What is an ics file and how can I create them?

[Selene]

A vendor just sent me an email with some text that said "click here to add
this event to your Outlook calendar." The link was to a web site and the
string ended with a_ics?mid=1q0c71kqpp5rg&pw=466973&i=i.ics

When I clicked it, a dialog opened up with Save or Open options. I clicked
open and it added the event to my calendar. WOW! what is this and how can I
learn how to create them?

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

An .ics file is a text file that conforms to the iCalendar standard for
exchanging calendar information. You can create them (or the earlier vCal
file) from any Outlook appointment by choosing File | Save As and changing
the file type.