Archived - MobileMe: How to back up calendar data using MobileMe Calendar

Summary

This article explains how to back up your data using MobileMe Calendar.

Products Affected

MobileMe Calendar

This article has been archived and is no longer updated by Apple.

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MobileMe Calendar maintains a master copy of your calendar data in the cloud (on the MobileMe severs). Various calendar clients (such as iCal on Mac OS X and the Calendar app on iOS devices) view a locally-cached copy of the data that is updated whenever a change is made on the server.

Important: Do not rely on traditional methods for backing up calendar data, such as exporting the iCal database, Time Machine, MobileMe Backup, or iTunes backups of iOS devices. Any changes to the data in the cloud will be more up-to-date than data in those backups and override a restore done from those backups.

Backing Up Data

To create a reliable backup of your data while using MobileMe Calendar, you must be syncing your calendar data with a Mac (iCal) or PC (Outlook). Here are the ways you can back up your data:

Back up using iCal (Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard required):

  1. Open iCal.
  2. Ensure your data is in sync (up-to-date). 
  3. Select one of the calendars in the Calendar list.
  4. Choose File > Export > Export.
  5. Save the file to a safe location.
  6. Repeat for every other calendar you want to back up.

Note: If your calendar data only exists on an iOS device, learn how to back up your data.

Back up using Outlook:

  1. Open Outlook.
  2. Disable (uncheck) all but one of your calendars in the Calendar list.
  3. Choose File > Save As.
  4. Adjust the save settings to include the whole calendar (this will vary depending on your version of Outlook).
  5. Save the calendar to a safe location.
  6. Repeat for every other calendar you want to back up.

Backing up from me.com/calendar:

  1. Go to me.com.
  2. Publicly share a calendar.
  3. Copy the URL (web address) from that shared calendar and paste it to the address field in you browser. Do not press Enter or Return yet.
  4. As shown in the example below, change "webcal" to "http":

    5. Example URL from shared calendar:
    webcal://www.me.com/ca/sharesubscribe/1.276...
    Change to:
    http://www.me.com/ca/sharesubscribe/1.276...

  5. Paste the changed URL into the address field in your browser and press Enter. An ICS file will download and then the calendar can be added to a calendar client on Mac or PC (such as iCal or Outlook).
  6. Once the download completes, unpublish the shared calendar.

Restoring Data

Here are the ways to restore your backed-up calendar data:

To restore from your backed-up calendar data to iCal:
  1. Open iCal.
  2. Create a new Calendar for your MobileMe account by clicking the plus button in the lower-left corner of the window. 
  3. Double-click the calendar you exported.
  4. When prompted, choose to import the backed-up calendar's events into the newly-created calendar.
  5. Repeat for each calendar you want to restore.

To restore your backed-up calendar data to Outlook:

  1. Open Outlook.
  2. Choose File > Open.
  3. Select your saved Calendar file.
  4. Once the calendar is imported, right click the Calendar and choose Move Calendar.
  5. Click MobileMe Calendars and click OK.

For more help backing up or importing calendars from Outlook, check Microsoft Support.

Important: Information about products not manufactured by Apple is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute Apple’s recommendation or endorsement. Please contact the vendor for additional information.
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