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Connecting a calendar feed

Connect a calendar feed to Ecko and use the Diary Date block to easily add events to Stories without needing to re-enter all the information. If you update an event in your calendar, Ecko will automatically display those changes. Ecko checks your calendar for updates every hour so changes may not appear immediately

Add an external event iCal feed

An iCal feed is a calendar feed URL, often ending in .ics. It may come from Outlook, Google Calendar, a school website builder or another calendar system.

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Select Connections.
  3. Copy the public calendar feed URL from your calendar.
  4. Paste the calendar feed URL into External Event iCal Feed.
  5. Check the message below the External Event iCal Feed to ensure the URL is valid and Ecko was able to detect the events.
  6. Select Save Changes.

Finding your event iCal feed

An iCal feed is a standard format provided by many popular calendar services and event management platforms. Ecko is able to detect events from any publicly-accessible standard iCal feed. Here’s where to find the feed on some popular services.

Ecko requires a publicly accessible iCal (ICS) feed. Some calendar systems allow calendars to be shared internally with staff but do not generate a public ICS feed. If you cannot find an ICS feed URL, contact your calendar provider or IT administrator for assistance.

Juniper CMS

If your school website uses Juniper CMS and you use the school calendar feature, you can find your iCal feed URL on your user-facing website.

  1. Navigate to the page on your website that contains your events calendar.
  2. In the top-right corner of the calendar, click Subscribe.
  3. Select Outlook and other devices/software.
  4. Copy the URL provided.

If you don’t see the Subscribe button, consult your Juniper CMS documentation or contact Juniper support to find out how to enable it.

School Jotter

If your school website uses School Jotter and you manage events using the built-in Calendar module, you can obtain a public calendar feed URL from the calendar settings.

  1. Open the Calendar module in School Jotter.
  2. Select Settings.
  3. Locate the calendar you want to connect to Ecko.
  4. Look for the Public URL option.
  5. Copy the public URL provided.

Google Calendar

If you use Google Calendar (or Google Workspace) you find your iCal feed URL from the Sharing settings page

  1. Open Google Calendar.
  2. In the calendar list on the left of the page, hover over the calendar you want to sync to Ecko.
  3. Click the three dots button alongside the calendar’s name to open the menu.
  4. Select Settings and sharing.
  5. Scroll to the Integrate calendar Integrate calendar section.
  6. Locate the Secret address in iCal format field.
  7. Click the Copy button alongside that field.

Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft 365

If your school uses Microsoft Outlook or Microsoft 365, you can publish a calendar and copy its iCal (ICS) feed URL.

  1. Open Outlook on the web and switch to the Calendar view.
  2. Click the Settings button (the cog icon).
  3. Select Calendar, then Shared calendars.
  4. Under Publish a calendar, choose the calendar you want to connect to Ecko.
  5. Select the level of detail you want to publish.
  6. Click Publish.
  7. After the calendar has been published, Outlook will display both an HTML link and an ICS link.
  8. Copy the ICS link.

If you do not see the Publish a calendar option, your Microsoft 365 administrator may have disabled calendar publishing for your organisation. Contact your IT administrator for assistance.