The Google Calendar User Guide
Part I: Managing and Customizing Calendars

Overview / Getting Started

Each Google account holder is provided with a primary calendar, which can be renamed, but not deleted. Additional calendars can be created, and each calendar, including the primary, can be private or shared. Events, tasks, and reminders can be created for each calendar.

The Google Calendar window displays events from all calendars that have been selected. Each calendar is assigned a color and its events display in that color. This is how the user can determine which events belong to which calendar. A sample Google Calendar window is shown below.

How Do I Sign in to Google?

From the Google homepage, click Sign in in the upper right corner. Enter your email address and password, and click the Sign in button.

How Do I Access the Google Calendar?

From the Google homepage, click more... from the top row of links, and click Calendar. The calendar displays in its default view, which can be changed (see How do I specify the default calendar view below.) There are other ways to access the calendar more quickly. For example, set "igoogle.com" as your homepage and add the Calendar gadget, or add the calendar webpage to your browser's Favorites toolbar.

The Google Calendar Window

An example of the Google Calendar window is shown below. The Calendar Index, located on the left sidebar, always displays the primary calendar first. The "Tasks" window and user-created calendars are listed alphabetically below the primary calendar.

In the example below, the primary calendar was renamed "My Public Calendar," and an additional calendar, "Personal Calendar," was created. If a calendar has been "selected" - i.e. the user wants its events displayed in the calendar window, the calendar name in the index will display with white text on a color background.

Managing How the Calendar Window Displays

Before beginning to use your Google Calendar, decide how your want the calendar window to display and modify the settings accordingly. For example, you can select a default view, set the time zone, decide what days should display, select a date format, and so on.

How do I change a calendar's color?

In "My Calendars," click the small arrow following the calendar name, and click on a color on the color palette (see image). The calendar tab and events for that calendar will display in the selected color.

How do I change a calendar's name?

In "My Calendars," click the small arrow following the calendar name, and click Calendar settings (see image). Enter a new name for the calendar and click Save.

How do I view a particular calendar's events?

To have a calendar's events display in the calendar window, click on the calendar name on the left sidebar. When a calendar has been selected, the calendar name will display with white text on the color background. Move the cursor off of the calendar name to see if it has been selected. Repeated clicking on a calendar name toggles "display | not display."

If you have many calendars and want to select just one calendar to display, click the small arrow following the calendar name and click Display only this Calendar (see image).

How do I specify the default calendar view (Day, Week, etc.)?

To specify how the calendar should display when it first opens, click the wheel in the upper right corner of the window, and click Calendar Settings. In the section titled "Default view," make your selection from the items in the dropdown menu and click Save.

How do I change the calendar view (Day, Month, etc.)?

To change the time frame of the calendar window, click on one of the Calendar View Tab located at the top of the calendar window. The calendar window may be viewed by Day, Week, Month, or Custom. (See "How do I create a custom calendar view" below.)

How do I specify the start day for the Week and Month Views?

Click the wheel in the upper right corner of the window, and click Calendar Settings. In the section titled "Week starts on," select a day from the dropdown menu. When finished, click Save.

How do I specify my working hours?

Click the wheel in the upper right corner of the window, and click Calendar Settings. In the section titled "Working hours," place a checkmark in the days that you work, and select a start and end time. If you want others to receive a warning message if they invite you to events outside your working hours, place a checkmark in the corresponding box. When finished, click Save.

How do I specify if weekend days should display?

Click the wheel in the upper right corner of the window, and click Calendar Settings. In the section titled "Show weekends," select Yes or No, and click Save.

How do I set the date and time format?

Click the wheel in the upper right corner of the window, and click Calendar Settings. Find the sections titled "Date format" and "Time format." Make your selections from the dropdown menus and click Save.

How do I set the time zone for all calendars?

Click the wheel in the upper right corner of the window, and click Calendar Settings. Select the desired time zone and click Save. The time zone can be changed for individual calendars if need be. See the next item.

How do I change the time zone for a particular calendar?

To change the time zone of a particular calendar, click the small arrow following the calendar name in the calendar index and click Calendar settings (see above image). Change the time zone as directed, and click Save.

How do I create a custom calendar view?

The fourth tab on the row of Calendar View Tabs is reserved for a user-defined custom view. Click the wheel in the upper right corner of the window, and click Calendar Settings. In the section titled "Custom view," select 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, 6-, or 7 days, one week, or 2 weeks. Then click Save.

How do I enable keyboard shortcuts?

There are many keyboard shortcuts available for the Google Calendar application. Click the wheel in the upper right corner of the window, and click Calendar Settings. On the General tab, find the section titled "Enable keyboard shortcuts" and click Yes. For a list of calendar keyboard shortcuts, click Learn more.

Adding, Renaming, and Deleting Calendars

How do I create a new calendar?

Click the Add link directly below "My Calendars" (not "Other Calendars"). Enter the calendar details and click Create Calendar. The new calendar will be added to "My Calendars." Alternately, you can click either Settings link in the calendar index and click Create new calendar.

How do I rename a calendar?

In "My Calendars," click the small arrow following the calendar name, and click Calendar settings (see image below). Enter a new name for the calendar, click Save.

How do I delete a calendar or unsubscribe from a calendar?

Click either Settings link in the calendar index. From the Calendar Settings window, click Delete to delete a calendar you created, or click Unsubscribe to unsubscribe from a calendar.

Public, Private, and Shared Google Calendars

How do I make a calendar public?

In "My Calendars," click the small arrow following the calendar name, and click Share this calendar (see image). Click Make this calendar public and select if others should see all event details, or just free/busy indications. Click Save.

How do I make a calendar private?

In "My Calendars," click the small arrow following the calendar name, and click Share this calendar (see image). Make sure "Share this calendar with others" is unchecked. Delete any email address, other than your own, listed in the section titled "Share with specific people" by clicking the trash can icon after the address. When finished, click Save.

How do I share a calendar with specific people?

In "My Calendars," click the small arrow following the calendar name, and click Share this calendar (see image). Make sure "Share this calendar with others" is unchecked. In the lower section labeled "Share with specific people," enter the person's email address, select permission settings, and click Add Person. When finished, click Save.

How do I add a coworker's calendar to my calendar window?

To add a coworker's calendar, click the Add link below "Other Calendars," and click Add a coworker's calendar (see image). Type the coworker's email address in the popup window and click Add. If the coworker's calendar is public, it will display under "Other Calendars."

If the calendar is not public, another window will ask you to send a request to the coworker. This action generates an email, sent to the coworker, which contains an "accept link." When clicked, the Share Tab for the calendar displays, and the coworker must specify the sharing level and click Add Person. Then, Google will automatically add their calendar to your calendar list and notify you via email.

Viewing Weather and Holidays on the Calendar Window

How can I see the weather forecast on the calendar window?

To enable the weather feature, click the wheel in the upper right corner of the window, and click Calendar Settings. First, type your zip code in the section titled "Location." Then, in the section titled "Show weather based on my location," select F (Fahrenheit) or C (Celsius), and click Save. The Weather Calendar now appears under "Other Calendars."

When the Weather Calendar is selected, a small weather icon displays in the top-left corner of the current day and 3 days following. The icon visually represents that day's weather forecast. Hover the cursor over the icon to see the high and low temperature for the day. Click the icon to see the four-day forecast, including temperature, wind, and humidity.

How can I see U.S. Holidays in my calendar window?

To add the "U.S. Holidays" calendar to the calendar index, click one of the Settings links in the calendar index and click in the box to show the "U.S. Holidays" calendar. The U.S. Holidays calendar now appears under "Other Calendars." Click on the calendar to have its events (the holidays) display in the calendar window.

What other calendars are available?

Google Calendar provides a small variety of other calendars, including holidays of other countries and schedules of pro sports teams. To preview and add one of these calendars to the index, click Add under "Other Calendars" and click Browse Interesting Calendars. Then click Subscribe and click back to calendar. The "Browse Interesting Calendars" link is also available on the Calendar Settings window (click Settings in the calendar index.)

If you decide at a later time that you no longer want one of these calendars in the index, follow the steps above, but click Unsubscribe.

Importing and Syncing Calendars

How do I import my iCal calendar into a Google Calendar?

To migrate from an iCal calendar to a Google Calendar, first open the iCal calendar and export the calendar to your hard disk. Then, below "Other Calendars" on the Google calendar window, click Add and click Import calendar (see above image). Browse for the export file you just created, select the calendar into which you want to import the events, and click Import.

How do I sync my iCal calendar with a Google Calendar?

The option "Add by URL" is for syncing of an iCal calendar with a Google Calendar, but it has its limitations. First, the feed does not capture changed events - only new or deleted events. Second, as of this date, updates, if they occur at all, do so every 24 hours or more, which makes this feature unusable for many organizations.