Export Exchange calendar is a request almost all server admins are aware of. Having an offline always accessible event list is a requirement in many industries. However, there’s no magic switch that automatically transfers your appointments from the server to another system of your choice.
So admins may try to recreate multiple events offline often with little success. Moreover, if you attempt the export without a guide you’re likely to encounter a few challenges along the way. But don’t worry—this write-up lays out some solid, strategies to help you get the job done. Let us first finish up with the reasons for such a request.
Why Export Your Exchange Calendar?
There isn’t just one reason; various situations call for exporting your calendar. Here are some common scenarios:
- Backup and Data Security: Keeping a static snapshot of your calendar ensures you have a backup if data loss occurs or if you need to restore your appointments later.
- Migration: Whether you’re moving to another platform like Google Calendar or consolidating data from multiple sources, an export is a critical first step.
- Reporting and Integration: Export your calendar to CSV or ICS and then use that data in Excel or other analytics tools to generate insights and reports.
- Sharing and Collaboration: Sometimes you need to share a read-only, point-in-time version of your schedule with clients, partners, or team members who aren’t on Exchange.
Is It Really That Simple?
Let’s be upfront: exporting your Exchange calendar creates a static snapshot. This means any changes you make after the export won’t be automatically updated in your backup file. It’s not a live sync—just a one-time export that captures your calendar at that moment. Still, if you need a reliable way to transfer or archive your calendar data, this method will serve you well.
Steps to Export Your Exchange Calendar Using Microsoft Outlook
If you’re using the Outlook desktop client, follow these steps:
- Open Outlook: Launch the application and switch to the Calendar view.
- Select Your Calendar: In the left pane, choose the Exchange calendar you wish to export.
- Access the Export Wizard: Click the File tab, select Open & Export, and then click Import/Export.
- Choose Export Options:
- Select Export to a file and click Next.
- Pick your preferred file format:
- iCalendar (.ics): Ideal if you plan to import the calendar into another calendar app.
- Comma Separated Values (.csv): Best for importing the data into Excel or for further data analysis.
- Select the Calendar Folder: Scroll through your folder list, select the calendar you want to export, then click Next.
- Specify the Destination: Click Browse to choose a save location, name your file, and click OK.
- Map Custom Fields (Optional): If exporting as a CSV file, you can map custom fields to ensure details like subject, start time, and location are exported correctly.
- Finalize the Export: Set your desired date range if prompted, then click Finish to complete the process.
Steps to Export Your Exchange Calendar Using the Exchange Admin Center
For admins managing multiple accounts, these steps using the EAC might be more suitable:
- Log In to the EAC: Use your admin credentials to access the Exchange Admin Center.
- Select the Mailbox: Navigate to the Recipients section and choose the mailbox with the calendar you want to export.
- Initiate the Export: Depending on your organization’s setup, use tools like eDiscovery or the Compliance Center to select and export the calendar folder. Typically, you can choose a PST file for a full backup or CSV/ICS if you only need the calendar data.
- Follow the Prompts: Complete the export process by following the on-screen instructions, and then verify that all required calendar items have been included in the exported file.
Professionally Export Exchange Calendar
For this, the best possible choice is none other than the SysTools Exchange Export tool. This tool is entirely script-free, yet gives a wide range of filtering capabilities at output format, date, user, and priority levels.
The tool provides admins with the ability to adjust how many accounts are processed together. So even if you don’t have the top of the line hardware you can still ensure a smooth hurdle-free export.
Moreover, anyone regardless of technical background or not can learn to use the simple steps of the tool in no time. This is evident from the steps given below.
- Step 1. Start the tool on your machine and select the Exchange Server as the source and the file system as the destination (if you want an .ics file).
- Step 2. In the workload column only mark the checkbox next to the Calendars option and press Next.
- Step 3. Use the Source Screen to put in the Exchange Server details, and Validate them.
- Step 4. On the Destination screen select the path where you want the files to be in and Validate it as well.
- Step 5. Use any one of the available mapping options out of the Fetch, Import, or Download template.
- Step 6. View, make selections, prioritize among them, Validate, and start.
Conclusion
Here we taught you all the possible steps there are to export Exchange calendar data in the shortest possible time.
We covered the method involving Outlook clients, what PowerShell scripts to use, and how the EAC can help out in this task.
However, none of the manual methods can match the speed and accuracy of the professional tool whose steps are also explained in the writeup itself.