How to get more out of the Google calendar

If you use an Android smartphone, you are probably familiar with the Gmail calendar, the Google web tool. Gmail is automatically synchronized with the calendar of your Android smartphone, so that if you make a modification on your mobile device, it is made in the web calendar and, at the same time, any change in the web calendar appears automatically on your smartphone or tablet. This ease of synchronization avoids having to connect the smarphone with a cable to the computer to update the phonebook.

But you may not know that in addition to your own calendar, you can access other calendars. For example, that of a collaborator or co-worker or your partner. You will need their permission, but this possibility allows you to see or edit other calendars (depending on the permissions you receive), which often makes it easier to set up meetings that several people have to attend. Both from the web version and from the mobile device you can choose to view a calendar or several simultaneously, even see them in parallel on the screen or superimposed (although this option can be somewhat chaotic). 



In order to see and edit a collaborator's calendar you have to request permission. To do this, in the bottom left, you write that user's mail in the "Add calendar" window (that user's gmail e-mail or the one associated with your calendar) and if that user gives you permission, you can have access to your calendar. Another interesting option is to integrate into our calendar other calendars designed by other people, to which we probably do not know, with events of public interest: for example, sporting events. If you are a follower of Formula 1, for example, you can integrate all the calendar events of this competition into your calendar since someone has done this work before and made it available to any interested party. 

By clicking on the arrow that appears to the right of the text "Other calendars" you can see what Google suggests. Among them, the holidays of many countries of the world, very interesting option if you have to work with contacts from another country and you want to know when it is a holiday there. In addition to those suggested by Google, there are many other calendars created by different people and entities, which you can locate through search engines and add to your calendar at any time. For example, to subscribe to the Formula 1 calendar that I mentioned before you can find one you like and integrate it into your calendar (I have done it to this one: https://www.f1calendar.com/download/f1-calendar_q_gp.ics ? t = 1426104730) by clicking on the "Add by URL" option on the same arrow to the right of the text "

Another very interesting option is to show your calendar to third parties so they can tell you which are the most suitable day and time to plan, for example, a meeting. But it can be interesting that those third parties can know what gaps you have but do not access the details of your other appointments. To  do this you have to follow these steps: 1st - On the date to the left of your own calendar you select "Share this calendar". 2nd - Check the option "Make this calendar public" and also the option "Share only my free / busy information (hide details)" 3rd - Press Save 4th - Press the arrow to the right of your calendar name again and select "Calendar settings". 






5th - In the section "Address of the calendar" you click on the blue label that HTML puts. 
6º - Copies the address that appears for your calendar. This address is the one you have to give to those people you want to show the holes you have in your calendar. For example, the address of my calendar is:https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=fergarigl%40gmail.com&ctz=Europe/Madrid 





If you want a more advanced option, there are web tools such as Appointlet -with a very powerful free mode- that show the free hours of your calendar to other people following the criteria you specify: between certain hours and on certain days and with a certain margin time between appointments. The person who wants to arrange a meeting with you will fill in the appropriate fields: name, telephone, e-mail, reason for the meeting and Appointlet will ask you by e-mail to confirm the meeting. You can put a link to Appointlet on your website or blog, as I did on the button to arrange meetings in the "Contact" section of the Artáiz Asesoría Tecnológica website. I invite you to try it:

The Google calendar has many more options, which I invite you to discover and share with other readers. Enjoy them.