Take Control of Calendar and Reminders, Fifth Edition

Manage your schedule more effectively using Calendar and Reminders!

Version 5.0, updated November 16, 2023

Learn how to unlock the full potential of Apple’s Calendar and Reminders! This book helps you get the most out of these two apps, showing you how to customize them, sync data across devices, and share meeting invitations and reminder lists. You’ll also learn how to use Siri as a shortcut and how to fix common problems.

In the days before personal computers and mobile devices, we had to rely on paper calendars and to-do lists to help us organize our time and activities. Now, we have powerful tools, like Apple’s Calendar and Reminders, that are much more responsive to our needs. Put an event on your schedule, invite others to join, or set yourself an alarm (or more than one). Or, keep a list of to-do items, add to it and view it on all your Apple devices, and share your list with family or friends.

This book was originally written by veteran Mac journalist and editor Scholle McFarland, and the fifth edition was revised by Glenn Fleishman, with complete coverage of macOS 14 Sonoma, macOS 13 Ventura, iOS 17/iPadOS 17, iOS 16/iPadOS 16, and watchOS 10 (and considerably more information about using these apps on an iPhone or iPad than in previous editions). Scholle and Glenn guide you through getting to know these incredibly helpful apps, including lesser-known (but handy) features. For example, did you know that Calendar lets you set an alert that factors in public transportation schedules and time to get to your starting point, so you can leave early enough to catch the train, bus, tram, or ferry you need—and any connections—and arrive at your event on time? Or that Reminders can prompt you to do something not only at a certain time, but also once you’ve reached a specific destination, like the grocery store?

If you’ve never taken the opportunity to explore Calendar and Reminders, this book will show you how to make them an important part of your daily routine. If you’ve already been using Calendar and Reminders, you’ll learn how to use them more effectively, troubleshoot common problems, and delve deeper into their capabilities.

Learn how to get the best out of Calendar and Reminders, including how to:

• Customize Calendar to your liking, from setting time zones, to color coding specific calendars

• Create events, making them repeat at regular intervals or on certain dates

• Set up notifications and alerts, so you never miss an event

• Invite people to events, or share your calendar with them

• Create, manage, and share lists in Reminders, including powerful new smart lists

• Organize reminder lists into categories and optionally view them in columns

• Designate a list as a grocery list, so that items auto-sort into supermarket departments

• Set alarms in Reminders at a certain time or a certain place

• Tag entries for better searching and organizing in Reminders

• Use Siri to save time when creating events or reminders

• Easily check events and reminders on your Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or HomePod

• Troubleshoot common problems in Calendar and Reminders

• Share calendars and reminders using iCloud Family Sharing, and assign reminders to a specific person

• Sort reminders on your Mac

• Print a calendar (to paper or PDF)

• Embed video links in Calendar events for quick launching