Google Calendar: Find a Time Feature (or Busy Search)

The "Find a Time" feature allows you to compare schedules of guests, whether you are scheduling a meeting or inviting friends to lunch, to pick a time that is free for everyone.

To search your guests' schedules:

1. In Google Calendar, click [Create] to create a new event.
2. In the "Untitled event" box, name your event.
3. To the right under "Add: Guests," begin typing the name(s) of the person(s) you want to invite.
4. Click on the correct email address as it appears. Repeat for each guest.
5. Click the [Find a time] tab (next to the [Event details] tab).
6. Click the [Day] tab to view the guests' schedules one day at a time, or click the [Week] tab to see overlapping schedules for the entire week.
7. Use the arrows above the calendar to view different days/weeks.
8. To schedule the event, click and drag the light blue area to an available time.
9. To change the length of the event, hover your cursor over the bottom border until it changes to an arrow and click and drag up or down. You can also manually enter the start and end times above the calendar.
10. Once you have set the event on the calendar, fill in any other necessary information in the [Event details] tab.
11. Click [Save]. You'll be prompted to send invitations. To notify your guests by email, click [Send].

You will be notified by email as each guest responds. You can also click on the event to see a guest list and check to see who has responded (Yes, No, Maybe) and who has yet to reply.

Note: By default, your main calendar (the one with your name as the calendar name) is shared with anyone within Cedarville University, but the settings are so that anyone who would search for you can only see if you are free or busy (they cannot see the details of the events on your calendar unless you individually invite them and give them permission to see the event details). When you use “Find a time,” you can only see the guest’s main calendar. This is something to keep in mind as you schedule events—anything that you would want others to be aware of (so they can know if you are busy) should be on your main calendar.