The basic steps to share your Outlook calendar

To share your calendar in Outlook, you first open the calendar you want to share, right-click on it in the left sidebar, and select "Sharing and permissions." From there you can add specific people by their email address and choose what they can see — whether they view only free/busy time, see all event details, or edit the calendar themselves. The person you share with gets an email invitation and can accept it to add your calendar to their own Outlook.

The exact steps differ slightly depending on whether you use Outlook on the web, Outlook desktop for Windows, or Outlook for Mac. All three versions have the sharing feature, but the menu paths are not identical. This guide covers the most common setup: Outlook on the web and Outlook desktop for Windows, since those are where most workplace sharing happens.

Key Takeaways

  • You can share your calendar with specific people and control whether they see only your free/busy time, all event details, or can edit events themselves.
  • The person you share with receives an email invitation and must accept it before your calendar appears in their Outlook.
  • Shared calendars stay linked to your account — if you delete an event, it disappears from everyone's view, and you remain the owner.
  • You can change or remove sharing permissions at any time by going back to the sharing settings, and the other person loses access when ready.

Sharing your calendar in Outlook on the web

Log into Outlook.com or your organization's Outlook web portal. On the left sidebar, find the calendar you want to share — usually labeled "Calendar" if it is your main one. Right-click on the calendar name and select "Sharing and permissions" from the menu that appears.

A panel opens on the right side of the screen. Click "Add people" and type the email address of the person you want to share with. Below their name, you will see three permission levels: "Can view when I'm busy," "Can view all details," or "Can edit." Choose the level that matches what you want them to do. "Can view when I'm busy" shows only whether you are free or booked, without event titles or descriptions. "Can view all details" shows them everything on your calendar. "Can edit" lets them add, change, or delete events on your calendar as if it were their own.

Click "Share" and Outlook sends them an email invitation. They need to open that email and click the link to accept the invitation before your calendar shows up in their Outlook. Once they accept, your calendar appears in their left sidebar under "Other calendars," and they can view or edit it depending on the permission you set.

Sharing your calendar in Outlook desktop for Windows

Open Outlook and go to the Calendar view. In the left sidebar under "My calendars," right-click on the calendar you want to share and select "Properties." A dialog box opens. Click the "Permissions" tab at the top.

In the Permissions tab, you will see a list of people who already have access (usually just yourself). Click "Add" to add a new person. Type their name or email address in the box that appears. Once you add them, highlight their name and choose a permission level from the dropdown menu below: "None," "Reviewer," "Contributor," or "Editor." "Reviewer" means they can see all details but not change anything. "Contributor" lets them add new events but not edit or delete existing ones. "Editor" gives them full control to add, change, and delete events.

Click "OK" to save. Outlook sends them a notification (the exact format depends on your organization's setup), and once they accept, your calendar appears in their Outlook. Unlike the web version, the desktop version sometimes adds the calendar without a formal acceptance step if you are on the same organization's network.

What happens when you share with someone outside your organization

If the person you want to share with uses a different email provider or organization, the process is the same, but the invitation email is more important. They will receive an email from you or from Outlook asking them to accept the sharing invitation. They click the link in that email, and if they have an Outlook account (even a free one), the calendar is added to their account.

If they do not have an Outlook account, they can still view your calendar through a web link, but you have to set that up differently. Instead of sharing with a specific person, you generate a public link to your calendar and send it to them. In Outlook on the web, go to Sharing and permissions, scroll down to "Share as a link," and toggle "Create a link." Copy the link and send it to them — they can open it in any web browser without needing an Outlook account. Be aware that a public link shows your calendar to anyone who has the link, so only use this for calendars you are comfortable sharing widely.

Changing or removing calendar sharing

You can change what someone can see or do on your calendar at any time. In Outlook on the web, go back to Sharing and permissions, find the person's name in the list, and click the permission level dropdown to choose a new one. In Outlook desktop, go to Calendar Properties, Permissions tab, highlight their name, and change the dropdown. Click OK to save.

To stop sharing with someone entirely, find their name in the sharing list and click the remove or delete button (usually an X or a trash icon). They lose access when ready — the calendar disappears from their Outlook, and they cannot see any of your events anymore. You do not need to notify them separately; the removal is automatic.

Common problems and what to do about them

If someone says they received your sharing invitation but cannot find your calendar in their Outlook, ask them to check their email for a message from Microsoft or from your email address. Sometimes the invitation lands in their spam or junk folder. If they find it there, they should mark it as "not spam" and click the acceptance link. If they cannot find the invitation at all, you can resend it by going back to Sharing and permissions and clicking "Resend invitation" next to their name.

If you share your calendar and then delete an event, that event disappears from everyone's view — there is no separate copy on their end. The same is true if you edit an event: the change shows up when ready for everyone who has access. This is different from forwarding a calendar file, where each person gets their own copy. With Outlook sharing, everyone is always looking at the same live calendar.

If you want to share only certain events rather than your entire calendar, Outlook does not have a built-in way to do that. Your options are to create a separate calendar just for the events you want to share, or to invite people to specific events instead of sharing the whole calendar. When you create an event and invite someone, they see only that event, not your entire schedule.

Shared calendars versus calendar invitations

Sharing a calendar is different from inviting someone to a single event. When you share a calendar, the person sees your entire schedule (or the parts you let them see) all the time. When you invite someone to an event, they get a one-time invitation to that specific meeting, and they can accept or decline. Most team scheduling uses both: you might share your calendar so teammates can see when you are free, and then invite them to specific meetings you want them to attend.

If you only need someone to see one or two events, sending them an invitation is simpler than sharing your whole calendar. If you need them to see your availability over time — for example, a manager checking your schedule or a colleague coordinating recurring meetings — sharing the calendar is the better choice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I share my calendar with a group or team instead of individual people?

Outlook does not let you share directly with a group email address, but you can share with each person individually. If your organization uses Microsoft Teams, you can add a calendar to a Teams channel, which is faster for group sharing. Otherwise, you have to add each team member's email one at a time to the sharing list.

What if I share my calendar and then want to keep some events private?

Mark those events as "Private" when you create them. People with "Can view all details" permission will see that an event exists and that it is marked private, but they cannot see the event title or description. If you use "Can view when I'm busy," private events show you as busy but do not reveal any details.

If someone edits an event on my shared calendar, can I undo it?

No — Outlook does not have an undo feature for shared calendars. If someone makes a change you do not want, you have to edit it back manually or ask them to fix it. If you are worried about accidental changes, give people "Reviewer" or "Can view all details" permission instead of "Editor" or "Can edit."

Does the person I share with see my calendar in real time?

Yes. When you add, edit, or delete an event, it updates on their screen within a few seconds. They do not have to refresh or sync anything — the change appears automatically.

Can I share a calendar that someone else shared with me?

No. You can only share calendars you own. If someone shares their calendar with you, you can view it or edit it (depending on the permission they gave you), but you cannot share it with a third person. If you need a third person to see that calendar, ask the original owner to share it with them directly.