10 useful features of the built-in "Calendar" macOS

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

It will help you stay productive and keep absolutely everything in mind.

1. Synchronization with Google

By default, macOS Calendar syncs with your iCloud account. This is great if you only use Mac, iPhone and iPad. But for those who own gadgets with Windows and Android, it is better to choose synchronization with Google Calendar.

Open "Calendar" → "Accounts …" and select your Google account. You will be prompted to enter your username and password in the opened browser. Do this and your macOS Calendar will now display events from your Google Calendar. Any changes you make to it on Mac will be reflected on all other devices.

2. Adding third-party calendars

You can add other third-party calendars from the web to your schedule. For example, a calendar of holidays, so that forgetfulness does not come to work in the midst of rest. There are two ways to do this. The first option is to download the calendar you need in the iCal format, aka ICS, and just open it. macOS will prompt you to import it.

The second option is to copy the link to the iCal calendar via the context menu of your browser. In Calendar, click File → New Calendar Subscription, paste the link, and click OK. Now, if the creators make any changes to it, they will be displayed for you.

You can find many useful calendars, for example, on the website.

3. Working with the map

When creating an event in the "Calendar", add to them not only the date, but also the place. Thus, you will always know where this or that meeting will take place, you will not get lost and will be able to correctly calculate the arrival time.

Start typing an address in the Location field and macOS will suggest the appropriate options. The coordinates will be marked on the map. You can also enter your departure time and trip duration here, and the system will remind you when it's time to get ready.

4. Creation of events lasting several days

In macOS Calendar, you can create events that take more than one day, but several at once. This is useful for marking vacation days, for example. Of course, you can specify from what date to what should the event last by manually typing numbers when creating it. But it is much more convenient and more visual to do it by simple drag and drop.

Create a new event in the All Day section above and name it something like Vacation, Vacation, and so on. Then grab the edge of the event with your mouse and stretch it over several dates.

5. Adding events from notes and mail

MacOS apps are well integrated with each other. You can create Calendar entries right from the Mail and Notes windows. This is useful if, for example, you received an invitation to a meeting by e-mail: you can schedule the corresponding event without even opening the "Calendar". Or you've created a note and want to link a calendar reminder to it.

Open a letter in Mail or an entry in Notes and look in the text for the time, date, or both. Hover your mouse over a date, click on the arrow that appears, and the application will prompt you to add an event to your calendar.

6. Changing the number of days displayed

By default, in Week view, Calendar displays seven days, which makes sense. But if your job forces you to schedule events for, say, the next 10 or 14 days, the number of columns can be changed.

Close Calendar completely. To do this, right-click its icon in the Dock and select Quit. Then launch "Terminal" and enter the following command:

defaults write com.apple.iCal n / days / of / week 14

Now open “Calendar” and in “Week” mode it will show 14 days. You can enter any arbitrary number - just not very large, otherwise the days will not fit into the window. To return to the default display, enter the same command with the number 7.

7. Opening files and applications on a schedule

Let's say you work on the same spreadsheet every month where you calculate your expenses. Or you will need to finish some document 15 minutes before the specified time. MacOS Calendar allows you to link any files to your notes and automatically open them when you need them.

Create a new event, then double-click it and click on the date. Open the drop-down menu "Reminder" and click "Configure". Here you can select a pop-up notification or an email reminder. There is another option - "Open file". Click it. Then go to another drop-down list below, click "Other" and specify which file and how many minutes before the event should be opened.

If you make the event a recurring event, Calendar will open the selected file on a schedule.

But keep in mind that the trick only works with calendars stored on your Mac or iCloud. Google Calendar does not know how to save reminders when opening files.

8. Viewing events as a list

Typically, "Calendar" displays events for a week or month in a table. It is convenient and clear, but sometimes you still want to look at the planned tasks in the form of a list. This option is useful if there are a lot of entries in the calendar and you want to decide what to do first.

Enter a regular double quotation mark in the search field at the top, and a list of all nearby Calendar events will appear on the side.

9. Hiding events

When you're reviewing your busy schedule, birthdays can be a little distracting. But, fortunately, they can be quickly hidden for a while. To do this, click "View" and uncheck the box "Show events for the whole day". Then it can be put back.

10. Event management by voice

On both iPhone and Mac, you have Siri, a voice assistant that works with Calendar. Just say something like, "Siri, create a calendar event: appointment at 12 o'clock," and the entry will be added. In the same way, you can ask the assistant to change the time of the event: "Move tomorrow's meeting to the day after tomorrow" - and this will be done.