Switching To Mac - Once you go Mac, you never go back

When there are multiple attendees to a meeting, it’s easy to use iCal to organize the event. iCal can send invites via email, confirm attendance, and sync back with your computer to let you know who is coming and who is unavailable. Those who can’t attend the meeting can also send back available times to reschedule.

To begin, open iCal by clicking on the icon in the dock or Applications folder.

Once open, select the appropriate calendar designation for a new event by clicking on its name in the left-hand column.

To create a new event, click and drag the mouse on the day and time you wish to schedule it. You can adjust the length of the meeting by dragging the end point to the time desired and releasing the mouse button.

Double click on the new event to edit the details. Be sure to accurately name the event, add a location, whether or not it is a recurring event (repeating), alarm notification, url, or other notes for attendees.

Click on Add Invitees…to create your list of attendees.

In the new box, type in the email addresses of those you want to invite. If the contact is already in your OS X Address Book, just type the name of the person. Press Enter or Return after each email address to add more.

When finished, the invitees will appear as blue bubbles with a gray question mark (?) next to each name. This means that the individual invitee has not responded to the invitation yet.

Every invitee will receive an email that allows them to “Accept,” “Decline,” or “Maybe” the invitation. They will see the date and time, who the invitation is from (you) and who else is attending.

When they accept the invitation, they will be brought to a confirmation screen as well as given a .ics file which will add the event to their iCal or Outlook Calendar.

The accepted, declined or “maybe” responses will sync back to your iCal. Double clicking on the event will show a list of invitees with a green check mark next to those who Accepted, a red “X” for those who declined or an orange question mark for those who are unsure.