How to Keep your Outlook and Google Calendars in Sync

How to keep your Outlook and Google calendars in sync

My entire world is in the cloud. So much so that I personally bought a Chromebook to see if I could solely operate in the cloud. I can. Google Apps are a staple of my system. However, at work, I need to use MS Outlook to maintain my email and calendar. Recently, I found a little program to sync my Outlook and Google calendars. This has eliminated the need to manually create calendar events in my Google calendar.

Last week, I installed a little program called Outlook Google Calendar Sync (OGCS). For the most part, it has worked quite flawlessly. On occasions, I have to check to see if the program is running and direct it to sync.

How I use it

To use this program, I created a new Google Calendar, installed and configured the program, and synced my calendars.

Creating a new calendar

In my personal Google Calendar, I created a separate calendar just for my JCC Work events. I use multiple calendars to track volunteer work, school work, holidays, birthdays, work and personal events. They show up on my calendar as different colors. Each of these calendars is also synced to my phone.

Install and configure OGCS

The first thing to do is download and run the application.  I used the Click once installer. Once installed, you will need to configure the program.

1. Click on the Settings tab from OGCS.

2. Select the Outlook subtab. I do not recommend changing any of the settings on this page.

The Outlook subtab on the Settings tab.

The Outlook subtab on the Settings tab.

3. Click on the Save button.

4. Click on the Google subtab and follow the instructions. You will have to copy and paste a piece of code to link to your account.

The Google subtab on the Settings tab.

The Google subtab on the Settings tab.

5. Once linked to your account, select your calendar.

6. Click on the Save button.

7. Click on the Sync Options subtab and make necessary adjustments to your synchronization options.

The Sync Options subtab on the Settings tab

The Sync Options subtab on the Settings tab.

8. Click on the Save button.

9. Click on the Application Behavior subtab and make any necessary adjustments.

The Application Behavior subtab on the Settings tab.

The Application Behavior subtab on the Settings tab.

10. Click on the Save button.

11. Finally, click on the Sync tab and click on the Start Sync button. All of your events should now sync in the direction you indicated on the Application Behavior subtab.

Syncing from the Sync tab.

Syncing from the Sync tab.

I recommend testing it by adding a calendar item to your calendar. It should show up on your other calendar within a couple minutes.

I have not fully tested it; however, here are a couple of observations. When I have had to restart my computer, I had to manually restart and sync using the tool. It then seemed to work as expected. You may have to occasionally double check to ensure it is operating as expected. This is easy to do by comparing your calendars.

Also, I do not yet know if you have to leave Outlook running. What I do know is that this tool has already saved me a significant amount of time by doing the sync for me. I hope it also saves you time.

If you have questions, please contact me.

Additional Reading

Stan Skrabut, Ed.D.

Stan is Director of Technology-Enhanced Instruction. He has over 20 years experience working as an instructional technologist and trainer. He has a master’s degree in computing technology in education and a doctorate in education specializing in instructional technology.

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