Seeing every calendar in one place

Pensova connects to one account, Google or Microsoft, and reads the calendars that account can see. Most people have more than one calendar in their life: a work calendar on another account, a partner’s calendar, the children’s school and activity calendars. The goal is to make the one account Pensova reads see all of them, so no task gets time over a shift, a practice or a school pickup. The steps below use the web versions of Google Calendar and Outlook; menus may differ slightly from what you see.

A work Google calendar, into your personal account

Two ways. Either works; the first is cleaner if your company allows it.

1. Share it from the work account. In Google Calendar on the work account, hover the calendar in the left sidebar, open the three dots, then Settings and sharing, then Share with specific people or groups, and add your personal address. Choose “See only free/busy” if you would rather the titles stay private; Pensova only needs to know when you are busy. The calendar appears in the personal account within a minute. Some Workspace administrators block sharing outside the company; if the option is missing, use the second way.
2. Subscribe from the personal account. In Google Calendar on the personal account, next to Other calendars click the plus, then Subscribe to calendar, and enter the work email address. If the work account allows it, the calendar is added, usually showing only when you are busy.

Busy-only is enough. Pensova treats a busy slot as a commitment whether or not it can read the title, so a calendar that shows only “Busy” still keeps your tasks out of those hours.

A work Microsoft 365 or Outlook calendar

If Outlook is your main calendar, sign in to Pensova with Microsoft instead and it reads Outlook directly: see Connecting Outlook. If you sign in with Google and only the work calendar is in Outlook, Outlook can publish that calendar as a link that Google Calendar subscribes to.

1. Outlook on the web: the gear icon, then Calendar, then Shared calendars.
2. Under Publish a calendar, pick the calendar, choose “Can view when I’m busy” or “Can view all details”, click Publish, and copy the ICS link.
3. Google Calendar on the account Pensova reads: next to Other calendars click the plus, then From URL, paste the link, and click Add calendar.

Google refreshes a subscribed link a few times a day, so a meeting added in Outlook can take up to a day to appear. For a calendar that changes by the hour, that is a real limit, and signing in with Microsoft is the better answer.

An iCloud calendar

Pensova does not read Apple Calendar directly yet; that is in development. Until then, iCloud can publish a calendar as a link the same way. On iCloud.com, open Calendar, click the share icon beside the calendar, tick Public Calendar, and copy the link. Add it in Google Calendar with From URL, or in Outlook on the web with Add calendar, then Subscribe from web. Events on it then count as busy, with the same once-in-a-while refresh.

The household view

• A partner’s calendar. They share it with you the same way as the work calendar above: in Google Calendar, the calendar’s Settings and sharing, your address. Share yours back and you both plan around the same evenings.
• A shared family calendar. In Google Calendar, next to Other calendars click the plus, then Create new calendar, name it, then share it with everyone in the house. Put the things that belong to the household on it: practice, appointments, the cookout.
• School and activity calendars. Most schools and clubs publish a calendar link, usually labeled iCal or ICS, on their website or in the parent portal. Add it with From URL as above. It updates itself when the school changes the schedule.

Then tell Pensova which ones count

In Pensova, open Settings and find Calendars checked for conflicts. Every calendar the account can see is listed. Check the ones that should block time, which is usually all of them, and leave unchecked anything that is only for reference, such as a sports fixtures calendar you like to glance at. Change a check and Pensova moves your task blocks straight away. See Choosing which calendars count.