Tune the timeline: zoom, working hours, buffers and more

The timeline works well out of the box, but everyone's day is shaped differently. All of its display options live in one place.

Find the timeline options#

1
Open Settings
Click the gear icon in the popup's header.
2
Expand “Calendar display”
On the Appearance tab, open the Calendar display card.
3
Scroll to the timeline options
Below the main toggles you'll find Hour height, Days shown, Working hours, Buffer before events and Color events by.

Calendar display settings with Timeline view and Scroll event list toggles and an animated preview — Every option has a short description. Timeline view comes with a live preview.

Timeline options: time format, hour height, days shown and working hours — Every option has a short description. Timeline view comes with a live preview.

Here's what each option does.

| Option | What it changes | | --- | --- | | Timeline view | Turn it off to see an agenda list instead of the hour-by-hour timeline. | | Scroll event list | Opens the day scrolled to the current or next event. | | Show current time | Shows a live clock next to the Today button. | | Time format | 12-hour or 24-hour times everywhere, including the toolbar badge. | | Hour height | Compact, Default or Comfortable. Same as ⌘/Ctrl + scroll over the timeline. | | Days shown | 1, 2 or 3 days side by side, when there's room. | | Working hours | Shades the hours outside your working day. | | Buffer before events | Draws 5, 10 or 15 minutes of prep time before each event. | | Color events by | Each event's own color, or its calendar's color (with a legend at the top of the day). | | Expand multiple events | Lets several event cards stay open at once. |

Working hours#

Set when your working day starts and ends, and everything outside it is shaded. The difference between "a meeting at 8 AM" and "a meeting before my day even starts" becomes obvious.

Buffers before meetings#

Back-to-back meetings leave no time to prepare. Pick a buffer of 5, 10 or 15 minutes and Calendario draws a hatched strip of prep time before each event. When a meeting doesn't have that much free time in front of it, it's flagged so you can see where the day is too tight.

Morning timeline with hatched 15-minute buffers above each event and shaded hours before 9 AM — Working hours from 9 to 6, with a 15-minute buffer. The morning run sits outside working hours, and every event gets hatched prep time in front of it.

Color events by calendar#

By default every event gets its own color. Switch Color events by to Calendar and events take their calendar's color instead. A small legend at the top of the day lists which color belongs to which calendar. It's handy when you want to see work, personal and team calendars apart at a glance.

Timeline where each event uses its calendar's color — Colored by calendar: your primary calendar, Outlook and Zoom each keep one consistent color.

See several days side by side#

With Days shown set to 2 or 3, the following days appear next to today. You can then compare schedules or find a slot that works tomorrow. It needs room, so it shines in the side panel, which is wider than the popup.

Switching Days shown to 2 days in the side panel.

Side panel timeline showing Tuesday and Wednesday side by side in light mode — Today and tomorrow, side by side, with free gaps marked in both columns.

Side panel timeline showing Tuesday and Wednesday side by side in dark mode — Today and tomorrow, side by side, with free gaps marked in both columns.

What's next#

Now that the timeline looks the way you want, learn to change it directly: drag to create, move, resize and copy events.