Manage your family’s hectic holiday schedule with Windows Calendar

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With Windows Vista, I can now plan and manage my own activities, as well as coordinate the rest of my family's activities, in a single calendar. Windows Calendar is built right into Windows Vista and offers automated integration features that make it the easiest calendar I've seen for groups of people to use. Windows Calendar lets you set up multiple calendars, and then gives you the option of viewing one calendar at a time or comparing multiple calendars. Calendar setup is fast and easy; you just select different colors for each person. When compared side by side, this color feature makes it easy to see who's doing what at any given time—a literal lifesaver for anyone who needs to manage a variety of schedules.

Set up and compare family calendars
I have set up a calendar for each person in my family, and the integration aspect of Windows Calendar lets me compare our day's activities side by side, which has been an immense help to me. Now, for example, when I need to know whether my husband can take our daughter to an activity, I just glance at the calendar to check his schedule. Setting up your calendar is very logical and simple.

Here's how to create calendars for each person in your family in Windows Calendar:

  1. Click the Start button in Windows Vista. Type "Calendar" in the Start Search box.

  2. Click Windows Calendar from the results under Programs.

  3. A calendar will open with the name of the person assigned to the computer. If the calendar that opened doesn't have your name attached to it, that's okay. Just follow the remaining steps to create a new one for you or anyone else in your family who needs one.

  4. In Windows Calendar, click File, and then New Calendar.

  5. When the new calendar appears, type a name for it in the Calendars task pane on the left. Click Enter.

    Note: All calendar names will appear in the Calendars task pane. Placing a check mark next to one allows you to see it along with other calendars. Remove a check mark and you won't see the calendar.

  6. In the Details pane on the right, select the color that you want to use. This color will help you identify various calendars quickly. If you can't see the Details pane, click the View menu and then click Details Pane.

That's it! Now you're ready to create appointments and tasks. Click New Appointment or New Task in the toolbar and fill in the required information. When the details for tasks and appointments are filled in, the calendar will populate with the information in the appropriate color for the person involved.

There are lots of cool things you can do with Windows Calendar. Read the full article by S.E. Slack to find out how you can:

  • Import information from calendar Web sites that use the iCalendar format
  • Publish your own calendar to the Web
  • Send e-mail appointments and invitations to friends and family directly from your calendar