OK I'm ready for an iCalendar, now what?

There are so many different types of calendars and devices to talk about and I am not an expert in all of them, so this time I will tell you a story about how I solved my calendar problems and then give you a few tips about how to export a calendar from one type of online calendar and import it into another.

If this does not answer your questions maybe the links below will help you. You can always go to Google and just type in your question. Most often a lot of links will show up with discussions from people who have had the same problem as you have and often there is a solution you can use.

Using the Calendar in iPhone
I started by using my iPhone Calendar regularly. All of my appointments were on my iPhone. Here is what I do.
1. Click on the Calendar icon on my Phone.

2. Find the date that I am wanting to put something onto. This has changed with OS 7.  Here are some screen shots of how I go through it.

• Click on Today in the bottom corner to get back to today's date. 
• 
• Click on the name of the month at the top of the page and scroll down to find the month that I want.
• Click on the calendar of the month that you are wanting.
• Click to choose a date that you want to put something on.
• 
  

• Click on the + at the top right side to add an event. 
• Fill out the event information (remember that there is more you can put in if you scroll down)
• Click on DONE on the top right when you are done.

The Event Details will appear. It will show what you have put in as well as which calendar it is on.

To Delete an event click on it and when the Event Details appear click EDIT on the top right side and scroll down until you see the red delete button. Click it and the event is gone.

Syncing that Calendar with the Google Calendar
Now that I had the events on my iPhone I wanted to be able to see them on my Google Calendar. I can get to a Google Calendar where ever I am, even without having my own computer. There were two things that I needed to do in order to make my events show up on Google Calendar.

1.  I followed the directions on this link: https://support.google.com/calendar/answer/151674 which made sure that my Calendar was set up correctly. I named the calendar that I wanted to sync "Google Calendar" and gave it a different color than other calendars so that I could see what was happening.

2.  I went back to the calendar on my iPhone and went to the appointments that I wanted to show up on the Google Calendar. I clicked on the event and on the event details looked to the part that told me which calendar it was on. Most of mine defaulted to HOME and had blue dots, so I clicked on the word HOME and switched it to Google Calendar.  When I changed the Calendar they began to show up on my Google Calendar on the computer.

Sharing Calendars with Other People
I thought it would be good to have my husband's events on my calendar so that I could keep up with what he was doing. In order to do that in Google

• On the computer open up and sign into your Google Calendar
• Click on the Gear on the top right side and slide down to the word SETTINGS
• Click on the tab at the top that says CALENDAR
• Click on the link under Sharing.

• Look for Share With Specific People.
• In that box type the names of the person you want to share your calendar with. 
• You can share your calendar with more than one person.

• They can opt to have your calendar show in a different color on their calendar or not to show. 

Finally, How to Export and Import your Calendar

This may help you if you want your events to go into a calendar that is not compatible with the Google calendar or another calendar that you have. Instead of using SAVE like you do with a document you choose EXPORT. 

EXPORT is usually found under the File Menu, but in Google Calendar it is in the settings.

This exports the file into a format that can be opened by most calendars. One of the formats that is used is .CSV It cannot be clicked on and opened up as a calendar (it may open, but will look like a mess or not open at all. What you need to do is to IMPORT it into another calendar program.

Open the other program and under file look for the word IMPORT. When you choose IMPORT a window opens like when you want to open a file. Find the file that you just EXPORTED and choose it. The calendar program will open it up and you should have all of your calendar items on the new calendar. 

This can also be done with your CONTACTS or ADDRESS BOOK. With most programs you can EXPORT your contacts and then IMPORT them into another address book program. 

IMPORTANT NOTE - This is not the same as syncing your calendar or address book. You are only moving over the things that were entered in the past. It will not continue to update as you update the old one. 

OTHER RESOURCES

Google Support

https://support.google.com/calendar/answer/151674?hl=en

https://support.google.com/mail/answer/3008051

About.com
http://email.about.com/od/googlecalendartips/qt/Sync_Google_Calendar_and_iPhone_Calendar.htm

Digital Trends
http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/sync-multiple-google-calendars-on-iphone-or-ipad/