How to Clear the iCal Cache

This wikiHow teaches you how to delete cached files from your Mac's Calendar app. This will solve problems such as a slow or unresponsive calendar, but it may also wipe your calendar's data; as such, you'll begin the process of clearing...

Part 1 of 3:

Preparing to Clear the Cache

  1. Picture 1 of How to Clear the iCal Cache
    Open the Calendar app. Double-click the calendar icon in your Mac's Dock.
  2. Picture 2 of How to Clear the iCal Cache
    Back up your calendar's data. If you have multiple calendars synced to different accounts, you'll need to back those up, too. To do so:[1]
    1. Click File
    2. Select Export
    3. Click Calendar Archive
    4. Select a save location.
  3. Picture 3 of How to Clear the iCal Cache
    Try removing and re-adding the account. You may be able to solve your calendar problem by removing the calendar account from your computer and then adding it back. To do so:
    1. Click the Apple Menu
      Picture 4 of How to Clear the iCal Cache
    2. Click System Preferences
    3. Click Internet Accounts
    4. Select the calendar's account.
    5. Click -
    6. Restart your Mac
    7. Go back to the Internet Accounts page.
    8. Select an account provider (e.g., Outlook).
    9. Enter your account's email address and password.
  4. Picture 5 of How to Clear the iCal Cache
    Close and re-open your Calendar. If the problem was fixed, your account simply needed a refresh. If not, continue to the next step.
  5. Picture 6 of How to Clear the iCal Cache
    Double-check your backups before clearing your cache. There is a decent chance that your calendars' contents will be completely deleted if you clear your cache, so make absolutely sure that you have a backup file for each of your calendars. Only proceed after you are certain that you won't lose anything important.
  6. Picture 7 of How to Clear the iCal Cache
    Close your Calendar app. You are now ready to proceed with clearing your calendar's cache.
Part 2 of 3:

Clearing the Cache

  1. Picture 8 of How to Clear the iCal Cache
    Open Finder. Click the blue, face-shaped app in the Dock.
  2. Picture 9 of How to Clear the iCal Cache
    Select your Mac's hard drive. It's on the left side of the Finder window, just below the "Devices" heading.
  3. Picture 10 of How to Clear the iCal Cache
    Double-click the Macintosh HD folder. You should see this option near the top of the Finder window.
  4. Picture 11 of How to Clear the iCal Cache
    Double-click the Users folder. This will open the Users folder.
  5. Picture 12 of How to Clear the iCal Cache
    Double-click the folder with your name on it. This is the personal user folder.
  6. Picture 13 of How to Clear the iCal Cache
    Press ⌘ Command+⇧ Shift+.. Doing so prompts the hidden folders that are in your personal user folder to display. One such folder is the Library folder.
  7. Picture 14 of How to Clear the iCal Cache
    Double-click the Library folder. It's in the middle of the personal user folder.
  8. Picture 15 of How to Clear the iCal Cache
    Double-click the Calendars folder. This folder is in the middle of the Library folder.
  9. Picture 16 of How to Clear the iCal Cache
    Delete any cache files in this folder. There may be several files with "Cache" in their title; select each cache file by holding ⌘ Command and clicking them, then click File and click Move to Trash.
    1. These cache files are often named things like com.apple.cal.
  10. Picture 17 of How to Clear the iCal Cache
    Click the Trash icon. It's a waste basket-shaped icon in the Dock. A pop-up menu will appear.
  11. Picture 18 of How to Clear the iCal Cache
    Click Empty Trash…. This option is in the pop-up menu.
  12. Picture 19 of How to Clear the iCal Cache
    Click Empty Trash when prompted. Doing so will most likely trigger an error message that says "The operation can't be completed because the item '[cache file name]' is in use", meaning you'll need to force-quit the Calendar background process and then empty Trash again.
    1. If you don't see any error messages pop up, your Calendar app's cache has successfully been cleared.
Part 3 of 3:

Force-Quitting Calendar

  1. Picture 20 of How to Clear the iCal Cache
    Click Continue on the error window. You may have to do this for several errors depending on how many files you tried to delete.
  2. Picture 21 of How to Clear the iCal Cache
    Open Spotlight
    Picture 22 of How to Clear the iCal Cache
    . Click the magnifying glass-shaped icon in the top-right corner of the screen.
  3. Picture 23 of How to Clear the iCal Cache
    Type activity monitor into Spotlight. Doing so searches your Mac for the Activity Monitor app, which is a program that allows you to monitor and halt background processes.
  4. Picture 24 of How to Clear the iCal Cache
    Click Activity Monitor. It's a black box with green lines on it. You should see it near the top of the Spotlight drop-down menu.
  5. Picture 25 of How to Clear the iCal Cache
    Double-click the "CalendarAgent" entry. This is the Calendar background process. It will open.
  6. Picture 26 of How to Clear the iCal Cache
    Click Quit. It's in the bottom-right side of the Calendar window.
  7. Picture 27 of How to Clear the iCal Cache
    Click Force Quit when prompted. Doing so will prevent the Calendar background process from running, meaning that you can delete the cache files without interference.
    1. You may not see the "CalendarAgent" entry disappear from the Activity Manager when you click Force Quit.
  8. Picture 28 of How to Clear the iCal Cache
    Empty the Trash. Click the Trash Can icon, click Empty Trash..., and click Empty Trash when prompted. You shouldn't experience any errors this time, meaning that your calendar's cached files will be deleted. You have successfully cleared your Mac's Calendar app's cache.
Update 04 March 2020
clickcalendarfoldercache

You should read it

Maybe you are interested

Category

System

Mac OS X

Hardware

Game

Tech info

Technology

Science

Life

Application

Electric

Program

Mobile