Term dates, games, practices and no-school days, on the same calendar as everything else.
Many schools, districts and sports teams publish their calendar as a link you can subscribe to. FamShare doesn't subscribe to links itself. Instead, you subscribe in your phone's calendar once, and FamShare shows the calendars on your phone next to your family's events. When your family needs to see a date, you import it into FamShare.
In this article
How it works: show, or import
There are two ways to use a school or team calendar in FamShare. You can use both.
| Show (Other Calendars) | Import (copy into FamShare) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who sees it | Only you, on that device | You choose: Private (only you) or Shared. Give a shared event the label of the group that should see it |
| When the school changes a date | Updates when your phone's calendar updates | The copy doesn't change. Edit or delete it yourself |
| Sent to FamShare's server | No | Yes, saved like an event you entered |
| Good for | The full calendar, every game and practice | The few dates the whole family needs: no-school days, the big game, the school play |
Step 1: Find the calendar link
Look on the school's, district's or team's website or app for a button such as Subscribe, Add to calendar, iCal or Calendar feed. A subscription link usually starts with webcal:// or ends with .ics.
Subscribe, don't download: if you download an .ics file and open it, the events are added to your phone's calendar once, and later changes from the school don't arrive. A subscription keeps updating.
Step 2: Subscribe on your phone
iPhone and iPad (Apple Calendar)
- Tap the subscription link on your iPhone. If it opens a prompt, tap Subscribe.
- Or copy the link, open the Calendar app, tap Calendars, then Add Calendar > Add Subscription Calendar, paste the link and tap Subscribe. (Menu names can differ slightly between iOS versions.)
- Check that the new calendar's events appear in the Calendar app.
Android (Google Calendar)
- The Google Calendar app can't add a calendar from a link. On a computer, open Google Calendar in a web browser, signed in with the Google account you use on your phone.
- Next to Other calendars, click + > From URL, paste the link and click Add calendar.
- On your phone, open the Google Calendar app > Settings, tap the new calendar and make sure Sync is on. It can take a while for the first events to arrive.
Step 3: Turn on Other Calendars in FamShare
- In FamShare, go to More > Other Calendars and turn on Show Other Calendars.
- Allow calendar access when asked. On iPhone and iPad, FamShare needs Full Access to your calendars. On Android, if you denied access earlier, go to your device's Settings > Apps > FamShare > Permissions and allow Calendar.
- The school or team events now appear on FamShare's month, week and day views, next to your family's events.
Only on your device: FamShare only reads these calendars and never changes them. Events shown this way are not sent to FamShare's server and are not shown to your family.
Step 4: Share dates with your family
You have two options. Pick whichever suits your family.
Option A: everyone subscribes on their own phone
Send the same calendar link to your partner (or older kids), and each person does Steps 2 and 3 on their own phone. Everyone sees the full, up-to-date calendar, and nothing is copied.
Option B: import the dates that matter
- One event: tap a date on the FamShare calendar. Under Other Calendars, tap Import next to the event, and choose Shared or Private (only you).
- Many events at once: go to More > Other Calendars > Import to FamShare. Choose the calendars, the period (for example the next 3 months) and Who Can See: Private or Shared. Then import.
- Check the label: open an imported event and tap Label to choose the group that should see it (for example your family group) or your child's label. The label decides which groups see the event.
- Made a mistake? Right after a bulk import, tap Undo to remove the events you just imported.
Good to know: imported events are copies. They aren't linked to the original calendar, so if the school moves a date, the copy stays where it was. Repeating events become separate events. Events with the same title and time that are already in FamShare aren't copied again.
Tips
- Import a little, show the rest. Keep the full team schedule as Other Calendars, and import only the dates the whole family plans around.
- Use your child's label. Create a label for each child in More > Labels and, under Show in calendars, turn on your family group. Imported events with that label then show in your family's calendar, in the child's color.
- Skip holiday and birthday calendars when importing. FamShare already shows public holidays (More > Appearance > Calendar). Add birthdays as events with the Birthday type (under Details), and see them all in More > Birthdays & Anniversaries.
- Running the team yourself? If your club or team has no calendar link, you can share the schedule in FamShare instead. See A club or team schedule in FamShare.
- Add a to-do for the event. Open an imported event to create a to-do with a due date, like "Pay for the field trip".
FAQ
- Does FamShare change my school or team calendar?
- No. FamShare only reads the calendars on your device and never writes to them.
- Can my family see the school calendar I show in FamShare?
- Not by showing it. Events from Other Calendars appear only on your device. Your family sees only the events you import and share with their group, or they can subscribe on their own phones and turn on Other Calendars too.
- If the school changes a date, does FamShare update?
- Events you see through Other Calendars follow your phone's calendar, so they update when your phone's calendar updates. Events you imported are copies: they don't change. Edit or delete the copy yourself.
- Is the school calendar sent to FamShare's server?
- Not when you only show it. Only events you choose to import are copied into FamShare and saved like events you entered yourself. See our Privacy Policy.
Try it
Install FamShare, tap "Use Without Signing In", and turn on Other Calendars. You can invite your family later.