Know How to Copy Lotus Notes Calendar to Outlook


“I am the global administrator of the company. We had been using Lotus Notes for a very long time. But, due to some glitches, we are moving towards Microsoft Outlook. We tried many solutions but, all of them turned out to be of no use. Please, can anyone suggest me the best possible method to copy Lotus Notes calendar to Outlook? Any lead will be greatly appreciated.”

Does the query seem familiar to you? Are you also stuck in the same problem? If yes, then do not worry. The solution to the problem is not that difficult. All a user needs to do is focus till the end of the write-up. Moreover, an automated tool is also introduced to carry out Lotus Notes to Outlook conversion.

Oftentimes, it happens that users want to migrate from Lotus Notes to Outlook. But, the problem emerges because both of these email clients use different file formats to store the files. So, if anyone needs to move components from Lotus Notes to Outlook, these elements must be exported to PST file format.

Workaround Approach to Forward Lotus Notes Calendars to Outlook

The workaround method consists of two different steps to migrate calendars from IBM Notes to MS Outlook. These are:

  • Convert the calendars from Notes into ICS file
  • Import ICS file into Outlook

Let us discuss both these steps in details:

Step 1: Export Calendars into ICS File Format

This is the first step to copy Lotus Notes calendar to Outlook. A user has to follow the given set of instructions to carry out the migration procedure from IBM Notes to Outlook:

  1. Launch Lotus Notes application in the local system and navigate towards calendar area
  2. Choose the option of “File” from the menu bar followed by the selection of the Export option from the list of menu.
  3. A pop-up window will appear on the screen. In this window, you have to provide the details like file name, select the option of calendar file (.ics) from the pull-down menu of save as type and click on the option of Export. Then, select the option of “All documents” and then click on OK.

Step 2: Import the ICS File into Microsoft Outlook

Follow the below-mentioned steps to continue the procedure of migrating calendar from IBM Notes to Outlook:

  1. Launch the Outlook application in the system. Choose the option of File, followed by Open and then Import
  2. A dialog box of Import and Export Wizard will open up on the screen. Choose the option of “Import an iCalendar or vCalendar” and then click on Next button
  3. Browse the ICS file obtained in the first step and click on OK option to copy Lotus Notes calendar to Outlook
  4. Select the location where you have to save the ICS calendar in the machine
  5. Then, you will see that Notes calendars are imported into Outlook

Drawbacks of the Manual Approach

Although, the above approach is an easy way to export Lotus Notes calendars to Outlook 2010, there are some limitations of this methodology due to which it is not considered as the reliable approach for performing the migration. These are listed as follows:

  • Only one calendar at a time can be exported. In other words, the technique does not allow batch migration of the ICS calendars
  • When 1000s of the calendar are to be exported, the process is very lengthy and time-consuming
  • Only the basic fields are migrated with the manual solution
  • Technical expertise is required to export Lotus Notes calendars to Outlook

Hence, to overcome all these cons, the alternative solution is discussed in the upcoming section.

Alternative Solution: With the Help of Automated Tool

The professional solution to export Lotus Notes calendars to Outlook 2013 is the third-party tool like NSF to PST Mail Converter. According to the experts, it is the best software to transfer Lotus Notes calendars to the Microsoft Outlook platform. The graphical interface of this product is very simple. Hence, making it easy for the users to work on it. Also, it offers very accurate result in the least time possible.

The Final Words

It happens many times that users feel the need to copy Lotus Notes Calendars to Outlook. But, both of these emails clients support different file formats. This is the reason why it becomes tricky to open any element in different email service providers. The manual approach has been explained to forward Lotus Notes calendar to Outlook. Also, a professional tool is also introduced to convert IBM Notes to MS Outlook.

Selah Medina is an enthusiastic independent blogger, whose main area of interests are cloud-related technologies. Her areas of expertise are Exchange Server, Azure, Office 365 & SharePoint. You can follow her through the buttons below.

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