This guide is divided into two parts, creating a backup and restoring a backup.
Creating a backup
Prerequisites: at least one calendar connected to Google Calendar.
Written instructions
Step 1: Go to Google Calendar.
Step 2: In the left menu, press on the three dots next to the calendar that you would like to back up.
Step 3: Press ‘Settings and sharing’.
Step 4: Scroll down to ‘Secret address in iCal format’ under ‘Integrate calendar’.
Step 5: Copy the address. Press ‘OK’ if you see a security warning pop up. The warning indicates that this address can be used to fetch your calendar events (which we need to back up). Do not share the link publicly.
Step 6: Go to your BackupMyCalendar dashboard and add the copied link. Don’t forget to give your backup a name. Save all calendars when done.
Step 7: Sit back and relax. From now on, we will create automated backups of your Google Calendar.
Restoring a backup
Prerequisites: at least one backup present in the BackupMyCalendar dashboard.
Written instructions
Step 1: Go to your BackupMyCalendar dashboard.
Step 2: Select the backup that you would like to restore from the dropdown, and press ‘Download Selected’. Download the file to a place on your computer.
Step 3: Go to Google Calendar.
Step 4: Select the plus icon next to ‘Other calendars’ in the left menu and press ‘Create new calendar’
Step 5: Give your calendar a name, such as [old calendar] BACKUP. Press ‘Create calendar’.
Step 6: In the left settings menu, select ‘Import and Export’.
Step 7: Upload the backup and select the BACKUP calendar as the destination for the backup. Press import.
Step 8: You now have a new calendar with all the events from your backup. With this new calendar, you can do two things:
- If you only deleted or moved one or a couple events from your original calendar, you can use the BACKUP calendar as a source to recreate these events. Afterwards, you can delete the BACKUP calendar.
- You can use the BACKUP calendar as your new calendar. Remove your old calendar and, from now on, add new events to your BACKUP calendar. You may, of course, remove BACKUP from the calendar name to signal that the BACKUP calendar is now your main calendar. Following this path means that your calendar URL will have changed, and you must update this URL in BackupMyCalendar. See the notice below.
Both options are fully supported workflows for the BackupMyCalendar system.
Do you feel stuck? Don’t panic! We are here to help. Send us an email and we will help you as soon as possible.
