Google Apps Tips: Default Notifications

Defining Default Google Calendar Event Reminders

Google Calendar includes two default reminders defined for any new event you create. If your organization hasn’t modified the default values, there should be both a 10 minute email and pop-up reminder defined. You can see the reminders defined in the Options section when viewing the details of a new calendar event.

While you can edit the reminders and add additional reminders using the Add a reminder link in the ‘Options’ section of an event you create, the changes you make apply only to that event. Read on to find out how to access and change the default reminders for all events you create.

Accessing your default reminders

You can access the default reminders two ways:

• A. Click Settings > Calendars. Click Notifications associated with your personal calendar.
• B. Click Settings below My calendars which leads you directly to the Calendars screen. Click Notifications associated with your personal calendar.

Defining your default reminders

Your current default reminders are defined in the ‘Event reminders’ section on the ‘Notifications’ tab. To edit a current default reminder:

1. Select they way you would like to receive the reminder from the reminder type drop-down menu. (Note: You will only see the SMS option if you’ve set up your phone to receive notifications using the ‘Set up your mobile phone to receive notifications’ link located at the bottom of the Notifications screen. (See image A below.))
2. Select either minutes, hours, days or weeks from the second drop down menu.
3. Enter a numeric value in the second field that corresponds with the option selected in step 2.
4. Optionally add additional default reminders using the Add a reminder link.
5. When finished, click Save.

Note: the reminders you set are your personal reminders. Guests will receive reminders for their events based on the personal reminders they set for themselves.

After you’ve set up your new default reminders, they now display when you create a new event. Note that they do not apply to events previously created.