Google Calendar is an impressive event and reminder tracking tool. Currently, it’s the gold standard for many enterprise and small business users alike. Why, you might ask? Well, to understand this powerful tool, it’s best to learn about its features and functions. In this guide, we will list the most fundamental ways to use Google Calendar. Also, as a bonus, you’ll learn the benefits of using a native Google Calendar app for Mac.
What is Google Calendar?
It’s almost impossible not to be aware of Google, given how influential and popular it is. To begin with, Google, as the company’s name, is also what it calls its search engine. On the other hand, aside from that, it also provides a variety of apps and services.
As the name suggests, Google Calendar is the Google’s take on a digital event planning software. Far from its original form, it has expanded today as an all-in-one tool for events, reminders, and even to-do lists. While being extremely powerful, it remained entirely free for everyone to use since its inception.
How To Use Google Calendar
Google Calendar is available on mobile devices and the web. Since the mobile app’s interface is too limiting, we will demonstrate the tool’s functions using the web version.
1. Create Events
Creating an event in Calendar only takes a few steps to perform. Besides the title and time frame, you can also input corresponding data such as guests, location, attachments, and many more. Anyhow, the following are the steps to compose your first event:
- Open your Calendar by visiting calendar.google.com
2. Sign in to your Google account.
3. Look for the “Create” button from the homepage; it should be on the top left.
4. Click the button and wait for a pop-up to appear.
5. In the pop-up, start by typing in the event’s title.
6. Set the appointment date by clicking the date section.
7. Select from the native date picker.
8. If you select the “All day” checkbox, the event will take up all day, and you can no longer choose a time.
9. If you want to set a specific time, uncheck the “All day” box and click the initial time text.
There are two types of time: the start and the finish, which indicates when the event would commence and conclude. After clicking, you can select from the template with 15 minutes of interval or type to be more specific. If you’re unsure what hours you’re available, please click the “Find a time” text. Scroll through the extended schedule view to discover unoccupied hours. If you select one, it will automatically reflect in the pop-up.
10. Add the event location by clicking the pointer icon’s input area.
11. Type the place or click the maps icon next to the input area to open Google Maps in the sidebar and select a specific location.
12. After that, you can now add descriptions or files by clicking the “Add description or attachments” input area.
13. Select the “Add description” text to open a mini-text editor and input the event specifics.
14. Click the “Add attachment” text to import files from the computer or Google Drive to the event.
15. By default, Calendar notifies users 30 minutes before the event; change it by clicking the notification dropdown.
16. Select from premade notification or customize one.
17. You can also add as many notifications as you want.
18. If you want to open the creation in full screen, click the “More options” button.
19. After filling in all necessary details, you can now hit the “Save” button below.
20. If you wish to cancel, click the “X” button in the top right corner of the pop-up or top left of the full-screen creation area.
Google Calendar automatically syncs new detected changes in your account across your devices.
2. Compose Reminders
The Calendar reminder feature is like a simplified event. Contrarily, it only accepts fewer data input. Also, the main difference is that, unlike events, reminders can overlap with each other. One should note that this function shouldn’t be confused with event notification. Moving on, to compose one, please follow these steps:
- On the homepage, click the “Create” button again.
2. Wait for the pop-up to appear.
3. If you’re looking to enlarge the creation screen, you can’t; that feature is only available for events.
4. Type in the reminder title by clicking and filling in the “Add title” input area.
5. Please select the date text to pick a day for your reminder; it records the current day by default.
6. Click the time text to appoint when the notification appears.
7. Choose from time templates or edit the text to designate a more specific one.
8. If you want the reminder to repeat, you can do so by clicking the “Doesn’t repeat” dropdown and choosing from premade recurrences or customizing one.
9. If you tick the “All day” checkbox, it will clear your select time and set the reminder for the whole day.
10. If you want to cancel, look for and hit the “X” button in the pop-up’s top right corner.
11. Once done, click the “Save” button right below.
12. Similarly, Google Calendar will detect and sync new changes in your account across your devices.
3. Create Tasks
Since the Calendar can integrate with Google Tasks and other services from the company, you can directly create to-dos to maintain your schedule. In this case, we’ll transfer data from and to Google Tasks:
- Click the “Create” button.
2. Below the title, there are three options: Event, Task, and Reminder; select the “Task” item.
3. Add the title, date, time, and description.
4. Right below all input areas, you’ll see the “My Tasks” dropdown; it’s the default list on your Google Tasks account.
5. If you hit the “Save” button, it will sync the task item to your Calendar and Google Tasks account.
6. To open Google Tasks, click the second blue icon from the top in the right corner’s vertical menu bar or you can select from the calendar.
7. Once clicked, you’ll see the tasks you created from Calendar.
8. To create a task, click the “Add a task” button and click your “enter” key.
9. If you return to Calendar, you’ll see the item you created from Google Tasks.
4. Create or Join a Google Meet Room
Google Meet, another service from the company, is an online video conference tool. In the Calendar, you can add a Meet room directly when composing an event:
- Click the “Create” button.
2. Fill up all necessary details on all input areas in the pop-up.
3. See the “Add Google Meet video conferencing” button and click it.
4. After that, the button should turn into “Join with Google Meet” and automatically create a Google Meet room where up to 100 participants can join.
5. If you want to cancel the room, click the “X” button at the end of the same section.
6. Click the “Save” button in the pop-up to proceed.
If you want to enter a Google Meet room you’ve created in an event or join as a participant from an invite, you can do so with the following steps:
7. Click on an event to open its pop-up.
8. Look for and click the “Join with Google Meet” button.
9. You can also grab the room’s URL link by clicking the copy button beside it and pasting it to your browser’s URL box.
10. After that, your browser will redirect to the Google Meet site’s room onboarding screen.
11. Hit the “Join now” button to connect to the room.
5. Manage Calendars
Another thing that makes the tool more robust is the ability to add other calendars. Aside from Birthdays, Reminders, Tasks, there are the holidays, sports, and many more. In this demonstration, we’re going to add the “Phases of the Moon” calendar:
- On the homepage, look for the “Other calendars” section; it should be on the bottom left corner.
2. Beside the text “Other calendars,” click the “+” icon.
3. After that, you’ll see five options.
4. Select the “Browse calendars of interest” item.
5. Scroll down and find the “Other” calendars.
6. Select the checkbox in the “Phases of the Moon” item.
7. A bottom alert should say, “Calendar added.”
8. While inside, you can also deselect added calendars or remove them from the view.
9. If you go back to the homepage, you should see the moon’s phases on your Calendar.
6. Calendar View
Aside from the typical monthly view, there are other ways to review your events and reminders. In detail, the process should look like the following:
- On the homepage, click the outlined “Today” button from the navigation bar beside the Calendar icon and brand text.
2. After clicking, the Calendar will point and select the current date as the main view.
3. To switch between weeks, click the two-directional arrows to navigate.
4. Jump between months by selecting the Month dropdown in the navigation bar.
5. Inside it, you can also skip to a particular date.
6. Change the homepage by clicking the View dropdown next to the settings icon.
7. In the dropdown, choose from: Day, Week, Month, Year, Schedule, or four (4) days.
7. Search
Google Calendar offers both granular and straightforward search. Aside from titles, it can also locate keywords, participants, event owner, location, and many more. As mentioned previously, it can adapt to a more complex workflow. Nevertheless, the search process should look like this:
- Click the magnifying glass icon in the navigation bar.
- To perform a simple search, type the title or description you remembered in the search bar.
If you want an advanced query, select the dropdown icon inside the search bar. Filling all items on the advance search isn’t required; however, doing so increases the chances of locating a particular event.
- On the “Search in” part, select “All calendars” or any of the “Active calendars“; it narrows your search to a particular place.
- Enter any keywords you remember in the “What” part.
- Input the participants or the owner of an event in the “Who” item.
- In the “Where” part, please type in the “location” tag of the event.
- Select the “Doesn’t have” input area and input the keyword(s) you’re sure the event doesn’t have; this helps Calendar disregard some events upon searching.
- Finally, choose the starting date in the “From date” area and the end date in the “To date” area; it creates a parameter and lessens the searching time.
- If you want to clear all search areas, hit the “Reset button.”
- Run the process by clicking the “Search” button.
8. Change Appearance
Although Google Calendar provides powerful features, it lacks appearance customization. If you want to have Google Calendar dark mode, please read until the end. Regardless, the following are the steps to change some of your Calendar’s style:
- Look for and click the setting icon in the navigation bar.
- After that, a pop-up should appear.
- Select the “Density and color” item.
Click the “Color set” dropdown to choose between “Modern” and “Classic” texts. Click the “Information density” dropdown to set the view to “Compact” or “Responsive to your screen.”
9. Share and Invite Participants
If you have no idea how to share Google Calendar, let’s help you. There are two ways to add participants to an event: during event creation or editing. Anyway, please follow the sequence to send a Google Calendar invite:
- Click the “Create” button.
- Add all other details.
- Select the “Add guests” input area and type in the name or email from your contacts.
- Hit the “Save” button.
On the homepage, look for any event and open it. Click the three-dotted-menu in the pop-up. After that, select the “Change owner” option. Type in the name or email of the person you want to transfer the event ownership; you can also add a brief message to the recipient. Click “Cancel” to stop the process, or “Change owner” to complete the decision. If you forgot to send invites during creation, edit that same event by selecting the “pencil” icon. Inside, fill in the “Add guests” input area and hit the “Save” button.
10. Print Calendar
Printing Google Calendar is very easy to perform. The process should look like this:
- Click the settings icons on the navigation bar.
- After it, select the “Print” option in the pop-up.
At first, a preview will greet you. Adjust the date range you want to show up on your print from the “Print range” part. Also, you can change the view, font size, orientation, color, and other options. Click the “Cancel” button to stop the process or the “Print” button to proceed.
Google Calendar Made Easy: Try Boxysuite for Mac
Yes, it’s easy to access Google Calendar on web browsers; however, it lacks many features and advantages of a native Mac app.
Boxysuite, an excellent all-in-one tool to access Google services, also supports Google Calendar.
We believe that your Emails, Notes, and Calendars deserve a streamlined interface that reduces distractions, complexity and increases productivity. As an initiative, we developed Boxysuite, a powerful tool to manage Gmail, Calendar, Contacts, and Keep in one place.
Boxysuite offers the best integration with your Google Calendar and supports all features plus more. Experience dark mode, multiple account support, and many more like never before in a native Google services Mac app.
