Subscribe to an iCal Feed

Import external calendars into your SOGo 5 calendar — public holidays, team calendars, or any .ics feed available online.

Prerequisites

• A SOGo 5 account with valid credentials
• You are logged into SOGo 5
• A URL to an iCal feed (.ics file or CalDAV endpoint)

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Find an iCal Feed URL

You need the web address (URL) of an iCal feed. Common examples:

Source	Example URL: Calendar address example
Public holidays	https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/.../basic.ics
Team calendar	https://teamup.com/.../events.ics
Shared SOGo 5 calendar	https://sogo.example.com/SOGo/dav/username/calendar/shared/

Step 2: Open Calendar Settings

1. Click Calendar in the sidebar
2. Locate the calendar list on the left side
3. Click the gear icon ⚙ next to the calendar section header
4. Select Subscribe to URL

Step 3: Enter the Feed URL

In the subscription dialog:

1. URL: Paste the iCal feed URL
2. Name: Enter a display name (e.g., "German Holidays")
3. Color: Choose a calendar color for visibility

Step 4: Configure Sync Options

Option	Description: What this option does
Refresh interval	How often to check for updates (every hour, daily, etc.)
Remove reminders	Strip alarm information from external events
Remove attachments	Don't download external file attachments

Recommended defaults: Refresh daily, remove reminders (external calendars often have irrelevant alarms).

Step 5: Save the Subscription

Click Subscribe or OK. The calendar appears in your calendar list with a subscription icon 📡.

Managing Subscriptions

View Subscribed Events

Subscribed calendars work like your own — events appear in the calendar view. You can toggle visibility by checking/unchecking the calendar in the list.

Refresh Manually

Right-click the subscribed calendar → Refresh to fetch the latest data immediately.

Edit Subscription Properties

Right-click the calendar → Properties:

• Change the display name or color
• Update the feed URL
• Adjust refresh interval

Unsubscribe

Right-click the calendar → Unsubscribe or Delete. The calendar is removed from your view. The source is unaffected.

Troubleshooting

"Invalid calendar URL"

• Verify the URL is accessible (try opening it in a browser)
• The URL must return valid iCalendar (.ics) data
• Some public feeds require authentication

Calendar not updating

• Check the refresh interval setting
• Manually refresh: right-click → Refresh
• The feed provider may have changed the URL

Events have wrong times

• SOGo 5 converts all dates to your configured timezone
• Check your timezone in Settings → General → Timezone
• Some iCal feeds don't include timezone info — these default to UTC

Conclusion

iCal subscriptions let you overlay external calendars onto your SOGo 5 view — perfect for public holidays, team schedules, and third-party calendar feeds.

Accessibility

Keyboard Navigation

SOGo 5 supports full keyboard navigation for subscribing to calendars.

Action	Keyboard Shortcut: What key to press	Notes: Additional information
	Navigate to Calendar	Alt+M, Tab to Calendar
	Open subscription dialog	Ctrl+Shift+S or gear icon
	Select calendar type	Arrow keys in dropdown
	Enter calendar URL	Tab to URL field, type
	Display name field	Tab, type name
	Refresh frequency	Arrow key to select
	Subscribe or save	Ctrl+S or Enter

Screen Reader Workflow

Subscribing to External Calendar

Step 1: Navigate to Calendar Module

1. Alt+M to focus sidebar
2. Arrow keys to "Calendar"
3. Enter to open calendar view

Step 2: Open Subscription Dialog

1. Gear icon settings or press Ctrl+Shift+S
2. "Subscribe to Calendar" option
3. Press Enter

Step 3: Select Calendar Type

1. Tab to calendar type dropdown
2. Arrow keys to select (iCal, CalDAV, etc.)
3. Press Enter

Step 4: Enter Calendar Details

1. Tab to URL field
2. Type or paste calendar URL
3. Tab to display name field
4. Type friendly name (e.g., "Team Calendar")
5. Tab to refresh frequency
6. Select frequency with arrow keys

Step 5: Complete Subscription

1. Tab to "Subscribe" or "Save" button
2. Press Enter
3. Screen reader announces calendar added

Common Screen Reader Announcements:

Announcement: What screen reader says	Meaning: What it means	Action: What to do
"Subscribe to calendar, dialog"	Subscription dialog open	Select calendar type
"Calendar type, combo box"	Calendar format selector	Arrow to select type
"URL, edit"	Calendar address field	Type full calendar URL
"Display name, edit"	Friendly calendar name	Type memorable name
"Refresh frequency"	How often to sync	Arrow to select interval
"Calendar subscribed"	Success	Calendar now visible

Visual Content Descriptions

calendar-subscribe.png: This 3-second animated GIF shows subscribing to an external calendar.

• Frame 1 (0-0.8s): Calendar view with Calendars list on left
• Frame 2 (0.8-2s): Subscription dialog open, calendar type dropdown showing "iCal/ICS" selected, URL field populated with calendar address, display name "Team Calendar" typed
• Frame 3 (2-3s): Calendar list now shows "Team Calendar" with subscribed icon, refresh frequency set to "Every 30 minutes"

High Contrast Mode

SOGo 5's dark mode and high contrast mode work with all sections described above. Toggle via: Settings button (gear icon) → General → Theme → Dark/High Contrast.