Quickly open the event editor window in iCal
12/29/2011
In iCal, press Command-E to quickly open the event editor window for a selected event in your calendar.
Show or hide your Reminders list in iCal
12/09/2011
In iCal, press Command-Option-T to show or hide your Reminders list.
Change your default calendar in iCal
11/30/2011
In iCal, to change your default calendar, into which new events are automatically added, choose iCal> Preferences, then click General and select a calendar from the Default Calendar pop-up menu.
Go to today’s date (or a specific date) in iCal
11/23/2011
In iCal, press Command-T in day, week, or month view to go to today’s date, or press Shift-Command-T to go to a specific date.
Sort the Reminders list in iCal
11/14/2011
In iCal, to sort Reminders by due date, priority, title, or calendar, Control-click in the Reminders list and choose "Sort by" from the pop-up menu.
Duplicate an event or reminder in iCal
10/21/2011
In iCal, to duplicate an event or reminder in your calendar, Control-click the item and choose Duplicate from the pop-up menu.
Change the color of your calendar in iCal
10/11/2011
In iCal, to change the color of your calendar, click Calendars and select a calendar from the list, then choose Edit> Get Info and choose a new color from the pop-up menu.
Go to the next or previous day, week, month or year in iCal
08/22/2011
In iCal on a Mac with a Multi-Touch trackpad, swipe left or right with two fingers to go to the next or previous day, week, month or year.
Adjust the size of text in iCal
08/15/2011
In iCal in OS X Lion, to adjust the size of text, press Command-Plus to make text bigger or press Command-Minus to make it smaller.
Add an event to your calendar in iCal
07/30/2011
In iCal, to quickly add an event to your calendar, click the Add (+) button, enter the event's info (such as "meeting Tuesday at 1PM"), then press Return.
View a birthdays calendar in iCal
07/24/2011
In iCal, to view a calendar with friends' and family's birthdays entered in Address Book, do iCal> Preferences> General and select "Show Birthdays calendar".
Automatically delete To Do items after they are completed in iCal
07/03/2011
In iCal, to automatically delete To Do items one or more days after they are completed, do iCal> Preferences> Advanced> Delete to do items.
Make an event end 15 minutes sooner or later in iCal
06/19/2011
In iCal, in Day or Week view, select an event then press Shift-Control-Up Arrow or Shift-Control-Down Arrow, to make the event end 15 minutes sooner or later.
Find public event calendars to subscribe to in iCal
06/01/2011
In iCal, to find holiday, sports, or other general public event calendars to subscribe to, do Calendar> Find Subscriptions.
Jump to the next or previous event or to-do item in iCal
04/26/2011
In iCal, after selecting an event or to-do item in the main calendar view, press Tab or Shift-Tab to jump to the next or previous item.
Show previously-declined shared calendar events in iCal
04/12/2011
In iCal, to make visible in your calendar shared calendar events that you previously declined, do View> Show Declined Events.
Use the keyboard to switch between views in iCal
04/03/2011
In iCal, press Command-1, Command-2, or Command-3 to switch to Day view, Week view, or Month view, respectively.
Update a subscribed calendar in iCal
02/10/2011
In iCal, select a subscribed calendar in the Calendar list, then do Calendar> Refresh, to update it with its latest information.
Go forward or backward in the main calendar view in iCal
02/03/2011
In iCal, press Command-Right Arrow or Command-Left Arrow to go forward or backward in the main calendar view.
Turn off all alarms in iCal
01/26/2011
In iCal, to turn off all alarms for all calendar events and to-to items at once, do iCal> Preferences> Advanced, then select "Turn off all alarms".
View a map for an address in an event's note in iCal
01/20/2011
In iCal, highlight an address in an event's note then Control-click it and select "Show Map", to view the address in Google maps.
Automatically hide to do items in iCal which have been completed
01/03/2011
In iCal, to hide to do items after they are completed, do iCal> Preferences> Advanced and select "Hide to do items X days after they have been completed".
Move an event one week earlier or later in the month in iCal
12/18/2010
In iCal, select an event in Month view then press Control-Up Arrow or Control-Down Arrow to move the event one week earlier or later in the month.
Find and download free calendars to use with iCal
12/01/2010
In iCal, find free calendars to download for US and international holidays, sports schedules, cultural events, etc. via Calendar> Find Subscriptions.
Move an event to a different calendar in iCal
11/21/2010
To move an event in iCal to a different calendar in your calendars list, Control-click the event then scroll to the Calendar menu item and choose a calendar.
Add a new calendar group in iCal
11/14/2010
In iCal, to add a new Calendar Group (instead of a new Calendar), hold Shift and click the "+" button in the lower left corner of the iCal window.
Quickly switch from month view to day view in iCal
11/06/2010
In iCal, when viewing your calendar by month, double-click a day number to switch to day view for that particular date.
Search for event invitees, locations or notes in iCal
10/29/2010
In iCal, click the magnifying glass pop-up menu in the search field to search for event invitees, event locations or notes.
Open an iCal calendar, event or to-do item in its own window
10/23/2010
In iCal, select a calendar, event or to-do list item, then press Command-I to open its editor in a separate, floating window.
Move an event to the next or previous day in iCal
09/23/2010
In iCal, select an event then press Control-Right Arrow or Control-Left Arrow to move the event to the next or previous day in your calendar.
Automatically set an alarm when creating new iCal events
09/16/2010
In iCal, to automatically set an alarm for all new events as they are created, do iCal> Prefs> General> Add a default alarm to all new events.
Send details about an iCal event via Mail
08/29/2010
In iCal, Control-click an event and select "Mail Event" from the menu to send the event's details (with an attached .ics file) to a colleague via Mail.
Change a scheduled event to an all-day event in iCal
06/24/2010
To change an event scheduled for a specific time in iCal to an all-day event, Control-click it and select "Make All-Day Event" from the pop-up menu.
Quickly edit the title of an event in iCal
06/08/2010
To quickly edit the title of an existing event in iCal, press the Option key while double-clicking the event, then enter its new title.
Adjust start times for iCal events using the keyboard
04/22/2010
When viewing your calendar by day in iCal, click an event then press Control and the up or down arrow to move the event's start time up or down by 15 minutes.
Change a scheduled event to an all-day event in iCal
03/28/2010
To change an event scheduled for a specific time in iCal to an all-day event, Control-click it and choose "Make All-Day Event" from the pop-up menu.
Configure iCal to open events in separate windows
03/14/2010
Configure iCal to open events in their own window when you double-click on them via iCal>Prefs>Advanced>Open events in separate windows.
Adjust event times in iCal using the keyboard
02/25/2010
When viewing by day in iCal, select an event and hit Control-up arrow or Control-down arrow to move the event’s start time up or down by 15 minutes.
Quickly select or deselect calendars in iCal
01/20/2010
Command-click on any calendar (either stored on your Mac or subscribed to) in iCal to select or deselect all of them at once.
