Keep on top of events and reminders
by anchoring them to your desktop
What you need: OS X 10.6+, Blotter ($9.99 Mac App Store)
Calendar is a great app that has evolved
along with OS X to become the hub of a multi-device system. It ties together
your iPad, iPhone, and Mac in one handy app environment, but unfortunately, the
desktop app on the Mac is often overlooked in favor of the more handy iPhone
app.
Need
to remember that important date? You definitely won't miss it once you auqment
Calendar’s basic functionality with the Blotter app.
This is because it seems easier to tap in
events on the iPhone, or have Siri do the work for you, so the Mac version is
left languishing in your dock. Luckily, the Mac App Store is able to breathe a
little more life into Calendar thanks to a cool utility called Blotter. It
collects the data in your iCIoud calendars and the Calendar app, and displays
it as your desktop wallpaper. This allows you to see, in real time, what is
happening week by week, month by month, every time you glance at your desktop.
It’s not intrusive or unsightly. Rather, it
becomes a great little reminder of what's happening and an easy way to add
events without loading the Calendar app. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to
load, customize, and control Blotter, as well as how to use shortcuts to access
faster event and reminder creation.
1. Lock and Load
Download the Blotter app from the Mac App
Store ($9.99) and open it using the Launchpad app in your dock. Alternatively,
you can open it from your Applications folder in Finder. The app will display
your current calendar and the Preferences pane, where you can set it up.
2. Time for Tabs
The General tab lets you control the way
Blotter behaves. To begin with, tick the Open at Login checkbox to ensure that
the app loads each time your Mac starts up. You can then decide whether or not
you need any of the other options below. You can also use this pane to quit the
app.
The
General tab lets you control the way Blotter behaves.
3. Shortcuts
Use the tabs at the top to select the
Shortcuts option. Here you can add your own custom keyboard commands for
certain actions. Simply click an option and then press the key combination you
would like to use as a shortcut. The app will recognize this and enter it into
the space for each action.
4. Fully Loaded
Once your shortcuts have all been loaded,
the screen should look like this. You can now test them by using the key
commands you have just created. If you learn these by heart, there should be no
need for you to use the menus or the Calendar app when adding events or
reminders.
5. Shape It Up
The default view for your Blotter calendar
is square, but you can pick from four presets that will change its shape. Your
choice will depend on how much screen real estate you wish to give the app.
Remember, it will always be there, under any files, folders, or drives that
live on your desktop.
6. Pick a Position
To find out how much space Blotter takes up
on your desktop, click on the Positioning tab and drag the white lined square
around the sample desktop in the window below. Depending on where you keep
desktop items and the size of your dock, you can choose to move Blotter out of
the way.
7. Pick Your Content
You can use the Layout tab to customize the
elements that sit within each section of Blotter. Use the dropdown menu as a
starting point, then use the bottom window to drag the section you want to
alter. Click and hold on the three dots under a section to move it and change
the layout.
8. Calendar Time
The last tab lets you decide which
calendars to display using Blotter. Click the checkbox below to choose which
ones appear. If you use iCIoud, you can also select your shared and subscribed
calendars. You can now dismiss the Preferences pane and see your finished
Blotter calendar.
Tip
You can access the Blotter menu from the
top menu bar in OS X, near the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth symbols. Click on the icon
and use the drop-down menu to access your keyboard commands, set preferences,
and quit the app.
The End Result
As you can see, your new desktop looks
great. There's a huge date stamp in the top left, and your information updates
in real time, so every time you add a reminder or event, it appears almost
instantly. The field of blocks at the very top are your all-day activities, and
below these are your individual events. These take on the same colors you use
in Calendar and iCIoud. On the left is a Right Now section, which keeps you up
to date on today's events. Above that is your To Do section, which pertains to
your reminders in Mountain Lion. This app plays nicely with iCIoud, so when you
use Siri to add reminders, they sync back through Calendar and into Blotter.
This app is so great we think Apple should buy the rights to incorporate it
into the next OS X!
As
you can see, your new desktop looks great.
