Google Calendar Tips, Tricks and Secrets

Why stare at a blank calendar sheet all day long when you can add any photo from your computer or the web as a background image to Google Calendar?

Want birthday cakes in your schedule? Here's how to have Google Calendar pick up birthdays you've added to your Gmail contacts.

Tired of changing each new event's duration to, say, 15 minutes in Google Calendar? Here's hoe to change the default meeting length in its stead.

Want to move all events to your default Google Calendar calendar so they sync with Outlook? Want to migrate a calendar from one Google Calendar account to another? Want to copy all a public calendar's events so you can edit them? Here's how to do it all.

If you get an email that says "dinner tonight at 7.30pm - fettuccine w/ truffles" (this, or something better) creating an event plus reminder in Google Calendar right from Gmail is a snap. All the details are pre-entered!

Want to keep work and play apart or color-code time spent on various projects, for example? In Google Calendar, adding a new calendar for a particular kind of events is fast and easy.

Moving to another calendar or account? Looking for a backup? Here's how to export all your Google Calendar's calendars as ICS files, ready for importing into other applications and services.

Not so good at translating the distance on a calendar into the minutes and hours before your next meeting starts? Have Google Calendar count down to the upcoming event instead, in an easy to see, easy to grasp manner.

Dial in the desired day, month and year, and have Google Calendar jump to the exact date forthwith.

Have a calendar in Google Calendar whose events you would like to see in Outlook but don't need to synchronize? Here's how to import any Google Calendar itinerary's items easily into Outlook.

You've saved your calendars to ICS files; now here's how to turn these into color- and useful iCal schedules.

Instead of copying and pasting links, elegantly attach Google Docs spreadsheets, documents and presentations to events in Google Calendar.

Want to share your team's schedule with the world or let everybody know when you're free? Here's how to publish a calendar's details or free/busy information publicly in Google Calendar.

Wish you could share a calendar in Google Calendar without having to share each event on the calendar? Here's how to make individual items private and hide them other people's view.

Collaborating with Google Calendar and colleagues around the globe? Add a world clock to your calendar that lets you see the precise time (daylight saving time factored in) anywhere, and who might be available at a glance.

Instantly see who is free or what they're up to now and in the coming hour in Google Calendar.

Want to use the speed and easy of iCal with the ubiquity and versatility of Google Calendar? Here's how to add Google Calendar agendas to iCal and have them sync automatically, too.

Put Google Calendar into Outlook and Outlook into Google Calendar. Here's how to set up 2-way synchronization of your default Outlook and Google Calendar schedules.

Let others consult your calendar, or even schedule events for you, by sharing your Google Calendar itinerary with them.

Of course, you did not add a reminder to the 4:30 airplane. Of course, Google Calendar did add that reminder — as it does automatically for all traveling events. Here's how to create default alerts for any calendar in Google Calendar.

Get Google Calendar and the iPhone Calendar application in sync: here's how to set up access and synchronization.

Want to synch your Outlook calendar to Google and iPhone? It's easy and automatic to keep all your appointments and events up to date on all computers and devices. Here's how to set up background synchronization of your Outlook calendar, Google Calendar and iPhone Calendar.