Google Calendar gives you the ability to create calendars however you want, but creating too many without customizing them in a logical way will make it difficult to distinguish between calendars and what they represent. Luckily, you can customize your calendar with colors to stay organized.
One of the best things about Google Calendar is that you can use whatever color palette you want. Here’s how to color-code calendars to make them your own.
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How to change the color of your Google calendars
How you change the color depends on the device you are using. Although this is possible with a desktop computer and a phone, there are limitations to using the latter. The biggest being the inability to add new colors, as you can only create new calendars using a desktop computer and not through your phone’s Calendar app.
Google Calendar offers a small handful of colors to choose from. But you also have the option to choose specific ones with Hex colors. It is a combination of numbers and letters that represent different colors. You can explore color options and associated codes online and copy and paste using the following steps.
How to Change the Color of Your Entire Calendar on Your Desktop
- Open Google Calendar.
- Locate the calendar of the color you want to change
- Select the three points to open the menu. This will show you the available colors.
- You can select one of the options present or click on the + icon to select a custom color.
- Scroll the slider on the bar to choose your color. You can select a specific color family and play with the intensity.
- To add a custom color, find the Hex code online and paste it into the associated window.
If you want to choose a specific color for a new calendar, create the calendar first and follow the steps above to customize the color.
How to Change the Color of a Single Google Calendar Event on Your Desktop
- Right-click the event whose color you want to change.
- Select from the predetermined list of colors. The change will apply automatically.
Change the color of your calendar via the Google Calendar app
The following instructions work on Android and iOS devices. The example below uses an Android phone, but iPhone users can follow along.
- Open the app.
- Press the three lines at the top left of the screen to open the menu.
- Faucet Settings.
- Select the calendar whose color you want to change.
- You will be presented with a predetermined list of options.
How to Change the Appearance of Your Calendar with Dark and Light Modes
In addition to choosing specific colors for separate calendars, you also have the option to change the appearance to light, dark, or device default mode.
How to Change the Appearance Using Your Desktop
- Open Google Calendar.
- Select Settings.
- Select Appearance.
- You will see three options: Light, Dark, or Default.
- Select the option you want, then click Do.
You can only change the set color in the Light appearance. Google offers two color schemes: classic, which will write your event text in black, or modern, which will write it in white. The Dark and Device Default versions use the modern color scheme.
How to Change the Appearance on Your Android Device
These steps work on Android and iOS. While we are using Android, for this example you can follow if you are using an iOS device.
- Open it calendar app.
- Select the three bars at the top left of the screen to open the menu.
- Faucet Settings.
- Faucet General.
- Faucet Theme and choose one of the three options.
Change the color of your Google Calendar on Outlook
Microsoft offers its users the ability to merge their Google Calendar with Outlook so that they can see everything in one place. When you do this, you also have the option to customize how you see your Google Calendar events.
How to add your Google Calendar to Outlook on your desktop
- Open your Google Calendar.
- Select My calendars.
- On the calendar you want to export, select the three pointsfollowed by Settings and sharing.
- Select Export calendar. It will be saved as a compressed folder.
- Open it Outlook application on your desktop and head to your calendar.
- Click Deposit.
- Click Open and export.
- Click Import/Export.
- Click Import an iCalendar (.ics) or vCalendar (.vcs) file.
- Click Following.
- Locate the file on your device. This should end with gmail.com.
- Select ALL RIGHT.
- Select Import.
How to Customize Google Calendar Colors in Outlook
Unfortunately, the sync process does not apply to specific colors selected in Google Calendar. You can use third-party applications to transfer custom color selections from Google Calendar to Outlook, such as CompanionLink and Outlook Google Calendar Sync. You can also assign color categories to events in your Outlook calendar.
How to assign color categories to Outlook calendar events
- Open your Outlook Calendar.
- Right click the event for which you want to change the color.
- Click Categorize.
- Choose from available colors. If you would like to see more color options, select New category.
- Each of the categories is named after a corresponding color. To change the name, select Manage categories.
How to change colors on Google Calendar with Time Insights
Time Insights is a tool that allows you to visualize how you spend your time. You can add colored labels to your calendar events to track what you’re spending your time on. This feature requires access to Google Workplace.
How to Create and Assign Color Labels with Time Insights on Your Desktop
- Click More information, located at the top left of your screen. You may need to open the menu to access it.
- Click To modify.
- To create a new color label, tap the plus sign at the bottom left of the screen.
- Click To safeguard.
Google only lets you create labels on a desktop computer. The Google Calendar app will allow you to assign a color label to your phone.
How to assign a Time Insights color label using an Android device
The following instructions are specific to Android devices. However, iOS users can follow along.
- Open it Google Calendar application.
- Create a new event or select an existing one.
- Select To modify.
- Choose your current color of the calendar.
- Select alllabel color you did on your desktop.
- Click To safeguard.
Looking at a calendar full of information can be difficult. Google features that let you customize colors help solve this problem. Although the process has its limitations, including not being able to create custom calendar colors on your phone, this feature is a useful tool to help you stay organized. Want to get even more out of the calendar app? There are several Google Calendar tricks you can use to stay on top of things.
