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Day View

Day view displays a single day of your calendar.

Day view example

To view to earlier or later times in the current day, scroll up or down.

To scroll backward or forward one day at a time, click the left or right arrow button, swipe left or right with two fingers on a trackpad, swipe left or right with one finger with a Magic Mouse, or press ⌘-Left-Arrow or ⌘-Right-Arrow.

Changing Number of Hours Viewed

BusyCal allows you to customize how many hours are displayed in Day and Week views, ranging from 4 to 24 hours.

Changing Hours from Settings

  1. Open BusyCal > Settings > General.
  2. Locate the Day and Week views show option.
  3. Select the desired number of hours from the drop-down menu.

Adjusting Hours Directly in the Calendar View

You can also dynamically change the visible hours while using Day or Week view:

  • Option + Scroll – Hold Option and scroll up/down anywhere to zoom in/out.
  • Timeline Scroll – Hover over the left-side time ruler and scroll:
  • Scroll up to zoom in (show fewer hours).
  • Scroll down to zoom out (show more hours).
  • Click + Drag – Click and drag on the left-side time ruler to manually adjust the hours displayed.

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tip

Day and Week views independently remember your preferred number of visible hours

You can also change various display styles in Appearance Settings.

Show Working Hours Only

While you have full control over zoom levels in Day & Week views, sometimes you may want to focus only on your working hours and hide the rest.

Use the Working Hours toggle button in the toolbar (next to the date switcher) to quickly collapse hours outside your Day Start and Day End settings.

Even better, this setting is remembered when using Smart Filters, allowing you to switch between views seamlessly while automatically toggling working hours on or off based on your saved preferences.

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Changing Event / Task Times

You can select multiple events and drag them to change their start times. By default BusyCal will snap at 15-minute offsets. If you wish to drag with more precision, hold down the SHIFT key while dragging in order to snap to the nearest minute instead.

Creating Overlapping / Adjacent Events

In Day & Week View, you can easily create overlapping / adjacent events without modifying existing ones. Simply hold down the ⌘ (Command) + ⌥ (Option) keys together, then click and drag anywhere on an existing event. This allows you to place a new event next to it without affecting the original scheduling.

Creating Events In Between

BusyCal makes scheduling effortless by allowing you to CTRL+Click (right-click) anywhere in between two events to instantly create a new event in the available time slot. No need to manually adjust times—just click, create, and go!

BusyCal also allows other options when creating or editing events in week view using the context menu:

  • Match Start to Previous End
  • Match End to Next Start
  • Create Event Matching End of Previous
  • Create Event Between
  • Create Event After Selection

Free / Busy Times

Timed-Events marked as Show as: Free (i.e., not marked as Busy in the Info Panel) will appear with a dashed colored border, while events that block your availability will display as solid colors (the default behavior).

In shared calendars or calendars that publicize your availability for others to book meetings, Free/Busy status is crucial. Events marked as Busy prevent others from scheduling over them, while events marked as Free signal that you are available.

Understanding Free vs. Busy Events

  • Free Events: Indicate that you are available and can multi-task.
  • Busy Events: Mark you as unavailable, preventing others from scheduling over those times.

By default:

  • All-day events (banners) are set to Free, as they typically don't block your availability.
  • Timed events (specific start and end times) are set to Busy, blocking your calendar.

If you're truly unavailable for an All-Day event (e.g., Out of Office, Travel), you can manually mark it as Busy.

Example Busy All-Day Event

📅 All-Day Event:

  • Title: Traveling
  • Time: All Day
  • Show As: Busy (blocks availability for the entire day)

Example Busy Timed-Event

Timed Event:

  • Title: "Doctor's Appointment"
  • Time: 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
  • Show As: Busy (Solid color, blocks availability)

Example Free Timed-Event

Timed Event:

  • Title: "Brainstorming"
  • Time: 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
  • Show As: Free (Dashed color, does not block availability)

Use Free and Busy statuses to accurately reflect your availability and avoid unnecessary scheduling conflicts.

Event marked as Free

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