It
seems that I spend half my life on Google Search, and the other half planning
events on Google Calendar, so my eyes lit up when I read about a brilliant new
way to use both at the same time.
Basically,
you can add events to your calendar without leaving the search page, as long as
you’re logged into your Google account and using Chrome (I couldn't get it to
work in Firefox or Internet Explorer). You do this by typing add event into
Google’s search bar. Up pops a box that lets you instantly add an event to your
Google calendar. You can then click ‘Edit event’ to add more details.
The
drawback is it can only add events that start within the next hour, so it’s not
much use for planning further ahead. It’s better to search for something more
specific, such as ‘create event for Friday 5pm with family’.
You
can also create reminders in a similar way. These pop up in the form of Google
Now ‘cards’ (www.google.co.uk/landing/now)
that display timely information personalized for you, such as traffic updates
and sports results, on Android and in Chrome. If you’ve not turned on Google
Now, here’s how to it in Android (www.snipca.com/12940)
and in Chrome (www.snipca.com/12941).
Once
that’s done, you’re ready to go. Just type add reminder into Google search and
you’ll see a box asking YOU for more details. Fill these in, then click the ‘Remind
me on Google Now’ link. Some of these details will be automatically filled in
if you enter more information in the original search, such as ‘add reminder to
buy Jean’s birthday card’ (I can see this preventing several marital
arguments!).
