How to Share a Calendar in Microsoft Outlook

Improving Team Coordination

If you work in a busy office, you know that scheduling a simple meeting can often turn into a frustrating game of email tennis. Asking three different colleagues when they are free for a quick chat often results in conflicting replies, forcing you to constantly cross-reference multiple schedules just to find a single 15-minute gap. This inefficiency drains productivity and wastes valuable time.

Microsoft Outlook solves this problem by allowing you to share your digital calendar directly with your colleagues. By granting your team access to your schedule, they can instantly see when you are blocked out for deep work, when you are out of the office, and when you have free time to collaborate. You can tightly control how much information they see; you can allow them to view all the details of your appointments, or you can restrict them to simply seeing blocks of time labelled as “Busy” or “Free”.

Sharing your calendar requires just a few clicks, and it is the single most effective way to improve coordination within any organisation that relies on the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.

How to Share Your Calendar (Outlook Desktop App)

If you use the traditional Outlook software installed on your Windows PC or Mac, follow these steps:

1. Open the Microsoft Outlook desktop application.
2. Look at the navigation panel in the bottom-left corner of the window (where you switch between Mail, Contacts, and Tasks) and click on the Calendar icon.
3. Once your calendar is visible on the screen, look up at the top ribbon menu. On the Home tab, find the section labelled “Share”.
4. Click the Share Calendar button. (If you have multiple calendars, a small drop-down menu will appear; select your primary work calendar).
5. A “Calendar Properties” window will pop up. Click the Add… button located in the middle of the window.
6. Your organisation’s address book will open. Search for the colleague you wish to share your calendar with, select their name, and click the Add button at the bottom. Click OK to close the address book.
7. You will now see your colleague’s name in the list. Select their name, and look at the Permissions section below.
8. Click the Permissions Level drop-down menu to choose how much information they can see. The most common options are:
   • Can view when I’m busy: They will only see blocks of time marked “Free,” “Busy,” or “Away.” They cannot see who you are meeting or where. (Highly recommended for general colleagues).
   • Can view titles and locations: They will see the titles of your meetings (e.g., “Budget Review”) but not the description or attachments.
   • Can view all details: They will see everything in your calendar.
9. Once you have selected the appropriate permission level, click Apply, then click OK.

Outlook will automatically send an email invitation to your colleague, containing a link they can click to instantly add your schedule alongside their own.

How to Share Your Calendar (Outlook on the Web)

If you access your emails through a web browser (Outlook.com or the Microsoft 365 portal), the process is even more straightforward.

1. Log into your account and open the Outlook web app.
2. Click the Calendar icon on the left-hand navigation sidebar.
3. Look at the top-right corner of the screen (next to the Settings gear icon) and click Share.
4. A small “Sharing and permissions” window will pop up.
5. In the box that says “Enter an email address or contact name,” type the name of the colleague you want to share with.
6. A drop-down menu will appear next to their name. Select the permission level you want to grant them (e.g., “Can view when I’m busy” or “Can view all details”).
7. Click the blue Share button.

How to Stop Sharing Your Calendar

If a colleague leaves the company or moves to a different department, you should revoke their access to your schedule to maintain privacy.

1. Open the Outlook desktop app and navigate to your Calendar.
2. Right-click on your calendar’s name in the left-hand sidebar (usually labelled “Calendar”) and select Sharing Permissions.
3. Find the person’s name in the list and click to highlight it.
4. Click the Remove button.
5. Click Apply, then click OK.

Their access is immediately revoked, and your calendar will disappear from their screen.