This guide explains how to view your personal ROSTERkey roster in Microsoft Outlook, or on an iOS or Android device, using a private Web Calendar (WebCal) subscription. Any other app that supports WebCal/ICS subscriptions will also work, but only Outlook, Android and iOS are covered here.
Quickstart — you've received an SMS or email
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Table of Contents |
Introduction to Web Calendars
A Web Calendar (WebCal) is a standard way of sharing calendars on the internet. A WebCal client subscribes to an online calendar using a URL and periodically fetches a fresh copy of the calendar — so your device always shows an up-to-date roster without you re-importing anything.
Retrieving a WebCal sometimes requires a username and password; however, ROSTERkey uses a uniquely keyed URL over an encrypted (HTTPS) connection, which is an adequate way to protect the privacy of your roster. This is an example of a private WebCal URL:
webcals://acme.rosterkey.com/cal/wkr/yf8o5l0eEtLBajT4.ics
The URL may instead start with https:, but it will always end with .ics.
Obtaining Your WebCal URL
ROSTERkey can email and/or SMS the URL of your personal online roster to the email address and mobile number of your choice. Steps:
- Navigate to My Settings, enter your details, and click Apply
- If your WebCal is not already shared, click Share
- Click Send Welcome
The resulting message contains a URL for your personal online roster that can be used in any WebCal client. You can also forward this message to others if you want to share your roster with them.
| To stop publication of your roster, click Unshare in My Settings. This immediately voids any URLs already issued. To resume publication, repeat the steps above to obtain a new URL — the old URL will not work again. |
Microsoft Outlook
Upon receiving the WebCal welcome email, Outlook should highlight the URL as a clickable link — click it and follow the prompts to add the calendar subscription.
Alternatively, copy the URL from My Settings in ROSTERkey (without sending an email) and add the subscription manually:
| Outlook version | Where to add the subscription |
|---|---|
| Outlook.com / Outlook on the web | Calendar → Add calendar → Subscribe from web → paste the URL → Import |
| Outlook desktop (Windows/Mac) | Calendar → Add Calendar → From Internet → paste the URL → OK → Yes, subscribe |
The exact menu wording varies slightly between Outlook versions. If the steps above don't quite match what you see, consult Microsoft's official guides:
- Outlook.com / web: Import or subscribe to a calendar in Outlook.com or Outlook on the web
- Desktop Outlook: Introduction to publishing Internet Calendars
Android Phone & Tablet
Android does not directly support web calendars, but a number of apps enable WebCal subscriptions. We recommend ICSx⁵ (formerly known as ICSdroid) — it's free, open source, and actively maintained.
The SMS welcome message from ROSTERkey contains a URL that needs to be copied and used to set up a WebCal subscription:
- Start forwarding the message (e.g. long-press the message and select Forward)
- Use text selection to highlight the URL (e.g. pinch open on
webcal…ics)Tip: landscape view may make it easier to select the full URL. - Copy the selected text (long-press the selection and select Copy)
- Discard the draft message
The following steps are for ICSx⁵, but will be similar for other WebCal client apps:
- Open ICSx⁵ (assuming it's already installed)
- Tap the + icon at bottom right to add a new subscription
- Paste the URL copied from the SMS welcome message into the URL field
- Tap the arrow icon at top right to advance to the next step
- Enter your preferred title and colour
- Tap the checkmark icon at top right to complete the subscription
Once synchronised, your personal roster should appear in your list of calendars. Like other calendars, it can be shown or hidden as you like without affecting the roster's contents.
ICSx⁵ refreshes the roster once a day by default (the sync interval can be changed per-subscription in the app). You can also force an update at any time by pulling to refresh in your Android Calendar app.
Alternative: Google Calendar
If you'd rather not install a separate app, you can subscribe directly from a Google account instead. This has to be done from a browser — the Google Calendar mobile app has no "add by URL" option itself, but once added it syncs automatically to Google Calendar on all your devices.
- On a computer or phone browser, go to calendar.google.com and sign in
- Next to Other calendars, click + → From URL
- Paste the
https://version of your webcal link (swapwebcal://forhttps://if needed) and click Add calendar
The roster will then appear in the Google Calendar app on your phone. Keep in mind Google controls the refresh interval (it can take up to 24 hours to pick up changes), and the roster data is stored on Google's servers rather than staying purely on-device.
iPhone & iPad
The SMS welcome message from ROSTERkey contains a URL that needs to be copied and used to set up a WebCal subscription. Long-press the URL in the message and select Copy.
There are two ways to add the subscription on iOS, depending on your iOS version:
Via the Calendar app (iOS 17 and later)
- Open the Calendar app
- Tap Calendars at the bottom, then Add Calendar → Add Subscription Calendar
- Paste the URL copied from the SMS welcome message and tap Subscribe/Find
- Enter your preferred title and colour, then tap Done
Via Settings (all supported iOS versions)
- Open Settings → Calendar → Accounts
- Tap Add Account → Other → Add Subscribed Calendar
- Paste the URL copied from the SMS welcome message into the Server field
- Tap Next at top right
- Enter your preferred description
- Tap Done at top right
Your personal roster should now appear as one of your calendars. Like other calendars, it can be shown or hidden as you like without affecting the roster's contents.