Do you want to share your Outlook calendar with co-workers but are unable to do so because you don’t have an Exchange server? That’s right, an exchange server is required if you plan to share your Outlook calendar with other people. However, you’re in luck because Google has released an online application called Google Calendar that allows you to create your own calendar and share it with other people. Best of all, you can access it from any device that has an Internet connection.
Go to calendar.google.com and sign in with your Google account. If you do not yet have a Google account, click the button labeled “Create an account” below the sign in box and follow the directions. After you create this account you’ll have access to a plethora of other useful services Google offers for free like Gmail, a news reader, and Google Docs.
Here’s a snapshot of Google Calendar:
You can add an event to the Calendar by clicking the “Create Event” or “Quick Add” links at the top left. Or you can just click on the date and time you wish to create an event and type it in. One cool feature is that you can give Google a general description of the event like “7pm dinner with Susan” and it’s smart enough to schedule the appointment in at 7pm.
The people you plan to share your calendar with must also have a Google account. Once they’ve created an account you can follow the steps below to share your calendar with them.
If you want to share your calendar with a friend or co-worker, click the arrow underneath “My Calendars” and select “Share this calendar” from the menu. Authorize a friend to see the calendar by entering their email address and giving them the proper permissions. If you want your friend to have the ability to modify the calendar, change the value in the Permission Settings drop down box to “Make Changes to Events”.
Share your calendar with friends and colleages
Now when your friend logs into their Google Calendar they will see all of your events in a specific color (which, of course, can be changed to any color you prefer). Your friend can now modify and create events and you will see the changes next time you login!
Accessing a Shared Calendar
I truly believe that we are heading toward a future where applications will be completely web-based. You already can use Google Docs to create your own basic Word, Spreadsheet, and PowerPoint documents and share them with anyone online. There’s no need to pay hundreds of dollars for Microsoft Office when all you need is basic document editing software – it’s now online for free! Now all you need is a web browser, an Internet connection, and a Google account to access all your work related information!