Adding event to iCal

[VickyE]

It looks as though there's been an update to Zoom. When I used to schedule a meeting in the Zoom desktop app, it would automatically add it to my iCal calendar, I'd grab the link, and send it to attendees. Now it doesn't do that - it tried to open Outlook instead which I don't use, and iCal doesn't look as though it's an option when I log into the web portal to change the settings. 

Can anyone suggest a workaround, because right now, I don't even know how to grab the link to send attendees, as the app only gives me the meeting ID. 

[sonofgohan1]

I found an easy fix! Just open the Zoom desktop app, click "Schedule," scroll to the Calendar section, and select iCal before saving. Once done, Apple Calendar will open automatically, and future meetings will sync like before. 4o

[MattBeef]

Hey sonofgohan1,

Thanks for the suggestion.  However, this DOES NOT work.

When I scroll to the "Calendar" section, it's "grayed-out" and gives me the "🚫" symbol; if I try to click there, it does nothing.

I am a paying subscriber.

Any other suggestions?

TIA,

Matt

[808paul]

There is no option for iCal anymore. I don't know what version you are using because I'm on the latest update and it sucks. A lot had changed. What the hell is wrong with Zoom? And they wonder why every company is now standardized on Teams and Google! Mac users are the reason Zoom is still in the game. After supporting them since 2016, I am ready to jump ship. Besides their horrible video playing makes it embarrassing to play a video

[FergiDotCom]

I have an official response from Zoom on this and they acknowledge that the iCal interface used to work and no longer does. Their position is that this was never a supported feature and they recommend that we export iCal entries for each Zoom meeting that we schedule and then import them into the Apple calendar which, of course, is more work than manually scheduling each Zoom meeting in the Apple calendar. So don't count on this feature anymore and go bak to scheduling in parallel with Zoom and iCal. The Zoom response follows:

Hi Joe,

Thank you so much for your thoughtful response and for your continued patience. I can definitely understand your frustration, especially since the feature you’re referring to was working perfectly before. I want to clarify things a bit further and apologize for any confusion earlier.

You’re absolutely right that the "iCal" option is still available within the Zoom macOS desktop app when scheduling a meeting. This feature used to allow for seamless integration with Apple Calendar, and it did work well for many users. However, as you pointed out, it is no longer functioning as expected for you—and that's where the issue lies.

I want to be transparent with the information I gathered from our backend team: iCal integration is not officially supported by Zoom at this time. While it may have worked in the past, this feature hasn't been fully integrated into Zoom's current lineup of supported calendar options. Our primary integrations for calendars are with Google Calendar, Office 365 (for paid subscriptions), and Exchange. This is why iCal integration may experience inconsistencies, especially with recent updates to Zoom and macOS.

Regarding the permission issue, you’re absolutely right—Zoom should be requesting the necessary calendar permissions on macOS to allow integration. Since iCal is not fully supported, it’s likely why the permission prompt is not appearing in your System Settings > Privacy & Security > Calendars. This functionality simply isn't triggered when selecting the "iCal" option within Zoom.

While we can't offer direct support for iCal integration, we do highly recommend setting up one of our fully supported calendar integrations (Google, O365, or Exchange). This will ensure seamless syncing between your Zoom meetings and your calendar, with no inconsistencies or permission issues.

You may check the article here: https://support.zoom.com/hc/en/article?id=zm_kb&sysparm_article=KB0068615

If you prefer to continue using iCal, the workaround would be to manually export your meeting as an ICS file and then import it into your Apple Calendar. I understand that this is not ideal, but it is the current limitation of the "iCal" option in Zoom.

Again, I truly appreciate your understanding and your willingness to work with us through this. If you have any further questions or need assistance setting up a supported calendar integration, please don't hesitate to reach out. I'm here to help!

Thank you for choosing Zoom, and I hope we can find a solution that works for you.

Best regards,
Kirsten

[margaret6]

This basically sucks. It worked so well for years. BTW I was just on Webex yesterday and that was horrible, Microsoft Teams also is annoying. Until now Zoom has been great. It is sad to see something that used to work go away. Zoom is not used by many organizations because Webex and Teams have better security, or so they say. I'll keep using Zoom but am very disappointed. The option to choose iCal is still there when you schedule a meeting, BTW. But it doesn't work.

[sonofgohan1]

Zoom no longer auto-adds meetings to iCal and now defaults to Outlook. To work around this, schedule your meeting in Zoom, then open it from the “Meetings” tab, copy the invite link manually, and paste it into iCal yourself. Alternatively, enable “Add to calendar” in Zoom settings and choose iCal if available, or export the .ics file and import it into iCal.