Waffle Bytes

(Reposting) There are many time I get an email that I want to make into an event on my calendar - both to make sure I block out the time, and to move the information out of an email in my inbox into the event. There is a feature called "Create event" that let's you do this - it is available in the More options when you are viewing the message. Once you select create event, Google opens up a new window, loads your calendar, and creates an event with the message subject as the name of the event, and the body of the message as the description within the event: You are then able to edit the date/time and other information as needed to finish creating the event. One caveat...it adds everyone that was part of the message to the Guest list (see above in red box), so unless you want it to be a group event you will need to click the x next to everyone's name but yours.

There are times you want to email those you have invited to an event.  Or even times you want to email SOME of those you have invited.  Instead of doing this in mail, you have the ability to do it right within the event on your calendar.  It's quick, flexible, and can save you a lot of time, so is worth checking out if you haven't used it before! (Here is a video on How to Email Guests that are Invited to an Event. ) When in your Google Calendar: Click on the event you wish to email out from -  Click on the Mail icon in the upper right of the event -  A window pops up for you to craft your email in. You have the following options: Select a subgroup to send the message to (leaving all checked sends to all & cc's you) You can take off specific people, OR add people not invited to the event Copy the email addresses to the clipboard to use elsewhere Compose your message Note that the "event information will be included in the message...

Sometimes you don't want a recurring event because the similar events do not line up on a regular schedule.  When this happens you want to duplicate the event instead.  It is an easy step to duplicate an existing event in Google Calendar, and you are able to update as much or as little of the information as you need.  Want it in a different location?  Sure!  Want to invite different people?  Definitely doable! And of course, want to set it on a different day?  Yes! (Here is a video on How to Duplicate an Event .)  To duplicate an event on your calendar: Click on the initial event to show the pop-up information, then click on the More Options menu (stacked three dots) - Select Duplicate from the drop-down - Make any needed changes to the new event, such as location, guests, time, date, etc - Click on Save to save the duplicated event with changes -

Do you have an event that happens on a regular basis?  Say a birthday, or weekly meeting?  You can set up recurring events on your Google Calendar, and it is actually pretty flexible as long as the events have consistency to when they occur.  (If they don't have consistency you will instead want to use the duplicate feature.  That is tomorrow's post.) (Here is a video on  How to Set Up A Recurring Event .) To set up a recurring event: First create your event, and go to the event details - Look for the drop-down, by default it says Does not repeat -  Click on it to reveal the "smart" options it offers you.  If one of these is correct, select it.  If not, then click on Custom... at the bottom - Once in the Custom recurrence, set the information as needed for your event - Here is an example of my reminder to post the G Suite Tidbits.  It is set to be every week on Monday-Friday, and expires on Feb 15, 2019 when we wrap ...

Sometimes you get invited to an event, but the time just doesn't work for you.  Either you already have something scheduled, or another event comes up that takes precedence.  Instead of canceling or declining the event, you do have the ability to propose a new time to the event organizer.  It is easy to do (and modify), and also will let you send a note explaining why you would like a change in date and/or time.  (Here is a video on How to Propose a New Event Time )  The blog post also includes how to cancel a proposed new time at the end. To propose a new event time to the organizer: Click on the event you wish to propose a new time for.  Look for an arrow in the bottom right corner of the event details - A couple new options will appear; select Propose a new time - A window appears on the left side of the screen where you can: Propose a new time (or even day) Add an optional message for the organizer Once done, click on Send proposal...

One advantage of using Google Calendars is the ability to invite others to an event.  When you are invited to an event, it will automatically add the event to your primary calendar and give you the ability to respond.  The event will have a variety of circles in front of it (month view) or shading (week view) to indicate your response to the invitation.  It will also notify the person organizing the event as to your status, if you have set it.  (Here is a video on How to Accept/Decline an Invitation to an Event .)  Included are how to do this both in Google Calendar, and from within your email. To accept/decline an invitation to an event while in Google Calendar: Find the event on your calendar, it will have white shading in the week/day view -  Or a white circle in front for a view with more than a week- When you click on the event, you will have the option to respond at the bottom of the event.  You can just click on your selection - ...

One of the powers of a digital calendar is that you can "share" events with other people - this means that all the information you put in the event is shared with them, from location and times to attachments and notes.  The bigger advantage of it, though, is that if you make changes to the event those changes are reflected on the other guests calendar as well!  No more emailing back and forth to ensure everyone has the most up-to-date information about an event.  (Here is a video on how to invite others to your event if you prefer.) To add guest, first either create a new event (or open an existing event).  Look on the right side for the area where Guests are managed - In the bar that says Add guests, begin typing the name or email address of the person you want to invite.  (If they are in your contacts, it will begin popping up suggestions.) - Select the person you want to add by clicking on their name (or typing in their entire email address)....

In the calendar settings, you can set the default event length.  This is useful if you are constantly changing your meetings/events to the same length - and it is not the default length pre-set. One note - if you are in a view that displays more than 1 week, the default is full day event.  This default event length will only work in the day view or the week view. (Here is a video on how to set the default event length if you prefer.) To set this, first go to Calendar Settings (the gear) -  Choose Settings - On the right side, select Event settings - Look for the default duration, this is at the top of the event settings - Choose the length of time that you want to be the default (the one you use the most...) -