, Notepad, etc.).

5. Search for the UID or summary of your event (e.g., SUMMARY:test event).

6. Copy everything from:

   BEGIN:VEVENT
   ...
   END:VEVENT
   

7. Paste that into a new file, and wrap it with the calendar headers:

   BEGIN:VCALENDAR
   VERSION:2.0
   PRODID:-//Your Org//Your Calendar//EN
   BEGIN:VEVENT
   ...your event block...
   END:VEVENT
   END:VCALENDAR
   

8. Save that file as myevent.ics.

9. Attach the invite.ics file in Workshop

Outlook (Microsoft 365 / Exchange)

1. Open your event in Outlook Calendar (web or desktop).

2. Click File → Save As (desktop) or More actions (⋯) → Download .ics (web).

3. Save the file to your computer — it will have the .ics extension.

4. Attach the file in Workshop.

Note: If your organization uses Microsoft Teams integration, the event’s meeting link will be included in the exported file.

Apple Calendar (iCal / iCloud)

1. Open the Calendar app and double-click your event.

2. Go to File → Export → Export.

3. Choose a destination and save your .ics file.

4. Upload the file in Workshop to include it in your email.

Zoom Webinars or Meetings

1. Schedule your meeting or webinar in Zoom.

2. Once it’s created, click Add to Calendar.

3. Choose Outlook, Google, or Yahoo — each option will generate a downloadable .ics file.

4. Download the file and attach it in Workshop.

Tip: If you’re using Zoom Events or Zoom Webinars, you can find the “Add to Calendar” or “Download .ics” link on the event’s registration page.

Microsoft Teams Webinars

1. In Teams Calendar, click the arrow next to + New meeting → Webinar.

2. Enter your details and click Save.

3. Open the webinar event and select Add to calendar → Download .ics file (or “Publish site” for registration link).

4. Upload the .ics file to Workshop.

Known limitations and behaviors

Receiving calendar invites 

When you include an .ics calendar invite in a Workshop email, the way it behaves depends on the recipient’s email client and calendar system. Here’s what to expect:

Outlook behavior

Outlook will automatically add a tentative placeholder event to the recipient’s calendar as soon as the email is received — even without being opened or accepted — and this behavior is enabled by default across Outlook and Exchange environments on both desktop and web.

One optional setting to note in Outlook — one can configure to automatically delete meeting requests and notifications from the Inbox after a recipient responds (Accept/Tentative/Decline). Because .ics files capture a response, Outlook may treat a Workshop email with an attached .ics as a meeting request, meaning the Workshop email can be deleted immediately after the recipient responds, along with any additional context, instructions, or links in the message. This setting can be controlled at the Microsoft tenant level, and we recommend disabling it if your organization sends .ics files via Workshop.

Gmail / Google calendar behavior

By default, Google Calendar does not automatically add new invitations for all users, so an admin setting change is required. 

A Google Workspace administrator must navigate to Admin Console → Apps → Google Workspace → Calendar → Sharing Settings and set Add invitations to calendar → From everyone. This configuration can be applied either organization-wide or to specific organizational units (OUs). Once enabled, .ics files sent through Workshop will automatically appear as placeholder events on recipients’ calendars, mirroring Outlook’s default behavior.

Apple Mail / iCloud behavior

Apple Mail / iCloud Calendar will not automatically apply a calendar invite when an .ics file is received.
Recipients must open the message and manually accept the invitation to have it added to their calendar.

Viewing RSVPs for calendar invites 

Today, RSVP tracking is not supported when sending calendar invites through Workshop.

Unfortunately, while this approach allows events to appear automatically on recipients’ calendars, it does impact how attendee response data is collected.

As a result, responses do not show up within Workshop nor, within the calendar system. 

Recommendation: Send a calendar invite out via Workshop when responses are not required. 

Changing or editing a calendar invite after sending

Once an .ics file has been sent through Workshop, event updates behave differently depending on the recipient’s email and calendar system.

To make updates to an event:

1. Update the event in your calendar platform.
2. Export a new .ics file.
3. Attach the updated .ics file to a new Workshop email.
4. Send the updated email to recipients. 

Outlook behavior

For Outlook and Microsoft 365 recipients, resending an updated .ics file may update the original calendar event on recipients’ calendars.

However, we have seen inconsistent behavior across different Outlook environments and Exchange configurations. In some cases:

• The original event updates successfully
• Recipients receive both the original and updated versions
• The update is treated as an entirely new event

Because Outlook behavior can vary by organization and configuration, we recommend only sending .ics files once event details are finalized whenever possible.

Gmail/Google calendar behavior

Google Calendar does not support updating the original event through resent .ics files.

If you resend an updated .ics file to Gmail or Google Calendar recipients:

• The updated invite will appear as a completely new calendar event
• The original event will remain on the recipient’s calendar
• Recipients may need to manually delete the outdated event

For this reason, if your event details are likely to change frequently, consider:

• Linking to an external registration or event page instead of attaching an .ics file
• Waiting until event details are finalized before sending the calendar invite

Virtual meeting links

Virtual meeting links will not be sent with the .ics file. When Workshop generates the email for the .ics file, it overrides the body content, which removes the Outlook-generated link. If you need to send a virtual meeting link via email, make sure to include it in the body of the email in Workshop. 

Cloning an email with an .ics file

You can clone any email that includes an attached .ics calendar file.

When cloning:

• Workshop checks whether the calendar event is still active.
• If the event date has already passed or the event has been canceled, the .ics file will not carry over to the cloned email.

This helps prevent outdated events from being reused accidentally.

One .ics file per email

Right now, Workshop supports one .ics attachment per email — and that’s by design.

Most email clients handle multiple calendar files inconsistently. Some merge them, others ignore additional events, and some only display the first file.

By limiting to one event per email, Workshop ensures:

• A predictable, consistent experience for all recipients

• No confusion or conflicts across calendar systems

Alternative Options

If you prefer not to attach the .ics (or want a secondary path for recipients), you can still help users add the event with these two options:

Option 1: Link to a Downloadable .ics from the Media Library

Use a button or text link that downloads the .ics file.

1. Upload your .ics file

   • Go to Media Library in Workshop and upload the .ics.

2. Insert a button or text link

   • In the editor, add a Button or highlight text for the “Add to Calendar” link.

3. Link the file

   • With the element selected, open the right-hand Link panel → choose Link File → select your .ics → Insert.

4. Test

   • Send yourself a test and confirm it downloads and opens in Google/Outlook/Apple Calendar.

Tip: For best compatibility, your .ics should include METHOD:REQUEST and list each recipient as an ATTENDEE when you’re sending to known individuals.

Option 2: Link to an External Event/Registration Page

Great for webinars (Teams, Zoom, etc.) or events that manage RSVPs externally.

Microsoft Teams Webinar (example)

1. In Teams Calendar, click the arrow next to + New meeting → Webinar → enter details → Save.

2. Click Publish site (top right) and copy the Event Registration Link (⚠️ not the “Join Meeting Now” link).

3. In Workshop, add a Button or link text (e.g., “Register for the Webinar”), paste the registration URL, and test the link.

You can copy the registration link from the Webinar setup page or from your Teams calendar after publishing.