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How to get your D2L (Brightspace) due dates into one calendar

Updated October 17, 2026 · About a 5-minute setup

Picture Maya. She's a high school junior taking two online classes, or a college sophomore with four. Either way she opens the week and finds that every quiz, discussion post, and essay is due Sunday at 11:59 PM. Brightspace (D2L) knows all those dates. This guide shows how to copy them into the calendar you already check, whether that's Google, Outlook, or Apple, so the week stops sneaking up on you.

Parents: if your student's school uses Brightspace, do these steps together, and your student can share the link with you so you both see the same due dates.

The short version: in Brightspace, open Calendar → Settings, check Enable Calendar Feeds, save, and click Subscribe. Choose All Calendars and Tasks, copy the link, and paste it into your calendar app's "subscribe" or "from URL" option.

1. Get the link2. Google Calendar3. Outlook4. Apple Calendar5. Common problems6. Make Sunday night readableFAQ

These steps follow D2L's own help article, Manage course events with the Calendar tool. Your school's Brightspace may look a little different. Some put Calendar under a Resources or Tools menu.

  1. Sign in to Brightspace. On a course homepage, open the Calendar widget's menu and choose Go to Calendar, or pick Calendar from the navbar.
  2. Click Settings (the gear).
  3. Check Enable Calendar Feeds and click Save.
  4. Back on the Calendar page, click Subscribe.
  5. Under Calendar Subscriptions, choose All Calendars and Tasks to get every course in one feed. You can also choose a single course, or Tasks Only.
  6. Copy the URL. That's your iCal feed. (There's also a Download button for a .ics file, but a download is a one-time snapshot and won't update. Use the link.)

Keep the link private. Anyone who has it can see your course calendar without signing in, so don't post it in a group chat. If it leaks, ask your school's help desk how to reset it.

Step 2: Add the D2L calendar to Google Calendar

Google only lets you subscribe on a computer, not in the phone app (Google's help). Once it's added, it shows on your phone too.

  1. Open calendar.google.com in a computer browser.
  2. On the left, next to Other calendars, click +, then From URL.
  3. Paste the Brightspace link and click Add calendar.
  4. It appears under "Other calendars." Click the three dots next to it to rename it (for example, "Classes") and pick a color.

If it doesn't show on your phone, open the Google Calendar app's menu, go to Settings, tap the calendar, and turn on Sync.

Step 3: Add it to Outlook

From Microsoft's help, for Outlook.com and Outlook on the web (which many schools use for student email):

  1. Sign in to Outlook on the web and open Calendar.
  2. Click Add calendar, then Subscribe from web.
  3. Paste the Brightspace link, give it a name, and click Import.

Don't use "Upload from file" here. That imports a snapshot that never updates.

Step 4: Add it to Apple Calendar (iPhone, iPad, Mac)

iPhone or iPad (Apple's help):

  1. Open the Settings app and tap Apps, then Calendar. (On iOS 17 and earlier, tap Calendar right in Settings.)
  2. Tap Calendar Accounts (or Accounts), then Add Account, Other, and Add Subscribed Calendar.
  3. Paste the link, tap Next, rename it if you like, and tap Save.

Mac: in the Calendar app, choose File → New Calendar Subscription, paste the link, and click Subscribe. You can also set how often it auto-refreshes there.

Step 5: Common problems, and fixes

"I don't see Subscribe or Enable Calendar Feeds"

Calendar feeds are an option your school or course turns on. If they're off, there's nothing to fix on your end. Ask your school's Brightspace help desk or your instructor, and in the meantime use your school's Brightspace Pulse app or check the Calendar page directly.

"A new assignment isn't showing yet"

Subscribed calendars don't update instantly. Your calendar app decides when to check the link again. Microsoft says Outlook usually refreshes about every few hours but can take more than 24 hours. Google doesn't promise a time, and it's often several hours. When a deadline is close, check Brightspace itself. Instructors also sometimes change dates late.

"Everything is an hour off" or "due times look wrong"

Check your Brightspace time zone: click your name at the top right, then Account Settings, and set your time zone (D2L's help). Then check that your phone or calendar app uses the same time zone. Online courses run by a school in another time zone are a common cause.

"Some items show up and others don't"

The feed only includes items your instructor gave a date in Brightspace. If a syllabus date never went into Brightspace, it won't be in the feed. Also make sure you subscribed to All Calendars and Tasks and not a single course.

"Ten things due at 11:59 PM look like one gray smear"

That's the real problem with most calendars. Ten events at the same minute get squeezed into a sliver at the bottom of Sunday, or hidden behind "+8 more." Read on.

Step 6 (optional): Make Sunday 11:59 PM readable with Ai-Neut

Ai-Neut is a journal and organizer that's free to use, with no ads and an optional paid Helping Hand upgrade. It's built for exactly this pile-up. Paste the same Brightspace link:

  1. Open Ai-Neut on your phone or computer and go to Calendar.
  2. Tap Connect, then School or other link (ICS).
  3. Paste the link, name it if you like, pick a color, and add it. The full address stays hidden on screen, and the link refreshes every few hours.

What you get:

Honest notes: Ai-Neut is in beta and still being polished. School feeds are view-only in Ai-Neut, so to submit work or change anything you still use Brightspace. It works in any modern browser today, and an Android app on Google Play is coming soon. Teens 13 and up can sign up and use Ai-Neut on their own, and kids under 13 join through a parent. A parent can also add a student's feed to the family calendar. No ads, ever. Direct Google Calendar sign-in is open to invited testers right now, and Outlook sign-in is in beta. The school-link method above works for everyone.

Add my D2L calendar to Ai-Neut   See how the Due view works

FAQ

Can I export my D2L calendar to Google Calendar?

Yes. In Brightspace, open Calendar, then Settings, check Enable Calendar Feeds and save, click Subscribe, and copy the link. In Google Calendar on a computer, choose Other calendars, then +, From URL, and paste it.

What's the difference between subscribing and downloading the .ics file?

Subscribing with the link keeps updating as instructors add or change dates. Downloading the .ics file copies today's events once and never updates. Use the subscribe link.

Why don't new D2L assignments show up in my calendar right away?

Calendar apps check subscribed links on their own schedule, often every few hours and sometimes over a day for Outlook. Check Brightspace directly when a deadline is close.

Where is the Brightspace calendar feed if there's no Subscribe button?

Your school or course may have calendar feeds turned off. Ask your school's Brightspace help desk or your instructor.

Is my D2L calendar link private?

Treat it like a password. Anyone with the link can see your course calendar without signing in, so don't share it publicly.

Can a parent see a high schooler's Brightspace due dates?

The simplest way is for the student to copy their calendar feed link and share it with the parent privately. Then the parent can paste the same link into Ai-Neut on their own phone and see the same Due list. Some schools also offer D2L's Brightspace Parent & Guardian app. Ask your school.

Brightspace and D2L are trademarks of D2L Corporation. Google Calendar, Outlook, and Apple Calendar are trademarks of their owners. Ai-Neut isn't affiliated with any of them. Steps were checked against each company's help pages on October 17, 2026, and menus can change.