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Technology Advice for Small Businesses

Layering calendars on Google Calendar

GoogleApps_Oct20_CThere are a wide variety of tools business owners and managers rely on, on a daily basis. One of the most valuable is the calendar, or Google Calendar if you are a Google Apps user. This app offers users numerous features that are expected of digital calendars, and some features that aren’t. One such feature is the ability to layer multiple calendars from other users onto your own.

About multiple calendar layering

The idea behind multiple calendar layers is that it allows you to view your own and other user’s calendars on one screen. If other users have shared their calendars with you, you can easily see their events and schedule without having to ask them.

How do I add calendars from other employees/users?

Before you can layer your calendar, you need to first add other calendars. You can add calendars by:

  1. Opening your calendar.
  2. Clicking the box that says Add a coworker’s calendar under Other calendars.
  3. Entering the email address of a colleague whose calendar you would like to show on yours.
  4. Pressing Enter.

The calendar should show all shared events and entries from the added calendar within a couple of seconds. To keep things clear, each calendar you layer will be assigned a different color.

In order for this to work, users must have shared their calendar with the organization. If they have not, you will get a pop-up box asking if you would like to ask the user to share their calendar. Similarly, only events that are shared will show up on your calendar.

You can edit whoever’s calendar you see once this have been added, by going to your main calendar (calendar.google.com) and clicking on the colored box beside the calendar name, which will be located under Other calendars. Once you click on the box, the color will turn to grey and the user’s events will be shown on your calendar too.

How do I layer these calendars?

The great thing about this feature is that it is automatic. When you add someone’s calendar, their events will automatically be layered onto yours. You can tell this is working by looking at the Other calendars section of your calendar. If there are names with colored boxes beside them, events from these calendars should be showing on your calendar.

Hovering over a name and pressing the downward facing arrow that appears at the right will allow you to edit layering settings. This includes assigning another color, hiding the calendar, and even editing calendar settings.

Why is this useful?

Possibly the best reason this feature is useful is that it allows a manager to quickly and easily see what employees are doing. If, for example, you want to create a training session and are looking for a time when your staff are available, looking at the calendar can be a good start.

Of course, this feature only really works well if everyone is using their calendars and keeping them updated, so you might want to encourage employees to do this first before you start laying.

If you are looking to learn more about Google Calendar or any of the Google Apps, contact us today to see how we can help.