{"id":51773,"date":"2009-12-17T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2009-12-17T00:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.technet.microsoft.com\/heyscriptingguy\/2009\/12\/17\/hey-scripting-guy-can-i-share-my-microsoft-outlook-calendar-via-e-mail\/"},"modified":"2009-12-17T00:01:00","modified_gmt":"2009-12-17T00:01:00","slug":"hey-scripting-guy-can-i-share-my-microsoft-outlook-calendar-via-e-mail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/hey-scripting-guy-can-i-share-my-microsoft-outlook-calendar-via-e-mail\/","title":{"rendered":"Hey, Scripting Guy! Can I Share My Microsoft Outlook Calendar via E-Mail?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Bookmark<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Hey,<\/font><\/p>\n

Hey, Scripting Guy! I really like the ability to export my calendar into a shareable format with Microsoft Outlook. It is really cool, but can I accomplish this by using a Windows PowerShell script?<\/p>\n

— MB<\/p>\n


 <\/p>\n

\"Hey,Hello MB, <\/p>\n

Microsoft Scripting Guy Ed Wilson here. In 30 minutes, I have a Live Meeting with Karen, our TechNet Site manager, and Craig, the Scripting Editor. Because I do not want to get too involved in something and miss this very important meeting, I thought I would answer some of the e-mail that was sent to scripter@microsoft.com<\/font><\/span><\/a>. Often, the e-mail is easy to answer, and those tend to be incorporated into a Quick-Hits Friday post. At other times, the answers are more involved, and I flag those until I have a bit more time to work on the solution. <\/p>\n

MB, your e-mail was one that I have had flagged for quite some time. I am glad it was a rainy day in Charlotte, and I had the morning to work on your script. When the script worked perfectly the first time (which is often unusual), I was stoked! The Scripting Wife who was downstairs messing around on Facebook sent me an instant message that asked, “Are you ok?” Let us spare the superlatives and get down to the code. This script is cool. The complete EmailCalendar.ps1 script is seen here.<\/p>\n

EmailCalendar.ps1<\/strong><\/p>\n

#Requires -version 2.0
Add-Type -AssemblyName microsoft.office.interop.outlook
$olFolders = “Microsoft.Office.Interop.Outlook.OlDefaultFolders” -as [type]
$olCalendarDetail = “Microsoft.Office.Interop.Outlook.olCalendarDetail” -as [type]
$olCalendarMailFormat = “Microsoft.Office.Interop.Outlook.olCalendarMailFormat” -as [type]
$outlook = New-Object -ComObject outlook.application
$namespace  <\/span>= $Outlook.GetNameSpace(“mapi”)
$folder = $namespace.getDefaultFolder($olFolders::olFolderCalendar)
$CalendarSharing=$folder.GetCalendarExporter()
$CalendarSharing.CalendarDetail = $olCalendarDetail::olFreeBusyOnly
$CalendarSharing.startDate = Get-Date
$CalendarSharing.endDate = (Get-Date).addDays(7)
$CalendarSharing.RestrictToWorkingHours = $true
$CalendarSharing.IncludeAttachments = $false
$CalendarSharing.IncludePrivateDetails = $false
$MailItem = $CalendarSharing.ForwardAsICal($olCalendarMailFormat::olCalendarMailFormatDailySchedule)
$MailItem.Recipients.Add(“Scripter@Microsoft.Com”)
$MailItem.Send()<\/p>\n

<\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

The first thing that is done in the EmailCalendar.ps1 script is to load the Microsoft.Office.Interop.Outlook<\/b> interop assembly. To do this, use the Add-Type <\/b>cmdlet. This was covered in detail in Monday’s Hey, Scripting Guy! post<\/span><\/a>. <\/p>\n

After the Outlook interop assembly is loaded, add a couple of enumerations. The three Outlook enumerations that are created are the OlDefaultFolders<\/font><\/a>, OlCalendarDetail<\/font><\/a>, and OlCalendarMailFormat<\/font><\/a>. All three enumerations are documented on MSDN, and you can refer to those pages to see additional options for modifying the behavior of the script. For example, you might want to change the level of calendar detail by using a different enumeration value for OlCalendarDetail<\/b>. Adding the Outlook interop assembly and the three type enumerations is seen here. <\/p>\n

#Requires –Version 2.0
Add-Type -AssemblyName microsoft.office.interop.outlook
$olFolders = “Microsoft.Office.Interop.Outlook.OlDefaultFolders” -as [type]
$olCalendarDetail = “Microsoft.Office.Interop.Outlook.olCalendarDetail” -as [type]
$olCalendarMailFormat = “Microsoft.Office.Interop.Outlook.olCalendarMailFormat” -as [type]<\/p>\n

<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Next, you need to create an instance of the Outlook.Application COM object<\/a>. The Outlook.Application<\/b> object is the main object that is used when scripting Microsoft Outlook. It provides a number of methods and properties that can be used in creating some powerful scripts. The Application<\/b> object represents the entire Outlook application. After it is created, the Application <\/b>object is stored in the $outlook<\/b> variable: <\/p>\n

$outlook = New-Object -ComObject outlook.application<\/p>\n

<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Now that you have an instance of the Outlook Application object, you can use the GetNamespace method<\/a> to return a NameSpace objec<\/a>t. The only type of namespace that is permitted to be returned by the GetNameSpace<\/b> method is “mapi.” The returned namespace object is stored in the $namespace<\/b> variable, as seen here. <\/p>\n

$namespace  <\/span>= $Outlook.GetNameSpace(“mapi”)<\/p>\n

<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

The Namespace object contains the GetDefaultFolder method<\/a> that accepts an OlDefaultFolders enumeration as its input value. The returned folder object<\/a> is stored in the $folder variable.<\/p>\n

$folder = $namespace.getDefaultFolder($olFolders::olFolderCalendar)<\/p>\n

<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

When you have a folder object, you can call the GetCalendarExporter method<\/font><\/a>, which does not accept any arguments. The returned CalendarSharing<\/b> object is stored in the $CalendarSharing variable<\/font><\/a>:<\/p>\n

$CalendarSharing=$folder.GetCalendarExporter()<\/p>\n

<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

The CalendarSharing<\/b> object has a number of properties<\/font><\/a> that can be configured to control the way the Microsoft Outlook calendar is shared. Most of the properties are configured in the EmailCalendar.ps1 script. You may want to review the properties on MSDN if the script does not behave exactly as you would like it to behave. <\/p>\n

The first property to configure is the CalendarDetail property<\/font><\/a>. The CalendarDetail<\/b> accepts an instance of the OlCalendarDetail enumeration<\/font><\/a>. There are three options: Free and busy with the subject, free and busy only, or full details. The actual enumeration values are documented on MSDN. For the EmailCalendar.ps1 script, I decided to only share free and busy time and to not share the details or subjects of the meetings. This is seen here: <\/p>\n

$CalendarSharing.CalendarDetail = $olCalendarDetail::olFreeBusyOnly<\/p>\n

<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

The next two properties to set on the CalendarSharing<\/b> object are the startDate<\/b> property and the endDate<\/b> property. These two properties are expressed as datetime<\/b> objects and are easily created using the Get-Date<\/b> cmdlet. If you want to share a portion of the calendar from the past, use addDays<\/b> with a negative value, as shown here: <\/p>\n

PS C:Usersed.NWTRADERS> (get-date).adddays(-7)<\/p>\n

Wednesday, November 25, 2009 3:31:46 PM<\/p>\n

PS C:Usersed.NWTRADERS> (get-date).adddays(+7)<\/p>\n

Wednesday, December 09, 2009 3:31:54 PM<\/p>\n

<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

For the EmailCalendar.ps1 script I decided to share the calendar appointments from the current date to seven days in the future. This is seen here. <\/p>\n


$CalendarSharing.startDate = Get-Date
$CalendarSharing.endDate = (Get-Date).addDays(7)<\/p>\n

<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

The next three properties to configure are self explanatory. Do you want to restrict the calendar to working hours? Do you wish to include attachments? Do you want your calendar to include private details? Each of these properties accepts a Boolean $true<\/b> or $false<\/b>, as shown here.<\/p>\n

$CalendarSharing.RestrictToWorkingHours = $true<\/p>\n

$CalendarSharing.IncludeAttachments = $false<\/p>\n

$CalendarSharing.IncludePrivateDetails = $false<\/p>\n

<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Now you are ready to configure the e-mail message that will send the calendar to your designated recipient. To do this, use the ForwardAsICal method<\/font><\/a> from the CalendarSharing<\/b> object. If you did not want to send the calendar in an e-mail, you could also save the calendar as an iCalendar <\/b>(.ics) file by using the SaveAsICal method<\/font><\/a>. The ForwardAsIcal<\/b> method requires an instance of an OlCalendarMailFormat enumeration<\/font><\/a> value that will determine if the calendar will be configured as a daily schedule or an event schedule. For the EmailCalendar.ps1 script, I decided to create a daily schedule. Feel free to play with the format to see which meets your needs the best. To create an event schedule format, you would use this enumeration value:<\/p>\n

$olCalendarMailFormat::olCalendarMailFormatEventList<\/p>\n

<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

The MailItem object<\/a> that is created by using the ForwardAsICal<\/b> method is stored in the $MailItem<\/b> variable as shown here:<\/p>\n

$MailItem = $CalendarSharing.ForwardAsICal($olCalendarMailFormat::olCalendarMailFormatDailySchedule)<\/p>\n

<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

There is only one thing that must be configured for the MailItem<\/b> object: the recipient’s e-mail address. After you have used the Add method<\/font><\/a>—from the Recipients collection<\/font><\/a> that is returned by the Recipients property<\/a> of the MailItem<\/b> object—to add the recipient to the MailItem<\/b>, call the Send<\/b> method and your calendar will speed on its way to its destination. This is shown here:<\/p>\n

$MailItem.Recipients.Add(“Scripter@Microsoft.Com”)<\/p>\n

<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

$MailItem.Send()<\/p>\n

<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Your recipient will receive a really cool e-mail message, as seen here:<\/p>\n

\"Image<\/font><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

When your recipient opens the e-mail message, they will be able to see the details you selected when you exported the calendar. The details from our script are seen here:<\/p>\n

\"Image<\/font><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

MB, that is all there is to sharing your Outlook Calendar via Windows PowerShell. This also concludes Microsoft Outlook Week on the TechNet Script Center. Join us tomorrow for Quick-Hits Friday. <\/p>\n

If you want to know exactly what we will be looking at tomorrow, follow us on Twitter<\/a> or Facebook<\/a>. If you have any questions, send e-mail to us at scripter@microsoft.com<\/font><\/a> or post your questions on the Official Scripting Guys Forum<\/a>. See you tomorrow. Until then, peace.<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Ed Wilson and Craig Liebendorfer, Scripting Guys<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Hey, Scripting Guy! I really like the ability to export my calendar into a shareable format with Microsoft Outlook. It is really cool, but can I accomplish this by using a Windows PowerShell script? — MB   Hello MB, Microsoft Scripting Guy Ed Wilson here. In 30 minutes, I have a Live Meeting with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":595,"featured_media":87096,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[212,49,3,45],"class_list":["post-51773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-scripting","tag-microsoft-outlook","tag-office","tag-scripting-guy","tag-windows-powershell"],"acf":[],"blog_post_summary":"

  Hey, Scripting Guy! I really like the ability to export my calendar into a shareable format with Microsoft Outlook. It is really cool, but can I accomplish this by using a Windows PowerShell script? — MB   Hello MB, Microsoft Scripting Guy Ed Wilson here. In 30 minutes, I have a Live Meeting with […]<\/p>\n","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/595"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51773"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51773\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}