Did you know that it is possible to see your upcoming appointments and events from the taskbar in Windows 10? You don’t need to open any apps and one click shows your agenda.
This is a nice feature of Windows 10 and it enables you to access the Calendar app from the time/date in the taskbar. Even if you don’t use Microsoft Calendar, you can still see events on whatever other calendar you use by adding it to the app.
For example, you can add Google Calendar and see events that have been added to it on the taskbar. Microsoft Calendar syncs with Google Calendar and others.
Show the calendar
The clock at the right side of the taskbar is the key and it does more than you might think. For example, have you tried clicking it? It displays a pop-up panel that contains a calendar for the current month.
Use the up and down arrows near the top right to jump from month to month. You can easily see what day of the week the new year starts on, or the day of your holiday or birthday later in the year.
The date at the top under the time is clickable and it instantly returns you to today.
Notice that there is a Today section and below it says No events. Click the plus button on the right to add events to your calendar.
Create a calendar event
A window opens and you can enter a name for the event and choose which calendar to add it to. The default is Outlook calendar, but if you have added Google Calendar (I show how to add it below), then it appears as Gmail. It is up to you whether you use Microsoft, Google or some other calendar and the app is flexible.
Click the calendar icon to choose the day of the event and the time is just to the right. It can be for a specific length of time, such as an hour or an all day event. An icon can even be for the event, but they are quite limited and it is a shame you can’t choose emoji.
Save the calendar event using the button at the top of the window.
View your agenda
After adding a few events to the calendar, click the clock at the right side of the taskbar and now in the bottom half are the items you added.
It only shows the agenda for the day selected. Today is the 11th so it is highlighted in solid blue in the screenshot above and I clicked 18 to see my agenda for that day.
Add Google Calendar to Microsoft Calendar
The appointments added above were stored in Google Calendar and if you are wondering how to show events from other calendars in the clock pop-up panel, here is how to add them.
Open the Calendar app from the Start menu and in the left panel, click the gear icon to open Settings.
In the Settings panel on the right, click Manage Accounts in the list of items and then click Add Account.
These are the easy options, below them is an option to manually configure a calendar account. We want to add Google Calendar, so click it in the list.
You then need to sign in to your Google account using your Gmail email address and password. If you have two-factor authentication set up, you will be asked for the code that is sent via text message to your phone.
The Google account, or whichever account you added, appears in the left panel in the calendar app. If that calendar contains multiple calendars, then these appear as checkboxes and you can choose the ones that are to be visible.
That’s it, now when you create a calendar event, there is a choice of calendars to add it to.
I’ve done this, but the only events that show up in the taskbar agenda are from the Microsoft Account. Events from all my calendars show up in the Calendar app, but not in the taskbar agenda.
Yup, same thing here as for Sam.
Sam and Bjarke, if you open Microsoft Calendar, can you see Google Calendar events? You have to add Google Calendar and then authorise access by Microsoft Calendar. This is working fine on my PC and if I add an event to Google calendar I see it in MS Calendar and in the Agenda.
It works for me, but is there a way to have the days that have some activity display in different colors so I know I have something that day?
SAme disappointment as Bob…. I have to click each day to see if there is an event. Seems like Nicrosoft could Box ALL days that have a linked event.
Really troublesome to have to open another app (CALENDAR) to see the events that are already on the Time Date calendar, just can’t see them.
I have to click on each day to see if I have something scheduled for that day. It’s a ridiculous calendar.
FINALLY I HAVE A NICE CALENDER, THANKS TOO YOU.
Same disappointment. Did even anybody check the user friendliness of this app/feature? Why would you not display days with events with a different color? Having to click through the days is just… I hope the person who approved this into production is allowed to use only this calendar forever.