How to Share Locations and Invite People to Events with Google Calendar

When you’re organizing a big event, it might be a good idea to bundle all the information that your guests need into one calendar event. That way, the people invited will know when the event is, where it’s taking place, and any additional documentation they might need ahead of time. Did you know you can do all of that with Google Calendar? All you need to do is set up the event and share it with your guests, and Google will do the rest of the work for you! Let’s explore how you can set up your own event, complete with location and additional files, all within Google Calendar on your PC or mobile.

Also read: How to Share Your Google Calendar with Others

How to Create an Event with Google Calendar

To make an event, head over to the Google Calendar website in you browser of choice. Then follow the steps outlined below to get started.

1. If the calendar doesn’t load in your preferred viewing method, click the drop-down at the top right and select one that suits you. “Monthly” is a good choice for quickly making an event in the near future.

2. Select the day for your event and click on it.

3. Now choose the estimated time the meeting is expected to start.

4. A new dedicated event window will pop up.

5. At the very top, enter the name of your event. You can also set the time the event will start and end. If this event doesn’t have a set beginning and end, tick “All-day” to set it to go for the full 24 hours.

Also read: How to Show Lunar/Moon Phases in Google Calendar

On mobile, you will need the Google Calendar app which comes pre-installed on most Android devices these days, to start setting up an event.

1. Open the Google Calendar app and then tap on the hamburger menu in the top left to switch to the monthly view.

2. Next, select the date of your event.

3. Tap again on the date to create the event.

4. Now, add a name for your event and set the time when you estimate it will start. If it’s an “All-day” event you can toggle the option on.

Also read: 10 Calendar Apps That Make Great Google Calendar Alternatives

How to Add a Location to Your Event

Now let’s add a location to your event if you’re using Google Calendar on desktop. This feature is perfect if you’re hosting an event at a specific place, as your guests can see the location and get directions to the event itself.

1. To start, add the location of your event into the “Location” box. If you’re going to a specific building or chain, type its name here, and Google should understand what you mean.

2. You can click on the tiny Map symbol next to the Location field and Calendar will open Google Maps on the right side of the display.
3. From there you can tap on the Directions button to see how you can get there, or browse images of place so that you know what to expect.

On mobile, the process is quite similar, as you can see below.

1. Once you created the event card, scroll down until you find the “Add Location” option and tap on it.

2. Grant Calendar permission to access your device’s location and then input the location.

3. The place’s address should now appear in the Location section.

4. Tap on the image below to “Show in map” in the Google Maps app and get directions to the location.

Also read: How to Save a Route on Google Maps

How to Add an Attachment to an Event

Now that you have the title, time, and location set, you can add optional attachments to the event. This is extremely useful for sharing a document with event-goers, such as a schedule, invitation, ticket, or menu.

1. To do this, look near the bottom of the event creation window underneath the Location section. You should see a text box that says “Add a description or attachments”.
2. Tap on attachments.

3. By default, Google Calendar will ask you to upload a file from your Google Drive. If your file is on your Drive, this is fine; however, if it’s on your PC, you need to click “Upload” at the top.

4. Once you’ve uploaded a file, give it a brief description so that your guests know what it is.

On mobile, this is how you add an attachment to your event.

1. On your event card, scroll down all the way to the bottom and tap on the paper clip icon that says “Add attachment”.

2. Next, choose from where you want to upload the document or image. Unlike on desktop, here you don’t have the option to upload from your device. Instead, you’ll have to upload your file to Drive first.

Also read: 9 Ways You Can Increase Work Productivity with Google Assistant

How to Invite Guests to Your Event

Now that you’re all set, it’s time to invite people to your event.

1. On your event card, underneath the date, you’ll find the “Guests” section. To start adding people go ahead and type their names or email addresses. Don’t worry, you’re not actually emailing people as you add them. You still have time to finalize the guest list before you send out the invites.

2. At the bottom, you’ll see options for what your guests can do. By default, guests can invite friends and see the guest list, so uncheck these if you don’t want either to apply.

3. Since this is the last step in the tutorial, you can go ahead and press the Save button at the bottom. Google will ask you if you would like to send the email invitations to your guests. You can agree or opt not to send.

4. Make sure you grant the necessary permissions to your guests and then press Invite.

From the email, your guests can see when the event takes place, click the map link to see where it is, and browse the attachments you added earlier – everything you need to get an event going! They can also confirm or refuse your invitation.

Once you add an event using Calendar for desktop, it will also appear in your mobile app (and vice versa). If you wish to invite people via Google Calendar for mobile, here’s how to do it.

1. On your event card in the Google Calendar app, tap on the “Add people” button.

2. Start adding their names and email addresses. Press Done once you’ve added everyone.

3. Tap on Save.

4. Google will ask if you’d like to send out the invitations. Press in Send if you agree.

That’s it, the invite containing all the details of the event should be on its way to persons’ inboxes.

Organizing an event can be hard, so anything that condenses the process into one place is worth investigating. Now you know how to create an event on Google Calendar, add a location, attach helpful documents to it, and send it to your guests.

Google’s suite of apps is always a good choice when it comes to performing daily tasks. For example, with Google Maps you can easily save a route. On the other hand, the Google Assistant can help you increase your work productivity.

Also read: 12 of the Best Google Maps Alternatives You Should Try

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How can I share my Google Calendar?

Sharing your Google Calendar might be handy. For instance, the organizer of the event can access your Calendar and see if you’re available during a certain day. If you want to learn how to do that we have a complete tutorial for you which teaches how to get started with sharing your calendar.

2. I am not a fan of Google Calendar. What are the alternatives?

If, for whatever reason, you don’t like Google Calendar, your options are Outlook Calendar, Zoho Calendar, Nextcould Calendar, and Teamup. Check out our comparision of these services.

3. Can I link my Google Calendar with Amazon Alexa?

Yes, you can. Regardless of whether you want to add the Google, Microsoft or Apple calendar to your Alexa-enabled device, the initial steps are always the same:

1. Launch the Amazon Alexa app on your smartphone or tablet.
2. In the upper-left corner, tap the “Menu” icon.
3. Tap “Settings -> Calendar & Email.”
4. Tap “Add Account.”

You can now choose which calendar application you want to add to your Alexa account.

Read the full article to learn more about syncing calendars with Alexa.