Calendar basics

What can you do with Calendar?

With Google Calendar, you can quickly schedule meetings and events, and get reminders about upcoming activities, so you always know what’s next. Calendar is designed for teams, so it’s easy to share your schedule with others and create multiple calendars that you and your team can use together.

What you need:

Google Workspace account & 10 minutes

Note: If your Google Workspace administrator hasn’t already migrated your old calendar for you, you may want to import your old calendar before starting this tutorial.

1.1 Create an event

Create an event in Calendar:

1. In Calendar, click an empty time slot in the calendar grid and click Event. You can also click Create .

2. Add an event title, date, and time.

3. (Optional) To create an event using another calendar, next to your name, click the Down arrow and select the calendar.

4. Click More options or Save.

1.2 Invite guests

1. Open your event.

2. In the Guests tab, go to Add guests and enter the first few letters of a person’s name or email address in the box.

3. Matching names and addresses in your organization’s directory appear as you enter text.

4. Tip: You can also add a Google Groups mailing list address to invite a large group of people at once. 

5. Click a suggestion to add that person to the event. If no suggestions appear, enter your guest’s full email address.

6. (Optional) To mark a guest’s attendance as optional, point to the guest name and click Mark optional person.

7. (Optional) To allow guests to modify the event, invite others, or see the guest list, under Guests can, check the appropriate boxes.

Note: If you create an event in Calendar and don't give permission to your guests to modify an event, they won't be able to change the event's date or time on their own calendar.

1.3 Reserve a room and resources

1. Open an event.

2. Click the Rooms tab. Based on your work location, number of attendees, and previous room bookings, suggestions automatically appear.

3. If you need to adjust the criteria for your meeting room, you can:

   • Click People to specify the required room size.

   • Click Video to specify the need for video-conferencing equipment.

   • Click Phone to specify the need for audio conferencing.

4. Point to the room that meets your criteria and check the box to select the room.

5. If you don’t see a suitable room:

• 1. In the search box, enter another resource or building name, floor, or conferencing equipment (such as Chromebox for meetings). As you enter text, you’ll see results below the search box.

  2. Point to a room to see details, such as room capacity, location, equipment and features.

  3. When you find the room you need, point to it and check the box to select it.

1.4 Add event details, video conferencing, and attachments

1. Choose a time zone.

2. Set up a recurring event.

3. Find a time—Find a time when your co-workers are free for the meeting.

4. Add event details—Add the meeting location, send event notifications, and more.

5. Add video conferencing—Add a video meeting to your event. 

6. Add an event description—Add details, such as contact information, instructions, or links for your event. Format your description by adding bold, italic, or underline, or add lists and links.

7. Add attachments—Attach files, such as documents or presentations to your events.

1.5 Save and update events

When you’re finished filling in the details, save your event and send your invitations.

Save your event:

1. Click Save.

2. Click Send to notify guests by email or Don’t Send if you don’t want to notify guests at this time.

3. If you’re inviting people outside of your organization, click Invite external guests to notify them or Continue editing to notify them later.

Update an existing event:

You can invite more guests, change the meeting location, and more.

1. In the Calendar grid, single-click the event > Edit  .

2. If you want to invite more guests, change the meeting location, or add attachments, make your changes and click Save.

Note: If the event organizer hasn’t given you edit permissions, you can't make changes to the event time or its duration.

1.6 Respond to events

When you get an invitation to an event, it appears on your calendar. You also get invitations by email if you subscribe to email notifications. If you're using Gmail, you can respond to the invitation in the email invite.

Reply to an invitation:

1. In the Calendar grid, single-click an event to preview it.

2. At the bottom of the event preview window, select a response. Response options are available only in the preview window. They don't appear in the event details window.

3. (Optional) To add a note or propose a new meeting time, in the bottom-right corner, click the Down arrow keyboard_arrow_down and choose an option.

Note: All guests can propose a new time, except for events with more than 200 guests or all-day events.

1.7 Check guest attendance

If you need to track attendance for your event, you can instantly see who’s accepted or declined your invitation, and who’s proposed a new meeting time.

Check guest attendance:

1. In your Calendar grid, single-click the event.

2. Next to each guest, you can see their response. You might have to click the Down arrow arrow_drop_down to see the responses.

Respond to a proposed new meeting time request:

1. In your Calendar grid, single-click the event.

2. In the Guests section, go to the proposal and click Review proposed time.

3. To accept the new proposed time, click Save.

4. (Optional) To notify guests about the new meeting time, click Send.

1.8 Delete and restore events

Delete an event:

Click the event in your calendar grid and click Delete.

Restore an event you deleted by mistake, or permanently remove deleted events:

1. To find your deleted event, click Settings > Trash.

2. Hover over the event and choose an option:

   • To restore the event, check the box next to the event and click Restore .

   • To permanently delete the event, check the box next to the event and click Delete.

3. (Optional) To delete all events in your trash, at the top right, click Empty trash.

Note: Deleted events remain in a calendar's trash for approximately 30 days.

2.1 View reminders

1. Go to Calendar.

2. At the bottom left, under My calendars, make sure the Remindersbox is checked.

2.2 Create a personal reminder

1. In your Calendar grid, click a time slot and click Reminder.

2. Add a title and choose a date and time.

3. (Optional) To select the frequency of your reminder, click Does not repeat and select an option.

4. (Optional) If you want your reminder to last all day, check the All daybox.

5. Click Save.

Note: Reminders you create in Google Keep also show up in Calendar.

2.3 Change a personal reminder

1. Choose an option:

   • If you have a single reminder in a time slot, click the reminder and then click Edit.

   • If you have multiple reminders in the same time slot, click the reminder block, point to the reminder, and click Edit.

2. Update the details and click Save.

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2.4 Complete or remove a personal reminder

1. You can remove a reminder from your calendar by marking it as done, deleting it, or hiding all reminders temporarily.

Mark a reminder done:

• If you have a single reminder in a time slot, click the reminder and then click Mark as done.

• If you have multiple reminders in the same time slot, click the reminder block, point to the reminder, and click Mark as done check.

Delete a reminder:

• If you have a single reminder in a time slot, click the reminder and then click Delete delete_outline.

• If you have multiple reminders in the same time slot, click the reminder block, point to the reminder and click Delete delete_outline.

Hide all reminders:

On the left under My calendars, uncheck the Reminders box.

3.1 Share your calendar

1 Choose whether to share your calendar publicly or only with your organization:

1. Click Settings  > Settings.

2. On the left, select your calendar and then click Access permissions.

3. Select how you want to share your calendar:

   • If you want your calendar to be available publicly on the web, check the Make available to public box.

   • If you want your calendar to only be available to your organization, check the Make available for My Organizationbox.

4. Next to each sharing permission, click the Down arrow arrow_drop_down and choose whether you want to show your free and busy times.

2  Let someone see your calendar in a web browser:

You can get a HTML link to your calendar that you can share with people.

1. Click Settings > Settings.

2. On the left, select your calendar and then click Access permissions.

3. To send a shareable HTML link to people, click Get shareable link > Copy Link.

4. Paste and send the link.

3  Share your calendar with specific people and choose how much they can see:

When you share your calendar with someone, you can decide how they see your events and whether they can also make changes, such as adding or editing events.

1. Click Settings > Settings.

2. On the left, select your calendar and then click Share with specific people.

3. Click Add People and enter the email address or names of the people you want to share your calendar with.

4. Choose a sharing permission option:

   • See only free/busy (hide details)

   • See all event details

   • Make changes to events

   • Make changes and manage sharing

4  Share your calendar with people who don’t use Google Calendar:

1. In the Share with specific people section, click Add people.

2. Enter the email address or names of the people you want to share your calendar with.

3. Click Send.

4. If the person you’re sharing your calendar with doesn’t use Calendar, click Invite to send them an invitation to use it.

3.2 View other people's calendars

Wondering if someone is available to meet? Add a team member’s calendar so you can instantly check their schedule.

Add a team member's calendar:

1. On the left, net to other calendars click  click on the + signe.  And in the dropdown menu click on Subscribe to calendar. 

2. In the new window search  for the person in  the Add calendar box

3. Select the person from the list.

4. If the person set up their calendar for sharing, it appears in your list of calendars. That person's events also appear on your calendar.

5. If the person doesn’t have Google Calendar, add a request and click Send Invite.

6. Quickly schedule events by checking your co-workers’ availability:

   • To view a co-worker’s calendar next to yours, check the box next to their name.

   • To view several co-workers calendars at once, check the boxes next to their names. At top right in the view switcher box, click Day. The calendars appear next to each other so you can easily see when everyone is free at the same time.

7. (Optional) To view only your calendar, point to your calendar name and click More > Display this only.

3.3 Create a shared calendar

In addition to your own calendar, you can create shared calendars to track group activities, such as project schedules, or co-worker vacations.

Create a team calendar:

1. On the left next to Add calendar, click More > New calendar.

2. Name the calendar and add a description.

3. Click Time zone and select your time zone.

4. Click Create calendar. Your new calendar appears under My calendars.

5. (Optional) To update any calendar preferences, point to it and click More more_vert > Settings.

Note: You can create as many calendars as you want using the same process.

Share a team calendar:

1. Under My calendars, point to the calendar you want to share, and click More  > Settings and sharing.

2. Choose an option:

   • To share with individuals—Under Share with specific people, add the person or the email address of the person you want to share with, and click Add people > Send.

   • To change wider sharing settings—Under Access permissions, select Make available to public or Make available for organization name.

3.4 Delete a calendar

1. Click Settings > Settings.

2. Select the calendar you want to delete and scroll to the bottom.

3. In the Remove calendar section, choose an option:

   • Click Unsubscribe if you want to unsubscribe from calendars that are read-only.

   • Click Delete if you want to delete calendars that you own.

3.5 Add out-of-office dates to your calendar

1. In your calendar grid, click the first day that you're away from work.

2. Click Out of office and select a time period.

3. (Optional) To explain you're away from work, enter a message in the Decline message section.

4. In the Visibility section, choose an option:

   • Public

   • Default visibility

   • Private

5. Click Save. Any new and existing meetings during this time will be automatically declined.

3.6 Add working hours and location to calendar

1. In your settings you can enable working hours and location

2. Directly in the calendar, directly under the date. You can introduce your working location for individual days.

   • By default these can be "Office", "home" or "somewhere else".

   • You can specify in "somewhere else" a location, for example a specific location.

4.1 Manage event notifications

You can decide how you want to manage your incoming event notifications.

Manage event notifications:

1. Open Calendar and click Settings chat_settings_24dp > Settings.

2. On the left under General, click Event settings.

3. Click Notifications and select an option:

   • Off

   • Desktop notifications

   • Alerts

4. (Optional) To set up a sound for your incoming notifications, check the Play sound box.

5. On the left, select your calendar and then click General notificationsto manage what type of event notifications you receive.

6. Next to each option, click the Down arrow arrow_drop_down and select whether you want notifications on or off.

Set event-specific notifications:

1. Click your event and then click Edit.

2. Next to Notifications, select Email or Notification.

3. Select a time period for notifications.

4. (Optional) If you want to add another notification, click Add notification and repeat steps 2–3.

4.2 Choose your calendar view

1. You can choose how many days you see at a time in your calendar view. Select the option that’s best for you at the top of your calendar.

Choose your calendar view:

At the top right in the view switcher box, click the Down arrow arrow_drop_down and choose an option:

• View a calendar by day, week, month, or year

• View your schedule

• Hide or show weekends

• Hide or show declined events

• View multiple calendars side-by-side in day view—Select Day view and check the boxes next to the calendars you want to see.

To view the next or previous day’s calendar—Next to Today, click Next keyboard_arrow_rightor Previous keyboard_arrow_left.

Manage your calendar view settings:

1. Click Settings chat_settings_24dp > Settings.

2. On the left under General, click View options.

3. Depending on the view you want, check or uncheck the following boxes:

   • Show weekends

   • Show declined events

   • Show week numbers

   • Reduce the brightness of past events

   • View calendars side by side in Day View

4. Click Start week on and choose when to start the week.

5. Go to the Set custom view field and click the Down arrow arrow_drop_down to choose the number of days or weeks you want to appear in your calendar view.

6. Go to the Alternate calendars field and click the Down arrow arrow_drop_down to choose an alternate calendar.

4.3 Change your calendar's look

Changing the way your calendar appears can help you when you have several calendars layered on the same screen.

Change your calendar’s density and color set:

1. Click Settings > Density and color.

2. Click Color set > Modern (with white text) or Classic (with black text).

3. Click Information density > Compact or Responsive to your screen.

4. Click Done.

Change your calendars’ color set:

On the left, point to your calendar and click More > select the color you want from the palette.

Change an event’s color: Right-click an event and select a new color.

Note: If you change the color of an event, the original color is represented as a vertical line on the left side of the event.

5.1 Open notes in Google Keep

• Open Keep: On the right, click Keep   .

• Add a note or list: Click + Take a note or New list format_list_bulleted.

• Edit a note: Click a note and enter a message. Click Done.

To do more with Keep, see Keep basics.

5.2 Open your to-do lists in Google Tasks

• Open Tasks: On the right, click Tasks   .

• The current list appears at the top, with any tasks below it.

• Add a new list: Click the Down arrow  > Create a new list.

• Change lists: Click the Down arrow and select a list.

• Add a new task: Click + Add a task. To add a new task from an email, drag the email into a task list.

• Edit or delete a task: Point to a task and click Edit  . From the Edit window, click Delete to delete a task.

5.3 Get add-ons

Customize Calendar with add-ons.

1. On the right, click Add-ons add. A list of add-ons opens in the Google Workspace Marketplace.

2. Click an add-on.

3. Click Install.

6.1 What you need to do

Book a regular meeting in your calendar by following steps 1.1 to 1.4 on this page. Make sure an invite goes out to the external invited users. The invitation instructions are sent to the external attendees. That's it. 

6.2 What the guest need to do

The persons you have invited will get a mail with all the details about the event. In the mail there is a link called "More joining options" that needs to be clicked.

Then click "Third party systems". In the bottom of the invitation address is displayed. This is what's needed to be used to join the call from Skype, Polycom, Cisco or whatever they use. By now you have figured out that this is rather demanding and anonymous for the guest to figure out so it might be a good idea to paste the invitation address in the meeting notes to make it rather clear how to call in to the meeting.

6.3 Finding the invitation address

So how do you as a host find the invitation code to inform your guests with?

Go back to your booked meeting and open it. Go to the Hangout Meet section and expand it using the small down arrow. You will then see more options. Click "More joining options".

You will now see the same options as your guests seen when they pressed "More joining options". Go to the "Third party systems" area and copy the code and paste it in the meeting description area.

Example: "Call in to the meeting using this code: 12345678@gmeet.pexip.me" 

6.4 Important to know

You need to let the guest in to the meeting. So in other words you must be in the video conference to let them in.

Another thing is that if it is the first time you are setting up a video conference with a new company it is good to do a test before the meeting since some companies have very strict firewall policies regarding videoconferencing.