Differences Between Calendar Publishing, Calendar Sharing and Delegate Access
It is very important to understand the differences among Calendar Publishing, Calendar Sharing and Delegate Access in order to choose the best option depending on your needs.
The main differences between sharing a calendar and publishing an internet calendar is that the first option is available only to members (mailboxes) inside the same organization and using exclusively Outlook or Webmail (Outlook Web App or OWA) whereas the second option allows you to reach as well people outside of your organisation no matter of the platfrom used (i.e. Google Calendar or iOS). In both cases the owner of the calendar controls how much detail others can see.
Delegate Access is strictly linked to Calendar Sharing and lets others schedule meetings on behalf of the owner.
By publishing an Outlook Calendar as an Internet Calendar you create special URLs that you can give to people outside your organization.
One URL (tipically ending with .ics) lets the recipient subscribe to your calendar by using Outlook or Webmail (Outlook Web App or OWA), while the other lets the recipient view your calendar as a webpage in a web browser.
You can control how much detail others can see but you have less control as with Calendar Sharing.
Calendar Publishing is a very practical solution if:
- you want to reach a vast audience;
- you need to include recipients outside the EUI;
- you want recipents to only view your calendar (not to add and/or edit events).
To learn more about calendar publishing, see How to Publish an Outlook Calendar as an Internet Calendar.
Calendar Sharing is more powerful as it allows for users to invite people inside their organisation to see their calendar and, if proper access is granted, even to add or edit events. Users who share their calendars can specify how much detail the recipients can see and/or modify.
Please note that even if users don’t share their calendars, others in their organization can still see free or busy information (so-called Free/Busy Time).
Users can give recipients access to more detail when they share their calendar compared to Calendar Publishing.
Calendar sharing is available mainly in Outlook or Webmail (Outlook Web App or OWA) where you can display a shared calendar next to yours.
Please note you can NOT share your calendar with people outside your own organization.
Calendar Sharing should be used if:
- you want to share your calendar with a restricted audience (such as your work unti);
- you do not need to include recipenjts outside of the EUI;
- you want to detail sharing access;
- you want others to schedule events on your behalf.
Delegate Access lets Outlook users give permission to someone in the same organisation to see all of the details of their appointments and schedule meetings on their behalf.
It can be used as well to let members of the same organization see other Outlook folders (such as Inbox or Sent Items) as well as send mail on behalf of the owner.
Access delegation is available in Outlook but NOT in Webmail (Outlook Web App or OWA).
To learn more about delegating access, see How to Send on Behalf of Another Account.
Page last updated on 20 August 2017