How do I enter dates and times at the calendar?

Click the “Calendar” link at the top of any screen.

Then add an event at the top of the right sidebar.

You can add an event at a certain time, a certain date, a specific date and time, or spanning multiple days. Use the following formats:

Times
Click a day, then type the time before the event.

• 9am Client breakfast
• 6:30pm Dinner

Dates
Type the date before the event. You can use full months or abbreviations.

• January 7 Catherine’s birthday
• Oct 29 Sam’s birthday
• 7/12 Meleah’s birthday

Dates and times

• July 15 2pm Dentist (ugh!)
• 9/12 8pm Calexico concert

Multiple days

• August 3 - August 16 Vacation
• Jan 24 - Feb 6 Sales trip
• 8/10 - 8/25 Conference in London

You can see this information within Backpack by clicking the “Enter dates and times” link under the “Add an event” field.

Can I create a calendar for a specific person or category?

Yes. You can have different calendars within your master calendar. These calendars are useful for grouping events by category or person. You might have calendars labelled “Sarah,” “Jeff,” or “Juan” for each one of those people. Or “business,” “personal,” or “travel” for those categories. Each of these calendars can have a different color also. Events will then show up in that color.

To choose the Calendar you want, click the "Calendar" link at the top of every screen.

Then click the “Add a calendar” link in the right sidebar.

Name the calendar, choose its color, and choose who can view it.

Now add an event and select the calendar you want from the calendar pulldown.

Can I see my reminders in my Calendar?

Yes. Click the “Reminders” link at the top of any screen.

Copy the iCalendar link at the bottom of the screen.

Follow the directions for adding an iCalendar to your Backpack Calendar using the URL you just copied from the reminder page.

Can I jump to a specific date?

Yes, just type the date you want in the “Add an event” area and hit enter (example: June 7). The calendar will then jump to that date (no event will be added as long as you type just the date and hit enter). This is a great way to jump to future dates instead of scrolling through each month. You can always get back to today’s view by clicking the “Today” link at the upper right of the Calendar.

Can I add a Google or iCal calendars to my Backpack Calendar?

Yes, you can add Google Calendar events to the Backpack Calendar via iCal. Learn more about using Google Calendar iCal addresses at Google Calendar Help.

You can also add pre-built iCalendars to your Backpack Calendar. These make it easy to view your iCal events, iCal US holidays, sporting events, movie openings, and lots more inline with your other events. Find a list of calendar options at iCalShare. Apple.com also has a list of iCalendars.

Watch this video on adding iCal calendars to Backpack Calendar

To add an iCal to your Backpack Calendar, copy the link of the iCal you want by right-clicking it (example: webcal://ical.mac.com/ical/US32Holidays.ics). Then go to your Backpack Calendar and click the "Add a calendar" link in the right sidebar.

Then paste the URL of the iCalendar into the field below “Name the new calendar.”

If you want, select a specific color for these events. Then click the “Add calendar” button. The calendar’s name will be listed in the right sidebar and the appropriate events will show up inline in the calendar. Click the calendar name again if you ever want to edit or delete it.

Where to begin? Major US holidays is a good start for Americans. Or try Moon phases (highly recommended for werewolves!).

How do I get my Basecamp milestones to integrate with my Backpack Calendar?

Watch this movie to learn how to get your Basecamp Milestones into your Backpack Calendar.

More details: You can view your Basecamp milestones in your Backpack Calendar by adding the Milestones iCal feed.

To do this, you’ll need to copy the iCal feed for your Basecamp Milestones. This Basecamp FAQ will show you where to find your Milestones iCal link. Then follow the directions above on adding an iCalendar to your Backpack Calendar. The movie linked at the top of this FAQ will walk you through the process.

How do I choose who can see my Calendar?

By default, all users of your account can see your calendars. You can also make a calendar private or share it with specific users.

When you add a new calendar (or edit an existing one), you can choose who on your account can view it.

Can I export my Calendar’s iCal feed into another iCal program?

Yes. You (or others) can also subscribe to your calendars in iCalendar format. To get your iCalendar URL, click the link at the bottom of the Calendars sidebar that says “How to subscribe to calendars.”

You’ll then be taken to a page that explains how you or others can subscribe to your calendars in iCalendar format. It will also list all the iCalendar URLs you have.

You can learn more about iCalendars on the iCalendar Wikipedia page.

Note: iCalendar addresses are not password-protected. If a subscription falls into the wrong hands, you can click "Reset" next to the address to completely clear out the subscription and start with a new address.

Can other users edit my Calendar?

Yes. If you choose to let other users in your account see your Backpack calendars, they can also make changes to that Calendar.

Can I make my Calendar public?

It’s not possible to make your Calendar public. You can share it via an iCal feed though.

How can I refresh the Calendar URL?

Follow the instructions for sharing a calendar. When you click the “Share this Calendar” link, you’ll see the option “Reset” (the iCal address). This will break all subscriptions to the current address. Doing so will also generate a new iCal address for you.

Once you click the reset link, the previous iCal address will no longer function.

Why would you want to reset your iCal address? This can be useful if people whom you no longer want to have access are still able to view your calendar.

Can I format the fonts in the Calendar?

No, there is no formatting for Calendar events at this time.