iCal (calendar export)

iCal (.ics extension) is the standard calendar exchange format, read by every calendar application on the market: Apple Calendar, Google Calendar, Outlook, Thunderbird, Fastmail, etc.

Omniscol offers two types of iCal export:

1. Static download

The Download button on a selected timetable. You get an .ics file to import into your calendar application. A snapshot at download time: it is not updated if the timetable changes afterwards.

Useful for sharing a one-off schedule by email.

2. Dynamic subscription link

The Download button on a timetable (or a teacher screen, etc.) generates an iCal subscription URL. Once copied into your calendar application as a subscription, the calendar updates automatically as the timetable evolves in Omniscol.

This is how each teacher and each student syncs their Omniscol timetable with their personal calendar, without having to re-download a file after every change.

Omniscol iCal links are signed, can expire, and are tied to the account that generated them. The expiration is embedded in the URL's token; to change it, generate a new link. A password change, a deactivation or a deletion of the holding account invalidates the associated links.

Synchronization and updates

The subscription iCal is refreshed by the calendar application, at a pace that varies by client:

• Apple Calendar: usually 5-15 min.
• Google Calendar: up to 24h in the worst case (but often faster).
• Outlook: varies.

This latency is inherent to the iCal protocol and does not depend on Omniscol — a change in the Omniscol timetable appears in the subscribed calendar as soon as it pulls the feed again.