In my last post I talked about how to add a Google Calendar Event Button to a website, Google Map, or any other place you can add HTML code. Today, I am going to show you how you can use Google Calendar Event Publisher and Google’s URL shortening service, goo.gl, to add a link to non-digital media.
First, what exactly are we talking about doing. We are going make a poster or flyer for an event and add a QR code (bar code) to it. This will allow someone with a smart phone to scan the QR code and automatically add that event to their Google Calendar.
Here is how it is done:
Step 1: Design your poster or flyer (Duh!)
Step 2: Go to the Google Calendar Event Publisher web page and create your event. (You can even add the location of the event)
Step 3: If you have not done so click on “Create button HTML” at the bottom. Look for the <a href=” at the beginning of the HTML code. Select everything between the quotes (make sure you are between the correct quotes) and copy it.
Step 4: Go to this website http://gaigalas.net/lab/googl Take the web address that you just copied from the HTML code and paste it into the URL field.
That will produce a URL shortcode and a QR code.
Final Step: Right click on the QR code (the funny bar code looking thing) and save the image. Now you can add it to your event flyer or poster. (be sure not to expand the image to large so that it will not become fuzzy or pixelated).
Now anyone with the a cell phone or device capable of scanning that code will be able to add the event to their personal Google Calendar.
For more information on Google Calendar please check out either of my Google Calendar Training pages at SmallSchoolBigTech.com or atGoogle Teacher Academy Resources
Or If you have any questions please leave it in the comments so I can respond.
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Jim Sill
May 30, 2010 at 12:27 am
Great idea and easy to do. Thanks!
lthumann
May 30, 2010 at 4:39 am
Awesome – Thanks Danny.
Sharon Eilts
August 13, 2010 at 9:06 am
I have so much to learn!
Mel
September 25, 2012 at 1:48 pm
How can I do a recurring event? Like a weekly event?
Danny Silva
September 26, 2012 at 9:30 am
For an event that repeats I would first create a separate calendar with only that repeating event and any other associated events. Go to the Event Publisher Guide and scroll past the green section. You are looking for the “Let people save all of your events from your site” section. Follow the steps to create a button for the calendar you have just created. This will not put one event on someone’s calendar; rather it will add a new calendar with all the events you want them to see including recurring events. After it gives you the html code for the button you can go back step 3 in the post.
Hope that helps.
Andre Caetano
October 9, 2012 at 11:35 pm
Good morning,
The http://gaigalas.net/lab/googl is not working, gives the following info qr code: undefined.qr
I’m trying to get a qr code to share a google cal to a android device… Works just fine with iOS doing a different procedure, but its impossible to do it with an android device. Sorry about my English… I’m from Brasil.. Many thanks!!
Danny Silva
November 20, 2012 at 2:05 pm
The best thing to do is use goo.gl which is Google’s service for creating short links. Paste the url in then hit enter. After it gives you the short link click on the details link below it. This will take you to another page that has the qr code. Another way to get the qr code is to copy and paste the short link into a new tab. Then before hitting enter add “.qr” (without the parentheses) after the short link. This will give you just the qr code.
The added benefit to using Google’s service is that you can sign in before creating the short link / qr code and use it to track analytics of people “clicking” the link.
Kirk
March 11, 2013 at 10:03 am
Hi Danny,
I like the QR code idea! What if I want to just add a link to my google calendar event to an email that I create and send? I could write “click on the link below to add this to your google calendar” and then all they would have to do is click on the link to be reminded. I know I can send invites for my events thru G calendar but want to be able to paste a link (to the specific event) in emails I send on my own. Is this possible?
Danny Silva
March 11, 2013 at 12:11 pm
Correct, you can get the link to the calendar event from the event publisher guide and put it on a website or in an email. You can even create an event right from an email when you compose an email. http://www.screencast.com/t/nBjbJg7It Also check out creating events in Google+. http://www.google.com/+/learnmore/events/
Graham
May 25, 2013 at 10:19 pm
This is great, thanks! Is it possible to retain ownership so that guests can’t invite others or see guest list? I tried creating a separate event straight out of google calendar so i would be the owner, but it didn’t seem to allow me to access the URL of that event? (granted I didn’t spend that much time playing around with it)
Danny Silva
May 28, 2013 at 9:28 am
Hi Graham, if you are using the event publisher, then it will not make you the owner of the event. It is basically creating an event that people can add to their calendar in just a couple of clicks. If you want to retain ownership, I believe you will need to create the event on your calendar and add people with their email through the add guests area. Then uncheck the boxes so people would not be able to invite others or see the guest list. Hope that helps.