Google Calendar is one of the most underestimated Google application, it has everything that you need from a calendar; and like any other product by Google, it carries the capacity to surprise you every 'n then.

I have to admit, that until few days back I was relying on my phone's simple calendar for reminders and Gmail tasks for my to-do list. After a lot of procrastination, I finally decided to give GCal another try, once I got the hang of it, I couldn't help appreciating it and cursing my self for not trying it earlier. In the beginning, it seems a bit confusing, filled with too much stuff, but all you need is to spend some time on GCal and read one or two article like this to guide you through it.



In order to use Google Calendar, you must have a Gmail account. Once you log-in you will be able to see 'Calendar' displayed on top right of your Gmail homepage. Here's what all you can do with this application:


BASIC STUFF


1. Creating an event


You can use Google Calendar for both official and personal purposes. On the left panel, right above the monthly calendar, you will see a 'Create Event' button, it will take you to a page that looks something like this:
























Now, simply choose a title for a new event and fill in basic details like location, description, reminders, participants etc.

While creating an event, you can attach a document to it as well. You can choose to grant permission to other participants to modify the event, invite others and display the guest list.

Save the event once you are done, and other guests included in the event will be notified about it.

There is also a "Quick Add" option, that lets you instantly add a new event. If you enter the time and day in the title, GCal will automatically schedule the event for you. (Example: Dinner with Mum at 7pm tomorrow)






















2. Sharing

You can either choose to create a new calendar that you will share with your co-workers or friends, or you can also choose to make your calendar public.






















On the left panel, right under 'My Calendars' there is a drop down (right next to the name of your calendar or email id); clicking on which will display 5 options, one of them will be 'Share this Calendar'. You can choose to make your calendar public, share it with specific people or co-workers.




3. Multiple Calendars

You can add a new calendars to yours as well, on the left panel below 'My Calendars' you will see another box labelled 'Other Calendars', click on 'Add' button, which is a drop down option and it will let you add:

• Interesting calendars, which includes holiday calendars of countries or cultures worldwide, sports calendars with tournament details of sports like Baseball, Cricket, Basketball, Hockey, Soccer etc. You can also add calendars which displays day of the year, week numbers, phases of moon, sunrise and sunset timings in your area, star dates and even Hebrew calender.

• Your co-workers' calendar.

• You can add it by URL of other calendars.

• You can import a calendar.

4. Tasks

When Google revamped Gmail and introduced priority inbox, it also added a feature that lets you save tasks or create a to-do list within Gmail. You can view these same tasks in your calendar as well.



















5. Mobile Setup

Visit calendar Settings (settings option on top right of your calendar homepage), from there click on Mobile setup and fill in basic information like country and phone number.
















Then click on 'send verification code', Google will then send a code to your mobile which you have enter in the mobile setup page. This verifies your mobile configuration with Google Calendar. From there on, you can choose to receive event reminders via email, SMS or as a pop-up to your mobile.


Now these are some of the basics of Google Calendar, now lets have a look at some interesting tips n tricks that you can use.




TIPS 'N TRICKS

• You can add create a HTML link for you calendar from settings, and this link can be added to your RSS feeds as well.

• You can add “year view” button to your calendar, which will display the whole year at once. Calendar Settings>Labs>Year View.

• Just like Gmail or customized Google search page, you can choose a background image for your calendar.  Calendar Settings>Labs>Background Image.

• When you edit an event, you can see a 'Find a time' tab that automatically finds the next available time for you. It compares schedules of every participant of the event and picks a time that suits everyone.

• In case you wish to change the date of a particular event, simple click and drag the event box to the new date.

• Like Gmail, Google Calendar has keyboard shortcuts as well.

• You can choose to view your calendar as per day, week, month, 4days and Agenda as well. In order to jump from one view to another use d, w, m, x or a as keyboards shortcuts. If you press n, it will take you to the next date, p for previous, and t will take you to today's date.

• Double clicking on an event will take you to its 'edit' page instantly.

• You can also embed your calendar to a website. Visit Calendar settings, and in Calendar details you will be able to see an already generated code for your calendar.

• You can also use Google Calendar for invoicing, which you can with GCal Invoice Creator, which keeps track of number of hours spent on a particular project.

• Many people tend to ignore the 'search' option on GCal, its pretty useful if you wish to track something that you did for the last time, or a schedule that you or a group followed. Its advanced search feature lets you look for events more specifically.

• You can also view your calendar offline, simply click on 'offline' on the top right of your Gcal page. This option downloads all your events your computer as a read-only format.

Add Facebook Events to Google Calendar:

Facebook event is one of the most widely application, since its more social and its way easier to let your friends (even co-workers sometimes) about the next event. But you can also choose to integrate Facebook events with Gcal.

Visit your Facebook hompage, and click on Events in the left column; this will take you to a list of all your Facebook events. On the bottom of the page, next to 'past events' and 'birthday' you will see 'export' option. When you click on it, it will give you a URL which you should copy.

Now, log in to your Google calendar and click on 'add' button right below 'other calendars', now choose Add URL and paste that Facebook link there. Gmail will automatically add all your present Facebook events, and also add when a new one is created.  If you are not interested in all your Facebook events, you can also choose to export individual events to Gmail.

With this I wrap up my first tutorial of basics of Google Calendar, and I suggest that you watch us closely, since we will be coming up with a sequel of this post with many more tips 'n tricks, so that you can make the most of GCal. 


If you are well versed with Google Calendar, then so share your tips or favorite features in the comment section below.