Make the most of popCalendar

Choose a view

Click the menu bar icon to open the calendar. The view button beside the gear offers six layouts. Choose one month, two months, one year, two years, or either year layout with a month sidebar.

Use the arrows or Today to navigate. Click a year heading to choose a year. In a year view, click a month heading or double-click a date to open that month. Click the month heading to return to its year.

The top-left sidebar button shows or hides the month panel. Each panel keeps its own navigation and date selection. With the sidebar open, a single click on a year date sends that date to the sidebar and shows its events. Browsing the sidebar does not move the years. Its initial date is today.

Open a detached calendar from the gear menu. Drag unused space to move it, and drag the divider to adjust the sidebar width. For a dedicated display, choose two years with a month sidebar, enter macOS full screen, then add a background and clock. The calendar scales with the window.

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Select dates

Drag from the first date to the last for a continuous range. Use the gestures below for weekends, separate days, or several groups. They work in month and year grids, including paired views.

Option may be labeled Alt on your keyboard. Use an actual right-click or a two-finger secondary click for date actions. Control-click in the grid selects dates instead of opening that menu.

Command-Z undoes a selection change and Shift-Command-Z redoes it. Escape cancels a drag in progress. To select by length instead, choose Select by Duration and enter a start date plus a number of days or working days.

Read the totals

The footer counts only the dates you selected, leaving gaps out. For a continuous range, Include last day switches between counting both endpoints and measuring elapsed time. Separate groups always count their selected days.

Open Planning > Working Days to choose working weekdays and optional holiday or time-off calendars. Only all-day events in those calendars reduce working-day counts. Holidays are not downloaded automatically.

Event counts include all-day events. Total duration adds timed events, including overlaps. Occupied time merges overlaps. Distinct start times count unique dates and times. All-day events do not contribute to those time totals. Copy Summary includes the full figures even when a narrow footer hides some of them.

Save and manage plans

1. Select your dates in the calendar. Right-click the selection and choose Save Range. A selection can contain separate groups.
2. In the separate Save Range dialog, give it a name and color. Optionally add a countdown, repetition or reminder, then save.
3. Open Saved Ranges from the gear menu. Check several plans and choose Show Plans to display their colors and legend together. Use Edit to change a saved plan, or Open to make its dates the active selection.
4. Use Hide Plans in the calendar footer to remove the overlay without deleting the saved ranges. To add another plan, select dates in the calendar and use Save Range again.

Reorder ranges or sort them by name in the manager. Optional saved-range outlines identify dates on hover. A countdown appears in the idle footer and opens its range when clicked.

To make a variation, select a saved range and choose Duplicate, right-click its row or press Command-D while the list has focus. The copy opens in an editor with its dates, colors, repetition and reminders. Saving creates a separate range. Cancel or Escape leaves the original unchanged.

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Repeat a schedule

Start with one continuous range. In Save Range or Edit Range, enable Repeat in alternating blocks and choose an alternate color. Each block uses the same number of days, with no gap between blocks.

For a 28-on, 28-off rotation, select January 1 through January 28 and choose yellow and blue. January 1-28 is yellow, the next 28 days are blue, then yellow returns. Choose Forever or a total number of blocks including the first. Six blocks means three of each color.

For a yearly trip or anniversary period, choose Repeat every year instead. Annual repetition supports a continuous range shorter than a year, including December-to-January ranges. A date missing in a shorter year uses that month's final day. Annual and alternating repetition are alternative modes.

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Share an image

For selected dates, use the footer's share button or Export Image in date actions. For saved plans, check them in Saved Ranges and choose Export Plan, or use Share Plan in the calendar footer. Export Screenshot uses the same preview dialog.

Choose Automatic, Light or Dark appearance, then choose whether to include the background, clock or text, event circles, and event names and details. Calendar event bands has a separate option when the current set uses bands. Bands and event details start hidden. The legend option appears only when sharing saved plans. Export choices do not change the live calendar.

Hide empty month rows is on by default for year exports. It removes rows of three months without selected dates or plans. A completely empty year disappears too. Turn it off to include the full year. The export keeps the calendar cell proportions you had when opening the dialog.

Saved-plan exports can show one year or two consecutive years. If your checked plans span more years or skip a year, choose fewer plans. For repeating plans, first navigate the calendar to the year or consecutive pair you want to share.

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Connect calendars and events

In Settings > Calendars, grant access and choose the calendars to display. Search by calendar or account name, then select or clear the matches. Accounts and syncing are managed by macOS Calendar. Date browsing and planning work without calendar permission.

Click a date in month view to see its agenda. Choose Selected Day, Today, Tomorrow or Next 7 Days. Upcoming scopes stay anchored to today while you browse. Command-F reveals search for titles, locations, notes and calendar names in the active period.

Use New Event or Command-N. Quick entry accepts a phrase such as "Lunch tomorrow at noon for 45 minutes" in English or your supported interface language. Choose Use Details, review the draft, then save. The phrase is processed on your Mac.

Right-click an event to edit, duplicate, copy details, open it in another calendar app, join a supported meeting link or delete it when allowed. The built-in editor supports locations, notes, links, repeats and alerts. Editing an existing recurring event changes that occurrence. Use Apple Calendar for invitations and whole-series changes.

Choose your preferred event destination in Settings > Events. Installed Fantastical and BusyCal apps and supported web calendars are also available. A destination handles actions, not account syncing. Keep accounts configured in macOS Calendar to see their events here.

Switch calendar sets

Planning > Calendar Sets lists named groups of calendars, such as Work or Personal. Choose New Set or select a set and choose Edit. A separate dialog contains the name, calendars, event hours and band settings. Save the draft, then choose Use Set. Cancel or Escape discards unsaved changes. Switch sets from the gear menu. Detached windows and the month sidebar can use different sets. Editing a shared set updates the windows using it.

Select a Calendar Set and choose Duplicate, use the row context menu or press Command-D while the list has focus. The draft keeps its calendar choices, time filter and event bands. Edit and save the copy when ready. Duplicating does not switch the active set.

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Filter events by time

In the Calendar Sets editor, choose Starts within these hours or Starts outside these hours under Event time. Set From and To with minute precision. Include all-day events is a separate choice. Choose Any time to remove the time restriction.

The filter uses an event's start time in the calendar's time zone. A period from 21:00 to 08:00 crosses midnight. The start is included and the end is excluded. Outside 08:00 to 21:00 includes starts before 08:00 or at and after 21:00. Equal endpoints mean a full day, with no timed events outside that period.

Matching events keep their full duration. Filters apply to circles, bands, day previews, agendas, search, upcoming events, selection statistics and exported images. Alerts and working-day calculations are unchanged. Each set remembers its filter, which is also included in setup exports.

Show events as colored bands

In the Calendar Sets editor, enable Event bands under a checked calendar. Its all-day and multi-day events become colored bands across the date grid. Use this for trips, time off, release windows or on-call schedules without creating saved ranges manually.

Bands use the source calendar's color, follow the set's time filter and update when events change or are removed. They continue across weeks, months and years. Overlapping events use separate lanes, and recurring occurrences stay distinct. Hover for names or click a date to view its events. Ordinary timed events keep their circles. Band settings are saved with your setup.

Personalize your calendar

Settings > Background separates images from clocks and text. Choose a built-in image, your own photo or a folder for random backgrounds. Randomize Background in the gear menu changes an eligible image or opens settings when you need to configure one.

Clock Gallery contains analog, digital and integrated hybrid designs. Selecting a tile enables that clock. Use Clock & Text for the display mode and Analog Clock for dial, hands, material and motion. Seconds can sweep, tick or bounce. Adjust size and opacity in the live preview.

General settings let you adjust month and year text sizes separately, the first weekday, week numbers, neighboring dates and weekend shading. Event circles can be monochrome, calendar-colored or hidden, with adjustable opacity. The default is monochrome at 50%.

Choose an appearance override in General settings to keep the calendar light or dark regardless of the system. It also applies to the menu bar popup and its month sidebar, including changes made while they are open.

Calendar system offers Gregorian, Buddhist, Persian, Islamic civil and Indian (Saka). Changing it updates the labels while events and saved plans keep their actual dates. Islamic civil dates are calculated and may differ from local observations.

Set up time signals

Open Settings > Notifications > Chimes and enable chimes. Choose Sound, Visual, Sound and Visual, or Background clock only. Relevant settings tabs appear for the chosen mode. Chimes are off by default and do not require notification permission. Use Preview Chime to try the signal and Stop Preview to end it.

In Sound, choose a built-in tone or import your own audio up to 30 seconds and 20 MB. Adjust volume, count the hour with strikes, hear the time spoken or match the sound to the background clock style. Sound still respects system volume and mute.

In Visual, choose a screen-edge glow, corner clock or both. Use the display with the pointer, a chosen display or all displays. Adjust duration, intensity and the available size controls, and enable high contrast if needed. Signals fade without taking keyboard focus or intercepting clicks.

First enable a clock in Settings > Background and keep its calendar visible. Under Chimes > Visual, choose gong sway, resonance or light wave for Background clock, then adjust Clock effect intensity. Choose Background clock only as the signal type to use just this effect. Calendar dates stay still. Reduce Motion replaces movement with a stationary halo that fades.

In Schedule, choose 15, 30, 60 or 120 minutes and optionally a signal five minutes early. Limit active hours and weekdays, follow your Working Days schedule or choose a saved range and an alternating color phase. Hours use local time. The start is included and the end excluded. Equal hours mean all day.

In Quiet, suppress signals during timed busy events from chosen calendars or near popCalendar reminders. All-day and free events do not count as busy meetings. Pause chimes for an hour or until tomorrow from the menu, then resume whenever you want.

Chimes need popCalendar running and the Mac awake and unlocked. Missed signals are not replayed. Hidden calendars stay closed. If an enabled calendar rule cannot access its data, chimes pause until it can be checked.

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Set up reminders

Enable popCalendar notifications in Settings > Notifications and allow them in macOS. Choose lead time, sound, meeting filters and all-day behavior. Saved ranges can also remind you at their start, one day before or one week before.

Fullscreen meeting reminders are a separate opt-in while the app is running and the screen is awake. Choose their background and use Preview to check the result. Reminders offer meeting links, a five-minute snooze, event opening and dismissal. They can appear during Focus.

popCalendar does not disable Apple Calendar alerts, so enabling both may produce duplicates. Keep the app running so reminders stay up to date with calendar changes.

Keep your workspace

The popup and detached windows keep independent layouts. A new window starts with the popup's configuration. Detached windows return after restarting the app until you close them. The popup remembers browsing for 10 minutes by default, with other intervals or permanent memory in General settings.

Keep current month or year always current is enabled by default. A panel showing the current period advances when the month or year changes. Dates you deliberately browse stay where you put them.

Choose an interface language or follow the system, set the opening view, and record a global shortcut in General settings. Menu Bar settings customize the icon and text or hide the icon. You can use detached windows and reopen the app from the Dock instead. When running, its Dock icon shows today's date.

Planning > Setup exports preferences, saved ranges, working-day rules and Calendar Sets for another Mac. Import reviews calendar matches before applying them. Events, account credentials, permissions and personal background files are not included.

Keyboard reference

Calendar navigation shortcuts apply while the grid has focus. Text fields keep their normal editing keys. Selection gestures are listed above.