Calendar management tool par excellence, Google Calendar is one of the major services offered by the American giant. In addition to the creation of unique or recurring events, it is possible to personalize your user experience via many features. Whether your use of the tool is personal or professional, discover 15 tips to optimize the Google calendar!
Keyboard shortcuts
Many Google services offer the use of keyboard shortcuts. These are less numerous than on Gmail for example, but can be useful.
- Navigation:K or P to go to the previous date, D or N to go to the next date. R refreshes the calendar, and T returns to the current date.
- Display:you can switch between the different view modes using the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (respectively view by day, by week, by month, personalized version, and schedule). The shortcuts D, W, M, X, A also provide access to these types of display.
- Actions:C allows you to create a new event, E access the details of an appointment. The delete and backspace keys are used to delete an entry. Some “classic” combinations also work, such as Ctrl + Z (cancel), Ctrl + S (save) and Esc (to quit editing an event for example and return to the calendar).
- Miscellaneous:/ allows access to the search area (as on Gmail) and Ctrl + P starts printing your diary, respecting the active display.
Receive a daily email that summarizes his appointments
Google Calendar allows everyone to receive an email every day, summarizing the appointments scheduled for the day. To activate it, simply click on the drop-down menu to the right of the chosen calendar (left column, under the heading My calendars ). You must then click on the Reminders and Notifications link , and activate the daily schedule. This page also allows you to modify the way in which Google Calendar notifies you, depending on the situations it encounters (default notifications, canceled event, etc.)
Export or import a calendar
Google Calendar lets you export calendars: you just have to go to the details of a calendar to generate the corresponding file. You can choose between XML and iCal formats. To export all the calendars, you must go to the settings tab Diaries . The file containing all your calendars will be generated in ICS format.
To import a calendar, you will need to compile it first (iCal and CSV formats are supported). Your events will be imported into a specific calendar: you can therefore create one if you want to use a calendar dedicated to imported appointments. Then simply go to the settings, Agendas tab , to integrate the events into the calendar of your choice.
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Integrate Facebook friends’ birthdays and events
Facebook allows you to export the data corresponding to the events planned on the social network. Concretely, two options are available to you. You can export:
- Your friends’ birthdays
- Planned events
To do so, you must connect to Facebook, and click on Events . Via the small cogwheel in the upper right corner, you can choose the desired export option. Once the file is generated, all you have to do is integrate the events into your Google calendar by following the usual procedure.
Access Google Calendar in “offline mode”
When traveling, it can be useful to have access to your agenda, even without a connection. And Google allows it! You just need to click on the small cogwheel in the upper right corner. Then click on the “Offline Mode” link. Google warns: you should only activate this feature if you are using a personal computer, because setting up this tool will download details of your past and future events. Once activated, offline mode allows you to choose which calendars will be synchronized.
Customize the display
By default, you can choose between different display modes on Google Calendar: daily, weekly, monthly version, or directly your schedule with your next appointments. You can also configure a custom view (from two days to four consecutive weeks). You just have to go to the settings (cogwheel in the upper right corner) to choose your preferred format. The new display mode will be automatically integrated into the list.
The settings also allow you to customize many options: time display, day corresponding to the start of the week, suppression of weekends, default view, etc. Note that it is also possible to adjust the display density information about Agenda via the cogwheel.
Hide part of the day on Google Calendar
If you prefer the day version, over several days, or week, a trick allows you to remove the night from the display: specifically, you can choose the start time of the agenda, and its end time. Thus, the hours when you never have an appointment (or almost) will take up less space on your schedule! To make this functionality operational, all you have to do is go to the lab (via the cogwheel), and activate the option “Hide morning and night”.
Use advanced search
Like many Google services, Calendar has an advanced search tool. In particular, it allows you to carry out a search in a single calendar, to search for an object, participants, or a specific place. You can also choose the keywords that you do not want to search, and filter the results according to the dates. A handy tool when you are looking for an event!
Share an agenda
Very convenient feature, you can share a diary. If you use Google Calendar in a professional context, this can be very useful for making your appointments known to a collaborator. This sharing also makes it possible to manage related events in several. To share a calendar, you must click on the small arrow located near the name of the chosen calendar, in the left column. The option then appears in the menu. You can choose to make the calendar public, or to enable sharing only with defined people. You just need to know the email address of the person chosen to share an agenda. Various options are available to control the confidentiality of the calendar and the modification of events.
Shows local weather on the calendar
The weather in the calendar, it may seem futile. But think again: with this feature, you’ll know how to dress when you go to your next date. Via the tool settings, you must choose your location to activate the weather forecast.
Use a public calendar
On Google Calendar, there are many public calendars. They make it possible to integrate into the tool events common to many people: we think for example of public holidays, religious festivals, and sporting events. You can browse the list of public calendars using the arrow next to the Other calendars category , located in the left column.
Edit event notifications
The notification system integrated into the tool allows you to be alerted to upcoming events in several ways: by email, by pop-up, and by SMS (note that to be able to receive this type of notification, you must first add a phone number). All you have to do is go to the details of an agenda, Reminders and notifications tab to configure the default reminders. You can also modify the notifications linked to each appointment, modifying the events on a case-by-case basis.
Schedule a meeting and add invitees
If Google Calendar is a powerful tool for managing appointments, it also allows you to invite people. In this way, each participant will not have to manually enter the information of an appointment to see it appear in the tool. Your guests will no longer be able to pretend they have forgotten an event! To invite participants, nothing could be simpler: just create an appointment, then add guests via the right column. The proposal can be accepted or refused by the guests, they can also postpone their response. If you have access to the invitee calendar, Google can offer tailored schedules to suit attendees.
Add a to-do list to the calendar
In addition to managing events, Google Calendar allows you to manage a list of tasks (Google Todo). It is certainly not the most powerful tool, but using it allows you to visualize your tasks within the Google interfaces. To activate the feature, all you have to do is click on the Tasks calendar , located in the left column ( My calendars category ). You can then manage the tasks via the right column, these being integrated into the Google calendar on their respective deadline.
The advanced options of the Google Calendar lab
In 2011, Google formalized the closure of Google Labs … Fortunately, laboratories still exist on certain services, including Gmail, Google Maps, and Google Calendar. Via the gear wheel in the upper right corner, you can very easily activate the functionality of your choice! We advise you in particular:
- Discreet reminders:to receive your notifications via Google Chrome.
- Attachments:to inform participants via events.
- The international clock:so you don’t miss your international meetings.
- Free or busy:to know at a glance the availability of your employees.
