Google Calendar

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Google Calendar
Google Calendar screenshot
Developer:	Google
OS:	Any (web based application)
Use:	Electronic calendar
Website:	http://calendar.google.com/

Google Calendar, previously code-named CL2, is a contact- and time-management web application offered by Google. It allows users to synchronize their Gmail contacts with a web-based calendar. It became available on April 13, 2006, and is currently in beta stages. While users are not required to have a Gmail account, they are required to have a free Google account in order to use the software.

Contents 1 Features 2 Sharing calendars 3 Compatibility 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Features

The interface of Google Calendar is similar to desktop calendar applications such as Microsoft Outlook or iCal on Mac OS X. The Ajax-driven interface enables users to view, add and even drag-and-drop events from one date to another without reloading the page. It sports a variety of view modes, such as the weekly, monthly and agenda views. Users can "quick add" calendar events by typing standard English phrases, such as "Dinner with Michael 7pm tomorrow". Users can also set the number of days to show in their custom view mode. All events in a Google Calendar can be commented on by its users.

Events are stored online, so in the case of a user's hard drive failure, no data is lost. The application can import Microsoft Outlook calendar files (.csv) and iCalendar files (.ics) (the de facto open calendaring file format), although at this stage only when the fields are all in U.S. format. Multiple calendars can be added and shared, allowing various levels of permissions for the users. This enables collaboration and sharing of schedules between groups or families. There are also general calendars available for importing into one's account which contain national holidays of various countries.

Google Calendar is integrated with various other Google services:

• Gmail, Google's webmail service. When an e-mail that contains trigger words (such as "meeting", or dates and times) arrives, an "add to calendar" button is automatically displayed alongside it. This feature is not yet available to all Gmail users.
• Google Personalized Homepage, the user-designed Google homepage, where you can choose and organize content in the form of 'gadgets'. The calendar is shown as a module on your homepage. This 'gadget' offers options to edit how the time is displayed, which day the week starts on, and a link to 'Add Event'.^[1]
• Google Desktop, Google's desktop search software for Windows Vista, Windows XP and Windows 2000 SP3+ PC. The mini-calendar gadget allows you view your agenda without having to open your browser. You can place it on your desktop or leave it docked in the sidebar.^[2]

The new 'Search Public Events' feature allows users to search for events happening near them, and then add that event to their calendar. Google saves the date into your calendar, and time when applicable. Users first search for 'Event name or category' (e.g. Music), if they wish they can then narrow the search to 'City or Town' (e.g. New York, NY) and/or 'When' (e.g. Today). This is particularly useful when looking for movie times, theater times and music events.

Currently, Google Calendar can only be synchronized with mobile devices (e.g. BlackBerry, Palm, Pocket PC) or with PC applications (e.g. Microsoft Outlook, Apple iCal) via third party software. Event reminders can be sent via email, as well as SMS to mobile phones in over 80 countries and regions. For supported mobile carriers in the United States, the GVENT feature of Google Calendar allows users to create new events and check calendar information via SMS.^[3]

[edit] Sharing calendars

Google Calendar allows multiple calendars to be created and shown in the same view. They can also be easily shared, either read-only or with full control, and either with specified people only or with everyone. For example, make one shared calendar for each sports team or club, and a separate calendar for private events. Events from both show up side-by-side on the same calendar, in different colors.

[edit] Compatibility

Since Google Calendar is a web-based application, it supports virtually any operating system, provided that it has a browser which supports the web technologies that it employs. Since it is a relatively new application, browser compatibility is limited to Microsoft Internet Explorer 6+, Mozilla Firefox 1.0+, Opera 9 and Safari 2.0.3 with other browsers encountering rendering errors or even failing to load the page at all.

Google Calendar can be integrated with Windows Calendar in Windows Vista using the subscribe feature. The web link for the location of the calendar can be found in Google Calendar Settings in the Private Address section.

[edit] See also

• Yahoo! Calendar
• 30 Boxes

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Google Calendar
• Google Calendar Tour
• Calgoo Calendar - Takes Google Calendar Offline
• Third-party software to synchronize Google Calendar with mobile devices For Native Windows Mobile 5
• Third-party software for synchronizing Google Calendar with MS Outlook

• Unofficial site to view shared Google Calendar files without a google account
• How and Why to Backup Your Google Calendar