Viewing Multiple Calendars in Outlook

Let's be honest: in the business world, nothing is ever what it seems to be. It would seem that you are responsible for yourself and only yourself. But, as anyone with a staff (or for that matter, anyone with a boss) can tell you, you're actually responsible for a whole world of other people. If you want to set up a meeting with your department (or if you are truly a masochist, try setting up an interdepartmental meeting) you have to figure out not just what time will work for you, but what times will work for any number of other people. Some of you might be Executive Assistants, which means you are in charge not only of your own hours and meetings, but for your boss's as well. If so, you might be considering going out and getting one of those big hour-by-hour planners your elementary school teacher had (you know, the one that had the big list of all the years' homework assignments?). The digital version of the big teacher's notebook is, of course, your Outlook calendar and your boss's.

Wouldn't it be nice if you could see all of the calendars that you have to manage at one time? You actually can access multiple calendars at once. There are two ways to do this, by looking at the calendars side by side or having them overlaid one on top of the other, and I am going to show you how to do them both.

Note: in order to have access to your boss's calendar, it needs to show up in your "My Calendars" listing. Like all things that seem simple, there can actually be a great deal of variation to how this is done, depending on the set up of your server or network. So, you'll need to ask your tech team for specific set up instructions if you are not currently able to see the other calendars.

The Side-by-Side View

1. Open Your Outlook calendar.
2. Go to 'My Calendars'.
3. Check the boxes next to the two calendars you want to be able to see side by side.
4. Depending on your version you may have to click on 'OK' or 'View'.

The Overlay View

1. Open Your Outlook calendar.
2. Go to 'My Calendars'.
3. Check the boxes next to the two (or more) calendars you want to be able to see side by side.
4. Depending on your version you may have to click on 'OK' or 'View'.
5. Now you are in side by side view to get to overlay just click on the arrow tabs on your calendars to make them overlay.

I bet you're looking for that arrow tab right now. Well, don't bother. You can find the arrow tab in the upper left hand corner of the second calendar on your screen. It is just to the left of the title of the calendar.

That's it. It is so simple to view more than one calendar at a time! Now, you might want to keep track of multiple calendars and even create separate ones for each project you have on your plate. It's also helpful just to know where your boss is going to be when your co-worker calls to set up a meeting. Enjoy your new found knowledge.