Outlook update interval for iCal subscriptions (webcal: //)

Question

When Outlook 2007 and 2010 subscribe to an online calendar (via the webcal:// link to an iCalendar or vCalendar file), how often do they automatically update? Is there a way to configure this, either in the downloaded file, or in the Outlook settings? I know that a file can specify the minimum update interval (via the X-PUBLISHED-TTL field), but I see no way to explicitly indicate the recommended interval.

Answer 1

Outlook relies on the X-PUBLISHED-TTL custom property to set the download frequency, but if you don’t specify it in the file you subscribed to, there is no way to force Outlook to refresh the frequency (or Google calendar).

Answer 2

For Outlook 2013, if you click send / receive, which also syncs calendars. To adjust this interval, go to File> Options> Advanced, then scroll down to find Sending / Receiving. There you can find options for setting intervals for automatic sending / receiving.

Answer 3

(My answer since March 2014 no longer works.)

To trick Outlook into updating your online calendar, go to

File :: Account Settings :: Account Settings (button) :: Internet Calendars (tab)

Then select the calendar you want to update, click "Change ...", enter a space in the description (or delete the space), then click OK.

Your calendar must be updated.

Answer 4

Due to the fact that many calendars are integrated into the cloud, these settings (X-PUBLISHED-TTL and REFRESH-INTERVAL) no longer work in Google Calendar and in many new versions of Outlook. I checked it myself.

If you think about it, Google and Outlook are likely to intentionally ignore any specified refresh rate to prevent DNS attacks. In fact, with millions of built-in calendars on their systems, some people can set the refresh rate every second, and if they obey these settings, it can lead to a failure of their servers. Therefore, it is likely that they are updated whenever they want.

Answer 5

I have Outlook 2017. In the "Send / Receive" section, you can select "Send / Receive Groups", and then define a new group for the Internet calendar with a unique synchronization time.