Thursday, April 26, 2018

A few more handy tricks for the new calendar...

A few more tips...

Gmail

Did you know that if you use Gmail, you can keep the Dance Queens calendar right there on the side of the mail window?

First, you need to add the Dance Queens calendar to your Google Calendar list:

  • Click the + Google Calendar button in the lower-right corner of the full page calendar.
  • Or, if you're already in Google Calendar, enter dancequeensslife@gmail.com into Add a friend's calendar.

Then, go to your Gmail account.

There will be a cute gear icon in the upper-right corner of the window. Click that, and then click Try the new Gmail.


You'll be presented with some formatting choices... and then the new Gmail will appear.

In the right sidebar, there will be a calendar icon... click that, and today's Google Calendar items will appear in the sidebar:


Because you've added the Dance Queens calendar to your Google Calendar list, you'll get all of the events we have on the calendar. Use the navigation controls at the top of the Google Calendar sidebar to check out the upcoming schedule.

Now, I know... not everyone uses Google. Some people use Hotmail or Yahoo or the Windows or OSX calendar applications. If your calendar application supports iCal format, just copy-paste the following URL into the appropriate menu option:

https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/dancequeensslife%40gmail.com/public/basic.ics

Chrome Web Browser

You can get calendar alerts in most web browsers, too.

I use Google Chrome Web Browser for a lot, and I've added the Google Calendar Extension to it.

Click the three dots in the upper-right corner of the browser's toolbar:


Then click More Tools and then Extensions. The Extensions window will appear.

Click the hamburger icon in the upper-left corner of the window, and then click Open Chrome Web Store in the lower-left corner. The Chrome Web Store window will appear.

Then, search for Calendar. Google Calendar's app will appear. (I mean, it's their store. Of course, it will be listed first.)

Click the Add To Chrome button, follow the instructions, and you'll begin to get alerts for upcoming shows.

Now, if you're getting multiple alert popups per show and it's driving you batty, just turn off alerts for all but one of the applications or plugins and you'll be fine.

You can do this for other browsers, too... Firefox and Microsoft Edge and other browsers also support various apps.

Don't like the colors?

You can change the colors of a calendar's events easily.

Go to your Google Calendar.

Then, point to the Dance Queens calendar (dancequeensslife@gmail.com) and click on the three dots. A menu pad will appear.


Select the color you want to use.

Yay, it's pretty now!


It works for other groups too...

A lot of dance groups and events publish their own shared Google Calendars, such as Lighting The Way. From the snapshot above, you see that I've got The Listening Room SL, Idle Rogue, Seanchai Library, and the Houston Astros, too. If you have a Google Calendar address and can add them to your Google Calendar list, you can track their events, too.

What groups out there share their own event calendars? Share them in the comments.