dominoGuru.com Mailbag: iCalendar, Lotus Notes, and an Example Application!

05/10/2010 11:30 AM by Chris Toohey

I was asked the other day, aftering posting details on my View Lotus developer2010 sessions, about the Domino iCalendar Demo Application I used to create the iCalendar ics Files. Specifically, the Click to Add to Calendar functionality.

Lotus Notes, or any Calendaring and Scheduling client that can read the iCalendar format, really does the heavy lifting here -- all I need to do is format a NotesDocument to the iCalendar format and deliver it via the web browser.

Luckily, I've already done the work!

In my May 2009 (must be something with May...) post, "Using iCalendar to integrate Lotus Notes Domino Applications and the Microsoft Outlook Calendar" -- which is where my Domino iCalendar Demo Application came from -- I discuss the simple re-factoring of a NotesDocument to the iCalendar format.

The result (once imported) will get you an Event Announcement in your IBM Lotus Notes Client Calendar. Until now (for some reason) I had not released it. Perhaps I was absolutely embarrassed by how simple the concept was or the horrible UX I wrote into the Notes Client-version of the app... but either way, the idea behind the application is a good one: using a Page Design Element, <Computed Text> Elements, and URL QueryString Parameters to deliver a simple yet fully-functional app!

The Domino iCalendar Demo App Download

Hopefully this can help you create simple site-to-calendar functionality for your users!