Creating a calendar link from the Events & Activities Calendar allows users to subscribe to department events in their personal or agency calendars (iCal, Microsoft Outlook, Google Calendar, etc.). This keeps field personnel and administrators up to date on trainings, meetings, and operational events without needing to log in to First Due each time.
Background Information
The Events & Activities Calendar can generate a unique subscription link that represents the current view of the calendar. This link can be added to most external calendar systems that support iCal/ICS feeds.
Key benefits:
Automatically syncs upcoming events into external calendars about once every 24 hours
Reduces manual entry and duplicate scheduling
Keeps personnel informed about schedule changes
Supports cross-platform use (desktop, mobile, web calendars)
Common use cases:
Individual users adding events to their personal calendar
Company officers monitoring company-level trainings and activities
Administrators embedding a read-only training/operations calendar in shared resources
Prerequisites:
Access to the Events & Activities module
Ability to view the events you want to share
An external calendar system that supports subscribing to a URL-based calendar (iCal/ICS)
Required Permissions
To create and use an Events & Activities calendar link, users typically need:
Events & Activities → View Events
Events & Activities → View Daily Operations
Events & Activities → Calendar Export or similar export-related permission (if configured by your agency)
Permission naming and configuration may vary by department. If you do not see the export icon, contact your system administrator to review your role and permissions.
Video
Step By Step Guide
1. Click on the First Due logo in the upper left-hand corner to open the module stack.
2. Click on Events & Activities
3. Navigate to Events & Activities and select Daily Operations from the menu.
4. Make sure you are in the Calendar view.
5. Click on the export icon to create your calendar link.
6. A unique link to the calendar will be created and automatically copied to your clipboard.
7. Click on Done once you have the link copied.
8. You can now insert the link into your iCal (iOS) Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, or Google Calendar.
For information on converting it to something other than iCal see the external links below. (Note: these are external resources not created or updated by First Due.)
External Links to Explain How to Add This Link to Your Calendar
Configure the Calendar filters (e.g., by module, station, company, or event type) before creating the link, so the subscription focuses on the most relevant events.
Do not share links publicly
Treat calendar links as internal resources. Only share them with authorized personnel to avoid unintended distribution of your department’s schedule.
Use separate links for different audiences
Consider generating different filtered views (and therefore different links) for roles such as training, admin staff, or specific stations.
Verify sync behavior
After adding the link to your external calendar, confirm that events display correctly and that updates appear within the expected refresh window for that platform.
Troubleshooting & FAQs
I don’t see the export icon in the Calendar view. What should I do?
You may not have the required permission to export calendar links.
Contact your system administrator to review your user role and permissions.
The link doesn’t work when I paste it into my external calendar.
Make sure you are using the correct option in your calendar app—look for “Subscribe to calendar” or “From URL”, not “Import file.”
Confirm that you pasted the entire URL (no missing characters or extra spaces).
Events are not updating in my external calendar.
External calendars have their own refresh intervals. It may take several minutes to several hours for updates to appear.
Confirm that the subscription is still active in your calendar settings.
Can I revoke or change an existing calendar link?
If your agency needs to change or revoke access, an administrator can adjust filters, permissions, or issue a new link as needed. (Process may vary by configuration.)
Does the link show all events, including restricted ones?
The link will only include events that your user account has permission to view at the time it’s generated.
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