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3.2. Property Parameters

A property can have attributes with which it is associated. These “property parameters” contain meta-information about the property or the property value. Property parameters are provided to specify such information as the location of an alternate text representation for a property value, the language of a text property value, the value type of the property value, and other attributes.

Property parameter values that contain the COLON, SEMICOLON, or COMMA character separators MUST be specified as quoted-string text values. Property parameter values MUST NOT contain the DQUOTE character. The DQUOTE character is used as a delimiter for parameter values that contain restricted characters or URI text. For example:

DESCRIPTION;ALTREP="cid:part1.0001@example.org":The Fall'98 Wild
  Wizards Conference - - Las Vegas\, NV\, USA

Property parameter values that are not in quoted-strings are case- insensitive.

The general property parameters defined by this memo are defined by the following notation:

icalparameter = altrepparam       ; Alternate text representation
              / cnparam           ; Common name
              / cutypeparam       ; Calendar user type
              / delfromparam      ; Delegator
              / deltoparam        ; Delegatee
              / dirparam          ; Directory entry
              / encodingparam     ; Inline encoding
              / fmttypeparam      ; Format type
              / fbtypeparam       ; Free/busy time type
              / languageparam     ; Language for text
              / memberparam       ; Group or list membership
              / partstatparam     ; Participation status
              / rangeparam        ; Recurrence identifier range
              / trigrelparam      ; Alarm trigger relationship
              / reltypeparam      ; Relationship type
              / roleparam         ; Participation role
              / rsvpparam         ; RSVP expectation
              / sentbyparam       ; Sent by
              / tzidparam         ; Reference to time zone object
              / valuetypeparam    ; Property value data type
              / other-param

other-param   = (iana-param / x-param)

iana-param  = iana-token "=" param-value *("," param-value)
; Some other IANA-registered iCalendar parameter.

x-param     = x-name "=" param-value *("," param-value)
; A non-standard, experimental parameter.

Applications MUST ignore x-param and iana-param values they don’t recognize.

3.2.1 Alternate Text Representation

Parameter Name: ALTREP

Purpose: To specify an alternate text representation for the property value.

Format Definition: This property parameter is defined by the following notation:

altrepparam = "ALTREP" "=" DQUOTE uri DQUOTE

Description: This parameter specifies a URI that points to an alternate representation for a textual property value. A property specifying this parameter MUST also include a value that reflects the default representation of the text value. The URI parameter value MUST be specified in a quoted-string.

Note

While there is no restriction imposed on the URI schemes allowed for this parameter, Content Identifier (CID) [RFC2392], HTTP [RFC2616], and HTTPS [RFC2818] are the URI schemes most commonly used by current implementations.

Example:

DESCRIPTION;ALTREP="CID:part3.msg.970415T083000@example.com":
 Project XYZ Review Meeting will include the following agenda
  items: (a) Market Overview\, (b) Finances\, (c) Project Man
 agement

The “ALTREP” property parameter value might point to a “text/html” content portion.

Content-Type:text/html
Content-Id:<part3.msg.970415T083000@example.com>

<html>
  <head>
   <title></title>
  </head>
  <body>
    <p>
      <b>Project XYZ Review Meeting</b> will include
      the following agenda items:
      <ol>
        <li>Market Overview</li>
        <li>Finances</li>
        <li>Project Management</li>
      </ol>
    </p>
  </body>
</html>

3.2.2. Common Name

Parameter Name: CN

Purpose: To specify the common name to be associated with the calendar user specified by the property.

Format Definition: This property parameter is defined by the following notation:

cnparam    = "CN" "=" param-value

Description: This parameter can be specified on properties with a CAL-ADDRESS value type. The parameter specifies the common name to be associated with the calendar user specified by the property. The parameter value is text. The parameter value can be used for display text to be associated with the calendar address specified by the property.

Example:

::
ORGANIZER;CN=”John Smith”:mailto:jsmith@example.com

3.2.3. Calendar User Type

Parameter Name: CUTYPE

Purpose: To identify the type of calendar user specified by the property.

Format Definition: This property parameter is defined by the following notation:

::
cutypeparam = “CUTYPE” “=”
(“INDIVIDUAL” ; An individual

/ “GROUP” ; A group of individuals / “RESOURCE” ; A physical resource / “ROOM” ; A room resource / “UNKNOWN” ; Otherwise not known / x-name ; Experimental type / iana-token) ; Other IANA-registered

; type

; Default is INDIVIDUAL

Description: This parameter can be specified on properties with a CAL-ADDRESS value type. The parameter identifies the type of calendar user specified by the property. If not specified on a property that allows this parameter, the default is INDIVIDUAL. Applications MUST treat x-name and iana-token values they don’t recognize the same way as they would the UNKNOWN value.

Example:

ATTENDEE;CUTYPE=GROUP:mailto:ietf-calsch@example.org

3.2.4. Delegators

Parameter Name: DELEGATED-FROM

Purpose: To specify the calendar users that have delegated their participation to the calendar user specified by the property.

Format Definition: This property parameter is defined by the following notation:

delfromparam       = "DELEGATED-FROM" "=" DQUOTE cal-address
                      DQUOTE *("," DQUOTE cal-address DQUOTE)

Description: This parameter can be specified on properties with a CAL-ADDRESS value type. This parameter specifies those calendar users that have delegated their participation in a group-scheduled event or to-do to the calendar user specified by the property. The individual calendar address parameter values MUST each be specified in a quoted-string.

Example:

ATTENDEE;DELEGATED-FROM="mailto:jsmith@example.com":mailto:
 jdoe@example.com

3.2.5. Delegatees

Parameter Name: DELEGATED-TO

Purpose: To specify the calendar users to whom the calendar user
specified by the property has delegated participation.
Format Definition: This property parameter is defined by the

following notation:

deltoparam = “DELEGATED-TO” “=” DQUOTE cal-address DQUOTE
*(”,” DQUOTE cal-address DQUOTE)
Description: This parameter can be specified on properties with a
CAL-ADDRESS value type. This parameter specifies those calendar users whom have been delegated participation in a group-scheduled event or to-do by the calendar user specified by the property. The individual calendar address parameter values MUST each be specified in a quoted-string.

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Example:

ATTENDEE;DELEGATED-TO=”mailto:jdoe@example.com”,”mailto:jqpublic
@example.com”:mailto:jsmith@example.com

3.2.6. Directory Entry Reference

Parameter Name: DIR

Purpose: To specify reference to a directory entry associated with
the calendar user specified by the property.
Format Definition: This property parameter is defined by the

following notation:

dirparam = “DIR” “=” DQUOTE uri DQUOTE
Description: This parameter can be specified on properties with a

CAL-ADDRESS value type. The parameter specifies a reference to the directory entry associated with the calendar user specified by the property. The parameter value is a URI. The URI parameter value MUST be specified in a quoted-string.

Note: While there is no restriction imposed on the URI schemes allowed for this parameter, CID [RFC2392], DATA [RFC2397], FILE [RFC1738], FTP [RFC1738], HTTP [RFC2616], HTTPS [RFC2818], LDAP [RFC4516], and MID [RFC2392] are the URI schemes most commonly used by current implementations.

Example:

ORGANIZER;DIR=”ldap://example.com:6666/o=ABC%20Industries,
c=US???(cn=Jim%20Dolittle)”:mailto:jimdo@example.com

3.2.7. Inline Encoding

Parameter Name: ENCODING

Purpose: To specify an alternate inline encoding for the property
value.
Format Definition: This property parameter is defined by the
following notation:

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encodingparam = “ENCODING” “=”
( “8BIT”
; “8bit” text encoding is defined in [RFC2045]
/ “BASE64”
; “BASE64” binary encoding format is defined in [RFC4648]
)
Description: This property parameter identifies the inline encoding

used in a property value. The default encoding is “8BIT”, corresponding to a property value consisting of text. The “BASE64” encoding type corresponds to a property value encoded using the “BASE64” encoding defined in [RFC2045].

If the value type parameter is ”;VALUE=BINARY”, then the inline encoding parameter MUST be specified with the value ”;ENCODING=BASE64”.

Example:

ATTACH;FMTTYPE=text/plain;ENCODING=BASE64;VALUE=BINARY:TG9yZW
0gaXBzdW0gZG9sb3Igc2l0IGFtZXQsIGNvbnNlY3RldHVyIGFkaXBpc2ljaW 5nIGVsaXQsIHNlZCBkbyBlaXVzbW9kIHRlbXBvciBpbmNpZGlkdW50IHV0IG xhYm9yZSBldCBkb2xvcmUgbWFnbmEgYWxpcXVhLiBVdCBlbmltIGFkIG1pbm ltIHZlbmlhbSwgcXVpcyBub3N0cnVkIGV4ZXJjaXRhdGlvbiB1bGxhbWNvIG xhYm9yaXMgbmlzaSB1dCBhbGlxdWlwIGV4IGVhIGNvbW1vZG8gY29uc2VxdW F0LiBEdWlzIGF1dGUgaXJ1cmUgZG9sb3IgaW4gcmVwcmVoZW5kZXJpdCBpbi B2b2x1cHRhdGUgdmVsaXQgZXNzZSBjaWxsdW0gZG9sb3JlIGV1IGZ1Z2lhdC BudWxsYSBwYXJpYXR1ci4gRXhjZXB0ZXVyIHNpbnQgb2NjYWVjYXQgY3VwaW RhdGF0IG5vbiBwcm9pZGVudCwgc3VudCBpbiBjdWxwYSBxdWkgb2ZmaWNpYS BkZXNlcnVudCBtb2xsaXQgYW5pbSBpZCBlc3QgbGFib3J1bS4=

3.2.8. Format Type

Parameter Name: FMTTYPE

Purpose: To specify the content type of a referenced object.

Format Definition: This property parameter is defined by the

following notation:

fmttypeparam = “FMTTYPE” “=” type-name “/” subtype-name
; Where “type-name” and “subtype-name” are ; defined in Section 4.2 of [RFC4288].
Description: This parameter can be specified on properties that are
used to reference an object. The parameter specifies the media type [RFC4288] of the referenced object. For example, on the “ATTACH” property, an FTP type URI value does not, by itself,

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necessarily convey the type of content associated with the resource. The parameter value MUST be the text for either an IANA-registered media type or a non-standard media type.

Example:

ATTACH;FMTTYPE=application/msword:ftp://example.com/pub/docs/
agenda.doc

3.2.9. Free/Busy Time Type

Parameter Name: FBTYPE

Purpose: To specify the free or busy time type.

Format Definition: This property parameter is defined by the

following notation:

fbtypeparam = “FBTYPE” “=” (“FREE” / “BUSY”
/ “BUSY-UNAVAILABLE” / “BUSY-TENTATIVE” / x-name
; Some experimental iCalendar free/busy type.
/ iana-token)

; Some other IANA-registered iCalendar free/busy type.

Description: This parameter specifies the free or busy time type.
The value FREE indicates that the time interval is free for scheduling. The value BUSY indicates that the time interval is busy because one or more events have been scheduled for that interval. The value BUSY-UNAVAILABLE indicates that the time interval is busy and that the interval can not be scheduled. The value BUSY-TENTATIVE indicates that the time interval is busy because one or more events have been tentatively scheduled for that interval. If not specified on a property that allows this parameter, the default is BUSY. Applications MUST treat x-name and iana-token values they don’t recognize the same way as they would the BUSY value.
Example: The following is an example of this parameter on a

“FREEBUSY” property.

FREEBUSY;FBTYPE=BUSY:19980415T133000Z/19980415T170000Z

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3.2.10. Language

Parameter Name: LANGUAGE

Purpose: To specify the language for text values in a property or
property parameter.
Format Definition: This property parameter is defined by the

following notation:

languageparam = “LANGUAGE” “=” language

language = Language-Tag
; As defined in [RFC5646].
Description: This parameter identifies the language of the text in

the property value and of all property parameter values of the property. The value of the “LANGUAGE” property parameter is that defined in [RFC5646].

For transport in a MIME entity, the Content-Language header field can be used to set the default language for the entire body part. Otherwise, no default language is assumed.

Example: The following are examples of this parameter on the

“SUMMARY” and “LOCATION” properties:

SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-US:Company Holiday Party

LOCATION;LANGUAGE=en:Germany

LOCATION;LANGUAGE=no:Tyskland

3.2.11. Group or List Membership

Parameter Name: MEMBER

Purpose: To specify the group or list membership of the calendar
user specified by the property.
Format Definition: This property parameter is defined by the

following notation:

memberparam = “MEMBER” “=” DQUOTE cal-address DQUOTE
*(”,” DQUOTE cal-address DQUOTE)

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Description: This parameter can be specified on properties with a
CAL-ADDRESS value type. The parameter identifies the groups or list membership for the calendar user specified by the property. The parameter value is either a single calendar address in a quoted-string or a COMMA-separated list of calendar addresses, each in a quoted-string. The individual calendar address parameter values MUST each be specified in a quoted-string.

Example:

3.2.12. Participation Status

Parameter Name: PARTSTAT

Purpose: To specify the participation status for the calendar user
specified by the property.
Format Definition: This property parameter is defined by the

following notation:

partstatparam = “PARTSTAT” “=”
(partstat-event

/ partstat-todo / partstat-jour)

partstat-event = (“NEEDS-ACTION” ; Event needs action

/ “ACCEPTED” ; Event accepted / “DECLINED” ; Event declined / “TENTATIVE” ; Event tentatively

; accepted

/ “DELEGATED” ; Event delegated / x-name ; Experimental status / iana-token) ; Other IANA-registered

; status

; These are the participation statuses for a “VEVENT”. ; Default is NEEDS-ACTION.

partstat-todo = (“NEEDS-ACTION” ; To-do needs action

/ “ACCEPTED” ; To-do accepted / “DECLINED” ; To-do declined / “TENTATIVE” ; To-do tentatively

; accepted

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/ “DELEGATED” ; To-do delegated / “COMPLETED” ; To-do completed

; COMPLETED property has ; DATE-TIME completed
/ “IN-PROCESS” ; To-do in process of
; being completed

/ x-name ; Experimental status / iana-token) ; Other IANA-registered

; status

; These are the participation statuses for a “VTODO”. ; Default is NEEDS-ACTION.

partstat-jour = (“NEEDS-ACTION” ; Journal needs action

/ “ACCEPTED” ; Journal accepted / “DECLINED” ; Journal declined / x-name ; Experimental status / iana-token) ; Other IANA-registered

; status

; These are the participation statuses for a “VJOURNAL”. ; Default is NEEDS-ACTION.

Description: This parameter can be specified on properties with a
CAL-ADDRESS value type. The parameter identifies the participation status for the calendar user specified by the property value. The parameter values differ depending on whether they are associated with a group-scheduled “VEVENT”, “VTODO”, or “VJOURNAL”. The values MUST match one of the values allowed for the given calendar component. If not specified on a property that allows this parameter, the default value is NEEDS-ACTION. Applications MUST treat x-name and iana-token values they don’t recognize the same way as they would the NEEDS-ACTION value.

Example:

ATTENDEE;PARTSTAT=DECLINED:mailto:jsmith@example.com

3.2.13. Recurrence Identifier Range

Parameter Name: RANGE

Purpose: To specify the effective range of recurrence instances from
the instance specified by the recurrence identifier specified by the property.
Format Definition: This property parameter is defined by the
following notation:

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rangeparam = “RANGE” “=” “THISANDFUTURE” ; To specify the instance specified by the recurrence identifier ; and all subsequent recurrence instances.
Description: This parameter can be specified on a property that
specifies a recurrence identifier. The parameter specifies the effective range of recurrence instances that is specified by the property. The effective range is from the recurrence identifier specified by the property. If this parameter is not specified on an allowed property, then the default range is the single instance specified by the recurrence identifier value of the property. The parameter value can only be “THISANDFUTURE” to indicate a range defined by the recurrence identifier and all subsequent instances. The value “THISANDPRIOR” is deprecated by this revision of iCalendar and MUST NOT be generated by applications.

Example:

RECURRENCE-ID;RANGE=THISANDFUTURE:19980401T133000Z

3.2.14. Alarm Trigger Relationship

Parameter Name: RELATED

Purpose: To specify the relationship of the alarm trigger with
respect to the start or end of the calendar component.
Format Definition: This property parameter is defined by the

following notation:

trigrelparam = “RELATED” “=”
(“START” ; Trigger off of start

/ “END”) ; Trigger off of end

Description: This parameter can be specified on properties that
specify an alarm trigger with a “DURATION” value type. The parameter specifies whether the alarm will trigger relative to the start or end of the calendar component. The parameter value START will set the alarm to trigger off the start of the calendar component; the parameter value END will set the alarm to trigger off the end of the calendar component. If the parameter is not specified on an allowable property, then the default is START.

Example:

TRIGGER;RELATED=END:PT5M

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3.2.15. Relationship Type

Parameter Name: RELTYPE

Purpose: To specify the type of hierarchical relationship associated
with the calendar component specified by the property.
Format Definition: This property parameter is defined by the

following notation:

reltypeparam = “RELTYPE” “=”
(“PARENT” ; Parent relationship - Default

/ “CHILD” ; Child relationship / “SIBLING” ; Sibling relationship / iana-token ; Some other IANA-registered

; iCalendar relationship type
/ x-name) ; A non-standard, experimental
; relationship type
Description: This parameter can be specified on a property that
references another related calendar. The parameter specifies the hierarchical relationship type of the calendar component referenced by the property. The parameter value can be PARENT, to indicate that the referenced calendar component is a superior of calendar component; CHILD to indicate that the referenced calendar component is a subordinate of the calendar component; or SIBLING to indicate that the referenced calendar component is a peer of the calendar component. If this parameter is not specified on an allowable property, the default relationship type is PARENT. Applications MUST treat x-name and iana-token values they don’t recognize the same way as they would the PARENT value.

Example:

RELATED-TO;RELTYPE=SIBLING:19960401-080045-4000F192713@
example.com

3.2.16. Participation Role

Parameter Name: ROLE

Purpose: To specify the participation role for the calendar user
specified by the property.
Format Definition: This property parameter is defined by the
following notation:

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roleparam = “ROLE” “=”
(“CHAIR” ; Indicates chair of the
; calendar entity
/ “REQ-PARTICIPANT” ; Indicates a participant whose
; participation is required
/ “OPT-PARTICIPANT” ; Indicates a participant whose
; participation is optional
/ “NON-PARTICIPANT” ; Indicates a participant who
; is copied for information ; purposes only

/ x-name ; Experimental role / iana-token) ; Other IANA role

; Default is REQ-PARTICIPANT

Description: This parameter can be specified on properties with a
CAL-ADDRESS value type. The parameter specifies the participation role for the calendar user specified by the property in the group schedule calendar component. If not specified on a property that allows this parameter, the default value is REQ-PARTICIPANT. Applications MUST treat x-name and iana-token values they don’t recognize the same way as they would the REQ-PARTICIPANT value.

Example:

ATTENDEE;ROLE=CHAIR:mailto:mrbig@example.com

3.2.17. RSVP Expectation

Parameter Name: RSVP

Purpose: To specify whether there is an expectation of a favor of a
reply from the calendar user specified by the property value.
Format Definition: This property parameter is defined by the

following notation:

rsvpparam = “RSVP” “=” (“TRUE” / “FALSE”) ; Default is FALSE
Description: This parameter can be specified on properties with a
CAL-ADDRESS value type. The parameter identifies the expectation of a reply from the calendar user specified by the property value. This parameter is used by the “Organizer” to request a participation status reply from an “Attendee” of a group-scheduled event or to-do. If not specified on a property that allows this parameter, the default value is FALSE.

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Example:

ATTENDEE;RSVP=TRUE:mailto:jsmith@example.com

3.2.18. Sent By

Parameter Name: SENT-BY

Purpose: To specify the calendar user that is acting on behalf of
the calendar user specified by the property.
Format Definition: This property parameter is defined by the

following notation:

sentbyparam = “SENT-BY” “=” DQUOTE cal-address DQUOTE
Description: This parameter can be specified on properties with a
CAL-ADDRESS value type. The parameter specifies the calendar user that is acting on behalf of the calendar user specified by the property. The parameter value MUST be a mailto URI as defined in [RFC2368]. The individual calendar address parameter values MUST each be specified in a quoted-string.

Example:

ORGANIZER;SENT-BY=”mailto:sray@example.com”:mailto:
jsmith@example.com

3.2.19. Time Zone Identifier

Parameter Name: TZID

Purpose: To specify the identifier for the time zone definition for
a time component in the property value.
Format Definition: This property parameter is defined by the

following notation:

tzidparam = “TZID” “=” [tzidprefix] paramtext

tzidprefix = “/”

Description: This parameter MUST be specified on the “DTSTART”,
“DTEND”, “DUE”, “EXDATE”, and “RDATE” properties when either a DATE-TIME or TIME value type is specified and when the value is neither a UTC or a “floating” time. Refer to the DATE-TIME or TIME value type definition for a description of UTC and “floating time” formats. This property parameter specifies a text value

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that uniquely identifies the “VTIMEZONE” calendar component to be used when evaluating the time portion of the property. The value of the “TZID” property parameter will be equal to the value of the “TZID” property for the matching time zone definition. An individual “VTIMEZONE” calendar component MUST be specified for each unique “TZID” parameter value specified in the iCalendar object.

The parameter MUST be specified on properties with a DATE-TIME value if the DATE-TIME is not either a UTC or a “floating” time. Failure to include and follow VTIMEZONE definitions in iCalendar objects may lead to inconsistent understanding of the local time at any given location.

The presence of the SOLIDUS character as a prefix, indicates that this “TZID” represents a unique ID in a globally defined time zone registry (when such registry is defined).

Note: This document does not define a naming convention for time zone identifiers. Implementers may want to use the naming conventions defined in existing time zone specifications such as the public-domain TZ database [TZDB]. The specification of globally unique time zone identifiers is not addressed by this document and is left for future study.

The following are examples of this property parameter:

DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:19980119T020000

DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:19980119T030000

The “TZID” property parameter MUST NOT be applied to DATE properties and DATE-TIME or TIME properties whose time values are specified in UTC.

The use of local time in a DATE-TIME or TIME value without the “TZID” property parameter is to be interpreted as floating time, regardless of the existence of “VTIMEZONE” calendar components in the iCalendar object.

For more information, see the sections on the value types DATE- TIME and TIME.

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3.2.20. Value Data Types

Parameter Name: VALUE

Purpose: To explicitly specify the value type format for a property
value.
Format Definition: This property parameter is defined by the

following notation:

valuetypeparam = “VALUE” “=” valuetype

valuetype = (“BINARY”
/ “BOOLEAN” / “CAL-ADDRESS” / “DATE” / “DATE-TIME” / “DURATION” / “FLOAT” / “INTEGER” / “PERIOD” / “RECUR” / “TEXT” / “TIME” / “URI” / “UTC-OFFSET” / x-name ; Some experimental iCalendar value type. / iana-token) ; Some other IANA-registered iCalendar value type.
Description: This parameter specifies the value type and format of

the property value. The property values MUST be of a single value type. For example, a “RDATE” property cannot have a combination of DATE-TIME and TIME value types.

If the property’s value is the default value type, then this parameter need not be specified. However, if the property’s default value type is overridden by some other allowable value type, then this parameter MUST be specified.

Applications MUST preserve the value data for x-name and iana- token values that they don’t recognize without attempting to interpret or parse the value data.

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