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On Google Calendar I'm able to manually create an event that starts and ends in different time zones:

Manually entered Google Calendar Entry with different time zones at start and end

I would like to recreate entries like this using the import feature in Google Calendar ((gear) > settings > import & export > (select file) > import).

I have tried the following, which does import, but the resulting calendar entry is incorrect:

BEGIN:VCALENDAR
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Eastern Time - New York:20191207T124500
DTEND;TZID=Eastern European Standard Time - Cairo:20191208T050500
DESCRIPTION:Event starting NY 12:45pm (local time) - ending Eastern Europe 5:05am (local time)
LOCATION:Atlantic
SEQUENCE:0
STATUS:CONFIRMED
SUMMARY:Flight
TRANSP:TRANSPARENT
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR

The resulting entry makes incorrect assumptions about time zones, presuming the entries are zulu or something.

I have also tried to set the TZID parameter to things like "GMT-04:00", but those did not successfully import to Google Calendar at all. And using DTSTART:20191207T124500 or DTSTART:20191207T124500Z works, but doesn't do what I want.

My starting point for this endeavor was to export a calendar entry that had the time zone details, but that did not export with the time zone details (only exported in GMT+00:00 zulu).

So in summary, I'm able to import, just need to figure out how to import an event and have it show different starting and ending time zones.

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1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2

You must define the TZIDs used in your iCal file, using the VTIMEZONE component.

For example, add this block of code after END:VEVENT to define the "Eastern Time - New York" timezone:

BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:Eastern Time - New York
BEGIN:STANDARD
DTSTART:19671029T020000
RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYDAY=1SU;BYMONTH=11
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
DTSTART:19870405T020000
RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYDAY=2SU;BYMONTH=3
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
END:DAYLIGHT
END:VTIMEZONE

The iCalendar Validator is a nice tool to make sure your iCal file conforms to RFC 5545.

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  • I saw that I could define a time zone, but I thought that was quite tedious, with both the standard and daylight and associated rules. I didn't know if I could get it right. I need to understand where stock "VTIMEZONE" clips are located so I don't need to write them myself.
    – Dale
    Sep 19, 2019 at 14:40
  • 1
    The code above is accurate for EST/EDT as of today (may change in the future depending on legislation). If this answered your question, please mark as accepted!
    – Nick
    Sep 19, 2019 at 18:37
  • I was hoping you'd add where the current definitions of other time zones were.
    – Dale
    Sep 19, 2019 at 18:43
  • Thanks. I could not find a resource after some quick googling. Sounds like a great idea for a github library.
    – Nick
    Sep 19, 2019 at 22:23

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