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Calendar is powering us through Hybrid Work - so let's brush up on fundamentals!
There are some misunderstandings on what data belongs to whom on Calendar. This will answer many questions: "It seems Calendar only prompts me to send updates sometimes", "What if I don't send an update?", "Why do guests not see the color I chose?"
Let's dive in, power users!
Only some fields visible for your guests.
What info belongs to whom?
What info belongs to whom?
You really only need to worry about the blue fields.
Information in the blue boxes describes the meeting. This info gets sent in invitations. When you update this info, Calendar will ask you to send an update to your guests.
Information in yellow box is your personal configuration. Everybody gets to set their own coloring.
If you have granted calendar access to somebody (say an EA), that person will see your calendar as you see it. You even see the same colors for meetings, super helpful!Finally, information in "only you" is also your personal configuration, but notifications are not shared with people who have access to your calendar.
Notifications are personal - you set up notifications for yourself, your guests have their own preferences, and your EA can also decide how to get notified of your events.
Simple as that! Most items are properties of the event, and guests will see them.
One more thing. On mobile, everything works the same, but I cannot speak for the latest iteration of Apple calendar. It is missing features and things may not work the way you expect. For reliable results, use the official Google Calendar app on iOS.
OK, now tell me about sending updates. Do all fields cause update changes?
OK, now tell me about sending updates. Do all fields cause update changes?
Now that you know which fields are shared with all guests, it's easy:
Google will prompt you to update your guests IF YOU CHANGE FIELDS IN THE BLUE AREA. (the common fields).
Everything in the orange boxes is yours alone. In fact, every guest has these fields, to do whatever they want. For every guest, they will default to that guest's individual preference.
It's like at the beach, when you built sandcastles on your dad's belly. Looks pretty, but as soon as he moved, it was all gone.
Does that mean I cannot update other people's events?
Does that mean I cannot update other people's events?
Correct! You cannot mess with the blue boxes.
If this was the whole story, this would be a short blog post. Google Calendar has an advanced feature which confuses people who didn't read this post:
You can update the blue boxes, but it's a fake update. Your changes are only reflected on this agenda.
This feature exists because people like to add private annotations to meetings, or make the meeting longer to allow for transit time. Be careful: if the meeting organizer updates the meeting, it'll reset.
You're safer creating annotations in a separate meeting (I call it annotations!) and blocking transit time as proper events.
This is the proper way. Your own travel as events you control, your own annotations and attachments (if you like that in calendar) under your control.
For EAs and executives: Calendar settings
For EAs and executives: Calendar settings
Google Calendar has two categories of settings. One are service-wide, like working hours or working location . Then there are settings for each of the Calendars you have inside Google Calendar (terrible naming). Let's call them "Agenda settings". As executives delegate to you, you see several agendas inside Calendar.
We need to look at what Agenda settings are shared between EA and partner, and which they can configure to their own gusto.
Shared agenda settings
Shared agenda settings
Agenda name (do NOT rename it "my annoying boss").
Access permissions (who can see this calendar).
Individual settings (everybody configures their way)
Individual settings (everybody configures their way)
Description
Event notifications (default for new events)
Default color for new events. Learn all about colors here!
If you set the color of an individual event, overriding the default color, your partner/EA will see the event in the same color - color is a shared event setting, see above. Turns out you can help them manage their live with colors!
You can officially claim your Calendar Black Belt now. If this was useful, pass the link to your colleagues (your EA, too, if you have one) and consider subscribing for biweekly (as in twice a week) updates on Google, AI and technology you can use today. Thanks for reading!
#calendarPublished 2018-09-20 by Holger Matthies.Republished 2022-03-17 by Holger Matthies.Modified 2022-10-18 by Holger Matthies.
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