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Tag: google calendar

  • Google Calendar Gets Major Upgrade to Avoid Scheduling Conflicts

    Google Calendar Gets Major Upgrade to Avoid Scheduling Conflicts

    Google has rolled out a major update to Calendar, one that will make it easier for users to avoid scheduling conflicts.

    The company unveiled the news in a blog post:

    The appointment scheduling tool is a feature that allows people to share their availability via a booking page that can be used by colleagues, external stakeholders, clients, and partners to schedule a meeting. With the current appointment scheduling experience, you are unable to review multiple calendars for conflicts when exposing appointment times to others.

    As a result, we’re introducing the ability to check and see a visual preview of multiple calendars when setting up your appointment schedules. Your booking page will show you as unavailable when you’re busy based on the calendars you choose.

  • Google Calendar’s New ‘Out of Office’ Mode Helps Improve Your Work-Life Balance

    Google Calendar’s New ‘Out of Office’ Mode Helps Improve Your Work-Life Balance

    Google has finally taken steps to make their Calendar more flexible. The company has rolled out two new features that will allow users to customize their schedules on a daily basis and mark events as “out of office.”

    Our lives do not run on a fixed schedule, so it only makes sense that Google Calendar should also allow for some flexibility. Let’s say you prefer to have a late start on Mondays and will just make up for it by working longer the following day. A new set of controls in Calendar will make it easier for you to adjust your availability and limitations on a daily basis.

    This means you can adjust it so that your work hours on Mondays can start at 10 am while you can extend your Tuesday schedule until 8 pm. When someone sends an invitation to a meeting and it falls beyond your work schedule, they will receive a notification stating that you might decline.

    At the moment, Google users can set up only a single default working schedule from Monday to Friday. But with this new tool, you can be as specific as possible.

    Another new feature headed to Google Calendar is the “out of office” mode. It also works in a similar manner, but instead of blocking off their schedule with a random event, users can set it up as an “out of office” entry. So people who invite you to an event during this scheduled timeout duration will automatically receive a message declining the invitation. The message can also be personalized as you see fit.

    The updates are Google’s way of assisting its users to have a healthier “digital well-being.” After all, something as simple as setting up flexible work hours or scheduling time to be out of the office can have a big impact on your work-life balance.

    The new features are expected to be available on all G Suite editions in the next few days.

  • Google Calendar for Desktops Finally Gets a Facelift

    Google Calendar for Desktops Finally Gets a Facelift

    Google plans to finally implement the long-awaited changes to the desktop version of Calendar. The makeover will not only enhance its aesthetics and put it on par with its mobile counterparts but also give the desktop app cool new features to boost user productivity.

    One of the more visible changes in the revamped desktop Calendar will be its size. The new Calendar will now automatically adjust depending on the size of your computer screen which should make it easier to navigate.

    But the Calendar redesign is more than just skin deep. The new version will be packed with useful features design to make your work life a bit easier.

    With the new update, users to are now able to link spreadsheets and documents for meetings directly to the Google Calendar, eliminating the need to open other apps.

    The new Calendar app will also make scheduling meetings in the real world a bit easier as it now lets you search for available conference rooms and book them for meetings. According to Tech Republic, the upgraded app will also support conference room details. This will aid organizers in picking the ideal venue since they can search for rooms that have particular audiovisual equipment or even ones that are accessible by wheelchair.

    Time management gets easier too. At a glance, the new app will allow busy workers to see the status of each meeting invite as they are now color-coded, according to a Google blog post. They can assign a particular color for meetings with confirmed attendees and another color for invites that have not yet responded. On the other hand, meetings and that were answered a “maybe” will be shown with diagonal lines across them while events that they have declined will be crossed out.

    Google is planning to roll out the updated Calender between Nov 14 and 28 but companies already had the option to manually update their desktop Calendar app since last Tuesday.

    [Featured Image by Google]

  • Facebook Launches a Simple Event App

    Facebook Launches a Simple Event App

    Have you ever wondered if you were missing a party your friends were having or an event in your community? Facebook has launched a simple to use app that organizes all of the events of your friends and public community activities and festivals that will prevent you from missing out.

    Could it be the beginning of a Facebook competition with Google Calendar? Possibly, but at this point it is clearly a consumer targeted feature, although small businesses and community groups will love the marketing potential of having their events put in front of locals without having to get them to Like their page.

    “Every day, more than 100 million people use Facebook events to discover things they can do with their friends — from festivals and 5Ks to neighborhood fairs and nightlife,” says Aditya Koolwal, who is a Product Manager at Facebook. “With hundreds of millions of events shared on Facebook every year, the fear of missing out is becoming a thing of the past.”

    The app lets the user pick topics of interest and sorts them by date. You can also view events from areas outside of your current location that you might be traveling to. If any event you are attending is updated the app will send a notification.

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    “If you’re looking for something to do this weekend or even right now, you can easily browse event recommendations based on time, location and your interests,” said Koolwal. “Explore events happening where you are or in places you like to go using the interactive map. You can also search for events in any city if you’re planning ahead for a trip.”

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    You can also merge your calendars into the app, although I couldn’t link Google Calendar to the app although I assume that will be added soon.

    The app is available for download now from the iOS app store and is coming soon to Android.

  • Google Calendar Gets New Meeting-Scheduling Feature

    Google Calendar Gets New Meeting-Scheduling Feature

    Google announced a new meeting-scheduling feature for Google Calendar on Android for Google Apps for Work and Edu customers. You can simply tap “Find a Time” to find meetings times that work for those involved.

    This takes time zones into account, as well as availability of all parties and the times they usually have meetings. It’s designed specifically for organizations who regularly share calendars with colleagues.

    When there’s not a time that works, Google Calendar will look at which conflicting meetings can most easily be rescheduled. It sounds pretty handy.

    “‘Find a time’ makes suggestions, but you’re still in control,” says product manager Stella Schieffer. “You can tap to see everyone’s schedule at a glance—perfect for making sure the timing works for all. And if you manage someone else’s calendar, you can use the feature to schedule meetings on their behalf as well.

    The feature is just for Android right now, but they’re working on bringing it to iPhone.

    Images via iStock, Google

  • Google Calendar Now Finds Time For You To Complete Your Goals

    Google Calendar Now Finds Time For You To Complete Your Goals

    Google announced the launch of a new Google Calendar feature called Goals, which lets users add personal goals, which Calendar will actually find time in your schedule for to help you accomplish them.

    Google uses the example of a goal of running three times a week. In the video, a similar goal for yoga is illustrated.

    You can set a goal by answering questions about how often you want to do something and what the best time is. Calendar will then look at your schedule and find windows of time.

    “Goals aren’t easy—especially when the unexpected comes up—but Calendar can help you adjust in a number of important ways. For example, Calendar will automatically reschedule if you add another event that’s a direct conflict with a goal,” says product manager Jyoti Ramnath.

    You can also defer a goal at any time, and Calendar will make time for it later,” Ramnath adds. “Finally, Calendar actually gets better at scheduling the more you use it—just defer, edit or complete your goals like normal, and Calendar will choose even better times in the future.”

    The feature comes as Google celebrates Google Calendar’s tenth birthday.

    Image via Google

  • You Can Now Use Reminders with Google Calendar on the Web

    Today in “I can’t believe this wasn’t already a thing” news, Google announced the addition of reminders to Google Calendar on the web, making it easier for users to keep track of important (and not so important for that matter) tasks

    On Android and iPhone, reminders that aren’t completed appear at the top of the calendar until they’re marked done. Reminders created in Inbox, Keep, and the Google app also appear in Google Calendar. Now, these things apply to mobile. Also, reminders created in mobile show up on the web and vice versa.

    Again, how wasn’t this already a thing? Either way, better late than never.

  • Google Calendar Now Does A Better Job Of Reminding You About Things

    Google announced that Google Calendar users will now be able to create reminders in the app to keep track of their to-dos alongside scheduled events.

    You could always add entries and get reminders when the time came around, but this is different. The new reminders stick around until the task is complete. If it’s not completed, it appears at the top of your calendar the next day. This keeps going on indefinitely until you finally complete it.

    “Another way Reminders are more useful than events is that Calendar adds things like phone numbers and addresses automatically,” says product manager Vijay Umapathy. “So if you add a Reminder to make call or run an errand, the number or address will be right there when you need it. Just like Inbox by Gmail, Calendar uses information from your contacts, as well as Google’s knowledge graph to provide this extra bit of help.”

    “You can also create Reminders from Inbox, Keep, and Google Now,” Umapathy says. “This means you can create a Reminder when you’re checking your email and it will show up on your calendar right away. Plans change? Just move the Reminder to a better time. Or if your hands are full, you can record your Reminders in Google Now一like, “Ok Google, remind me to buy birthday candles”一then mark it as done later in Calendar.”

    The new functionality is rolling out this week on mobile. It will come to the web version in the future.

    Images via Google

  • Google Calendar Works Better With Gmail For Business Travel

    Google Calendar Works Better With Gmail For Business Travel

    Google announced some improvements to the integration between Gmail and Google Calendar when it comes to business travel. Now, when users get email with flight, hotel, restaurant or ticketed event info, the event will automatically be added to Google Calendar.

    While that alone makes things a lot easier to keep track of, that’s not all. The events in Google Calendar will include things like flight numbers and check-in times, making things even more hassle-free for business travelers.

    It will even update the events if plans changed and new emails are received. If a flight is delayed or a reservation is pushed back, this will automatically be reflected in the event on Google Calendar.

    “The Internet has made business travel―booking flights and hotels, reserving restaurant tables, buying event tickets, and more―infinitely easier,’ Google says in a blog post. “Adding that information to a calendar, on the other hand, has remained time-consuming and tedious, typically requiring people to copy and paste information from various confirmation emails. In the coming week, Gmail and Google Calendar will start working together to lighten that load for Google Apps customers, and make business travel planning even more seamless.”

    calendar

    The functionality will now be the default both on Android and iOS for Google Apps customers, though it’s not available for Google Apps for Government for some reason.

    If an event appears on your Calendar that you don’t want, you can always delete it. If you don’t like the feature in general, you can disable it in the settings in Google Calendar. Before it goes into effect, you should see a screen when you open Google Calendar alerting you to the changes. You’ll also get an email notification when the first event from Gmail is added. Google says this is a one-time thing.

    Images via Google

  • Google Calendar Gets A Big Refresh On Mobile

    Google introduced a new version of the Google Calendar mobile app. It’s available for Android now, and will hit iOS soon. Have a look.

    “It’s designed to be a helpful assistant, so you can spend less time managing your day, and more time enjoying it,” said product manager Ian Leader. “It takes a lot of work to stay on top of your schedule, after all. You have to manually enter that hotel or dinner reservation, then update it if your plans change. You have to hunt around for addresses and phone numbers, then add them to your events. And if you’re on a mobile device, you might just give up on these kinds of tasks entirely. Calendars (like email) should do better—especially on phones and tablets—so we set out to build one that’s always at your service.”

    With the new app, emails can automatically be turned into Calendar events.

    “Every time you book a flight, buy concert tickets, or make a hotel reservation, odds are you get an email with dates, times and other important details,” Leader added. “But who has the time (or patience) to copy and paste all this into their calendar? In the new Calendar app these kinds of emails become events automatically, complete with things like flight numbers and check-in times. They’ll even stay updated in real time if your flight’s delayed, or you receive another email update.”

    Like the recently introduced Inbox, the new Calendar app also makes use of Assists, which group together content like phone numbers, addresses, attendees, etc. and suggests titles, people and places. These adapt to preferences over time.

    There’s also a new schedule view, which includes photos and maps of places and events.

    The new app works on Android 4.1 and higher. It’s immediately available for Lollipop devices, and will be available as an update from Google Play over the coming weeks. As mentioned, the iPhone version is also on the way.

    Image via Google

  • Google Adds Data Download Feature To Gmail, Calendar

    Google announced on Thursday that you can now export a copy of your Gmail and Google Calendar data making it easier to back up data or move to another service.

    Users can download all mail and calendars or choose subsets of labels or calendars. You can also download data from Gmail, Calendar, Google+, Youtube, Drive, etc. in a single archive file.

    You can download Calendar data right now, but the ability download Gmail messages will be rolled out over the coming months.

    Google announced some additional Calendar features on Wednesday. They’ve added autocomplete to event creation, and friends you invite can click on “map” to make sure they’re going to the right place. They’ve also added the ability to see relevant events and contacts as you search.

    Google Calendar

    Additionally, event guest lists will now automatically update as people join or leave a Google Group.

    Images: Google

  • Android Gets New Google Calendar

    Android Gets New Google Calendar

    Android users who use Google Calendar to catalog their week will get a more color in the newest app.

    Google announced that Google Calendar for Android now supports a variety of colors for those who want to highlight specific events with certain colors. Now you can mark your birthday in a warm blue, and a visit from the in-laws in blood red.

    Google Calendar for Android

    Adding that particularly nasty visit from the in-laws to your schedule has been improved with the latest update as well. Google has completely redesigned the date and time picker to make it even easier to add those important dates. You can also set those dates to repeat in any time increment you require. It will make it easy to remind yourself of the bi-monthly visits from the aunt that hates your taste in neckties.

    The timezone picker has also been redesigned so you will always have the right region for your scheduled events, like that potluck in Alaska with the cousin that hates you.

    Google Calendar for Android

    You can grab the new Google Calendar for Android on devices running Android 4.0.3 or higher. For custom colors, you’ll need to be running 4.1 or higher. You can grab it at the Google Play store now.

  • Gmail ‘Results While You Type’ Feature Rolls Out To All U.S. Users

    Last year, Google launched the ability to see results from your Gmail, Google Drive and Google Calendar accounts as you type in the search box from Gmail. This was only available as part of a field trial.

    Soon, all users in the U.S. will be getting this functionality. Google software engineer Balazs Racz says in a brief blog post:

    As part of field trial we opened in October, it became possible to instantly see your relevant emails, Google Drive files, Calendar events, and more when you search in Gmail. Those of you who participated in the field trial told us that you like the time-saving convenience of searching for all your stuff from one place, and over the coming week, we’ll be rolling out this feature in English to all U.S. users. Now you can find what you’re looking for faster right in Gmail.

    The feature is nice, but the part of the field trial that lets users retrieve content from Gmail, Google Drive and Google Calendar when searching Google’s regular web search is even better. It remains to be seen when this functionality will become available to all.

  • Google Adds Latin American Spanish Option to Calendar

    Google has just announced that they are making Google Calendar much more friendly to Latin American Spanish speakers.

    Starting today, Google Calendar has a new Español (Latinoamérica) option. Spanish is spoken is much of the world, but the Spanish isn’t the same in every location. Google knows this, and has made a Spanish variant that better suits their Latin American users.

    Of course, it isn’t easy to find a variation of Spanish that works for someone living in say, South America, but also feels natural to a Spanish speaker in the United States or Caribbean for example. The Spanish spoken in these regions differs greatly from one country to the next due to geography, separate cultures, customs, and histories. To give all of our Latin American Spanish speakers an option that looks, feels, and sounds right, Google Localization constructed a Spanish variant that combines the most common elements from the different dialects. So whether you speak Spanish or any one of Calendar’s 42 languages, it’s now even easier to keep up with your busy schedule!” says Google.

    Google has already offered Gmail in Latin American Spanish since last year, and if you’re new to Calendar but have been using this option inside Gmail, you should be ready to go in Español (Latinoamérica) automatically. Otherwise, simply go to your Calendar settings and click the gear icon and change languages.

  • Google Adds Your Google Calendar Data To Search Results

    Google announced today that it has added Google Calendar data to the Gmail Search Field Trial. This is the feature that lets you search Google’s regular web search and get relevant content from your Gmail account right on the main search results page.

    I’ve been part of the field trial since the beginning, and personally, I find it to be one of the most useful things Google has done in quite some time. This notion was only amplified when Google added Drive content into the mix, and I would imagine that Calendar data would only enhance it further.

    With the update, you can search for your agenda, and find appointments saved to your Google Calendar.

    I should note that I’ve been experiencing some problems with the feature actually returning results for the past week or so. I reached out to Google about the issue, and have so far been unable to get an explanation, though I’m told nothing has changed, and it’s likely something specific to my own account.

    When the feature works though, it really is helpful on a daily basis.

    What other Google services would you like to see implemented in this feature?

  • Google Calendar Android App Suggests Locations For Events

    Google has launched an update to the Google Calendar app for Android. New features include: the ability to call and go to a map directly from notifications, location suggestion on even creation and quick event creation from month view.

    The app can be found in the Google Play Store.

    The app requires Android 4.0.3 or higher. It has been reviewed rated 10,163 times, with 6,114 5-star ratings. The average rating is 4.2.

    People planning events with Google products may like to know that Google added some new Events-related features in its Google+ Android app. For example, users can send messages to specific guests and see who has opened the invitations. Users can also invite people through Google+ or by copying the URL of the event into an email or IM, and guests can RSVP with the number of people they’re bringing. In addition to that, Google has added a new event duplication feature, in case you want to do the same thing multiple times. It will automatically add the details, so you don’t have to set them up every time.

    [via Cult of Android]

  • Google Calendar Android App Hits Google Play

    Google has added the Google Calendar Android app to Google Play. In the past, it has only been available for select devices like the Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus.

    The app comes with the ability to snooze events directly from notifications and use predefined messages to send quick updates to even participants directly from notifications. You can also pinch to zoom in and out of days and set home time zones.

    “In addition, we also expanded the sync period so you can review past events from up to one year ago directly on your device,” says Google’s Michael Chan.

    All of this is in addition to the requisite creation, editing and deleting of events and the ability to respond to invitations, of course.

    It’s only available for devices running Android 4.0.3 or later.

    Google Calendar App

    Google Calendar App

    There are some issues with HTC devices that Google acknowledges in the Google Play store. Day and week views may not work with some of them. Notes and pictures may be removed from all calendar events, but will still be available in HTC’s Notes app. Local unsynced events may be lost after installing the Google Calendar app, and touching an email invitation in a mail app opens Calendar in the browser rather than the app.

  • Google Adds Your Google Drive Files To SERPs

    In August, Google launched a feature that surfaces your email messages from Gmail on web search results pages when relevant. It has only been available in an opt-in field trial so far, but it seems likely that this will become a regular feature somewhere down the line, or at least be opened up to everybody who wants it.

    Now, Google has launched a new expanded version of the field trial, which adds Google Drive files to the mix, so you can see all of your Google Docs and other files appear in search results when relevant, just like the Gmail results. It will also surface Google Calendar content. Google writes on the Inside Search blog:

    When you’re looking for something, you should be able to find what you need quickly and easily without needing to think about where it might be, whether it’s in your email or out on the public web. That’s why this past August we opened a field trial allowing you to sign up to get information from Gmail right from the Google search box.

    We’ve gotten very positive feedback from those of you testing it out — such as this note: “The Gmail results feature is awesome! The fact that it’s all integrated into one screen is huge.” Many testers have requested being able to find Drive files as well — as one of you put it, “It would be awesome if I could search my google drive from google search as well :)”.

    Google Drive Results

    The Google Drive and Calendar content can also be surfaced from a search from Gmail.

    Google Drive Results from Gmail

    To get Drive results, you have to sign up for the new field trial, even if you’re part of the initial Gmail trial. It’s only available in English to users with @gmail.com addresses (not Google Apps accounts).

    It seems likely that this will be expanded to Google Apps users at some point, even if Google has so far made no indication that it will. One can only imagine that files and emails available from search can be a whole lot more useful in business and education scenarios.

  • Google Now Lets You Schedule Hangouts from Google Calendar

    Google continues to push Google+ Hangouts capabilities to many of their products, and the latest integration is with Google Calendar. Now, you can add a Hangout to any event on your calendar and access it with a single click.

    From the Gmail blog:

    Do you use Google Calendar to schedule catch ups with distant friends and family? Now, if you’ve upgraded to Google+, you can schedule a face-to-face video chat right from Google Calendar using Google+ Hangouts. It takes one click to add a hangout to an event and another click to join the hangout.

    Last month, Google integrated Hangouts into Gmail. Google said that this would increase reliability and quality of video chats, since it replaces the old peer-to-peer technology.

    And earlier this month, Google began testing an experimental feature which allows users to send private messages to other users inside Hangouts.

  • Add Your Foursquare Check-ins to Google Calendar

    If you’re a world traveler, or simply someone who tends to have a few too many drinks while out on the town, it’s hard to remember all the places you’ve been. If you want an easy, hands-free way to log all of your past stops, Foursquare wants to help.

    Today, Foursquare is announcing that you can now import all of your Foursquare check-in data directly to Google Calendar. All you have to do it go to foursquare.com/feeds, log in, and click the “add my check-in history to my Google Calendar” link.

    Of course, you can always check your Foursquare history to access every check-in you’ve ever made, but adding your check-ins to Google Calendar means that they will update automatically. if you’re a Google Calendar user, this link-up is really a no-brainer.

    Foursquare reminds us that it’s probably not a wise idea to share your specific feeds with anyone, since they do contain your entire Foursquare check-in history (private check-ins and all).

  • Google Calendar Will Be Integral To Google+ Events

    I have a theory as to why Google waited until today to launch Google+ Events when they could have launched it ages ago to better compete with Facebook. They wanted to get all of their other services and software in line to support the launch of Events so that it was a fully-functional application right out of the gate with all the bells and whistles you would expect. It would appear that Google did that and then some with the launch of Events.

    One of the big applications that will play heavily into the success of Google+ Events is Google Calendar. It’s a feature that many people already use to plan their week or even year down to the exact date for everything. That’s where Google+ Events come in.

    Google+ will display a calendar when creating an event so that you can be sure that it doesn’t conflict with any other plans. When you or a friend has made an event, it will show up in calendar as yellow block with that friend’s profile picture next to it letting you know that it’s an event and not just your personal memo to party alone. It should also be noted that this new Calendar functionality will sync up with Calendar on your phone as part of Google’s big push towards mobile for Google+.

    Without even having to visit Google+, you can click on the event and it will display a page like so:

    Google Calendar Will Be Integral To Google+ Events

    As you can see, it lists all the important details of the event including date, place, time, and everybody that’s invited. You can even RSVP from Calendar, but you can also visit the Google+ place proper if you want even more information. It’s an elegant solution that keeps people hooked into Google+ without having to actually visit the site.