Where shared calendars appear in Outlook

When someone shares a calendar with you in Outlook, it does not automatically show up in your main calendar view. Instead, it lands in a specific section called Other Calendars, which sits below your own calendar in the left sidebar. You need to look there and turn it on to see the shared events.

The location depends slightly on whether you use Outlook on the web, Outlook desktop, or Outlook on your phone. On desktop, Other Calendars appears as a collapsible section in the left panel. On the web version, it is labeled the same way but sits lower on the page. On mobile, shared calendars live under a separate tab or menu.

If you have not received a calendar share yet, you will not see anything in this section. The person sharing the calendar must send you an invitation first — either through Outlook itself or by giving you a direct link to their calendar.

Key Takeaways

  • Shared calendars appear in the Other Calendars section in your left sidebar, not mixed into your main calendar by default.
  • You must turn on the checkbox next to the shared calendar name to make its events visible on your calendar view.
  • If you do not see Other Calendars at all, you may need to scroll down in the left sidebar or expand a collapsed section.
  • On Outlook desktop, right-clicking a shared calendar lets you rename it, change its color, or remove it from your view.

Finding shared calendars on Outlook desktop

Open Outlook and look at the left sidebar. Scroll down past your own calendar name until you see a section labeled Other Calendars. If the section is collapsed (showing only the heading with a small arrow), click the arrow to expand it. Any calendars someone has shared with you will be listed there by the person's name or the calendar name they gave it.

Next to each shared calendar name is a checkbox. If the box is empty, that calendar is hidden. Click the checkbox to turn it on. Once checked, all events from that calendar will appear on your main calendar view, usually in a different color so you can tell them apart from your own events.

If you have many shared calendars, you can organize them by right-clicking any calendar name. A menu will appear with options to rename it (so "John Smith" becomes "John — Project X"), change its color, or remove it from your view entirely. Removing it does not delete the calendar or stop the person from sharing it; it just hides it from your view.

Finding shared calendars on Outlook on the web

Log into Outlook.com or your organization's Outlook web portal. Click the calendar icon in the left sidebar to go to your calendar view. On the left side of the page, you will see your own calendar listed at the top. Below it, look for a section labeled Other Calendars.

Shared calendars appear as a list under that heading. Like the desktop version, each one has a checkbox. Click the checkbox to show or hide that calendar's events. If you do not see the Other Calendars section at all, scroll down the left sidebar — it may be below the fold on smaller screens.

To change how a shared calendar looks or behaves on the web, hover over its name and click the three dots that appear. You can change the color, hide it, or remove it from your list. The web version has fewer customization options than desktop, but the basic steps are the same.

Finding shared calendars on Outlook mobile

On the Outlook mobile app for iPhone or Android, tap the calendar icon at the bottom of the screen. Your own calendar appears at the top. Scroll down or look for a section labeled Other Calendars or Shared Calendars (the exact label varies by app version).

Tap the name of the shared calendar to toggle it on or off. When it is on, its events appear in your calendar view. On some versions of the mobile app, you can swipe left on a shared calendar name to see options like removing it or changing its color, though mobile has fewer options than desktop.

What to do if you cannot find a shared calendar

If someone says they shared a calendar with you but you do not see it in Other Calendars, check your email for an invitation. Calendar shares usually come as an email with a link or an attachment. Click the link or open the attachment to accept the share. Until you accept, the calendar will not appear in Outlook.

If you accepted the invitation but still do not see the calendar, try refreshing Outlook. On desktop, close and reopen the program. On the web, refresh the page. On mobile, close the app completely and open it again. Sometimes Outlook takes a few minutes to sync a newly shared calendar.

Another possibility: the person may have shared the calendar with the wrong email address. Ask them to double-check the email they used when setting up the share. If it does not match the email address you use to log into Outlook, the share will not reach you.

Removing a shared calendar from your view

If you no longer want to see a shared calendar, uncheck its box in the Other Calendars section. This hides it from your view but does not stop the person from sharing it with you. If you want to remove it completely, right-click the calendar name (on desktop) or tap the three dots (on web or mobile) and select the remove or delete option.

Removing a shared calendar from your view does not affect the original calendar or the person who owns it. They can still see their events, and they can still share the calendar with others. You are only changing what you see in your own Outlook.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I edit events on a shared calendar?

That depends on the permissions the person gave you when they shared the calendar. Some people share calendars as view-only, meaning you can see events but not change them. Others give you edit permission, so you can add, change, or delete events. If you try to click an event and cannot edit it, the calendar owner set it to view-only.

Why do shared calendar events show up in a different color?

Outlook automatically assigns a different color to each shared calendar so you can tell them apart from your own events at a glance. You can change this color by right-clicking the calendar name (desktop) or tapping the three dots (web or mobile) and selecting a color option. The color change only affects how it looks in your view.

If I hide a shared calendar, does the person know?

No. Hiding a shared calendar is private to your Outlook. The person who shared it cannot see whether you have it turned on or off. They only know if you remove it completely, and even then, they just see that you are no longer subscribed to it.

Can I share someone else's shared calendar with a third person?

Not directly. You can only share calendars you own. If you want someone else to see a calendar that was shared with you, ask the original owner to share it with them. You cannot pass along a shared calendar to another person.

What if the shared calendar stops appearing after I turn it on?

The person who shared it may have removed the share or deleted the calendar. Try refreshing Outlook first. If it still does not appear, contact the person who shared it and ask whether they removed it or changed the sharing settings. They may need to reshare it with you.