How To Create a Calendar In Mac Pages

It is easy to create a custom calendar in Mac Pages. By just using one table and some text boxes and graphics, you can make a printable calendar in minutes that is exactly what you need for work or home.

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Video Transcript: 
 
Hi, this is Gary with MacMost.  com. Today let me show you how  
to create your own custom calendar in Mac Pages. 
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So it's actually fairly easy to create your own  custom printable calendar using Pages. We'll  
start here by using the blank landscape template.  Now let's set this document up. The first thing  
I want to do is go to File, and then Convert to  Page Layout since we're not writing a book here.  
Then I'm going to go to View, and then Show  Layout. I'm going to Zoom so that it fits  
on the screen. Now I want to get rid of the Header  and the Footer since we're not using those here.  
Under Format, Show Header and Footer I can  simply turn those off. Now let's go to View  
and Show Rulers. Now we see the Rulers here at  the top and left. Now that we have Rulers I'm  
going to drag from those and add some Guides  at a half an inch from the edge of the page.  
Now the main part of the calendar  is simply going to be a table. 
 
So I'm going to click here on Table and add  this one here. The one without a header row  
or column. Now let's set it to the proper  number of rows. Now five rows are enough  
for a monthly calendar but we also want to have  a row that has the days of the month at the top.
So I'm going to click here and add a sixth row  and then I'm going to click here and I want to  
change this, of course, to be seven columns wide.  Now let's grab the handle here and drag this,  
not all the way to the top left because we want  to leave some room for the name of the month at  
the top. So maybe let's put it an inch and a half  from the top. Then I'm going to grab the bottom  
right corner and drag it down. Now the days of  the month don't need to have a full height row  
here. So I can grab the space between row one  and row two and drag up and let's make that  
something pretty narrow there. Now I can  drag the bottom again and it will space  
everything out and it's already starting to  look like a calendar. Let's go to Format,  
Table and down at the bottom there is  alternating row color. Let's turn that off.
Now let's put the days at the  top. So we'll just enter those in  
and then I'm going to select all of them  by clicking the first one and then Shift  
clicking the last one. Let's go to Format text  and let's make the text a little bit bigger.  
Make it Bold. Make it centered and  then let's set a unique style for this.  
So I'll click here and Plus, and I'll call this  Day Name. Now let's enter the day numbers. So  
the first of December is on a Tuesday so I'll  put a 1 here. But I want that to actually be  
right justified and I want it to be Bold and  let's make it something like 14 point, like that.  
Let's set a style for that as well. So I'll  click here, Plus, and call it Day Number.  
Now I'll go here and I'll enter in the number  for this and don't worry that it's not the same  
style. We'll just tap over to the next one  and do it for all of the different days.  
Now we can select all these cells  and click here just like the first  
one. Shift click and select the last  one. Under Format, Text I will change  
it to Day Number. You can see  they all now fit that style.
Now let's select all of the cells again here. Go  to Format, Cell and change the border style using  
the All Borders button right here and then let's  go to 2 point for that. So that creates a nice  
thick border there. Alternatively if you  don't want to include the cells that have  
nothing in them you could have just selected  this one and Command clicked all of the ones  
that have days in them and then done the same  thing here and then you get something that  
looks like that. Now let's turn off the grid lines  here. By selecting the Table I can go to Format,  
Table and you could see grid lines here.  I'll just turn those off and I'll also turn  
off the Table outline. So now I just have the  borders that I set and no extra grid with it.
Now let's create a text box for the top here  that has the month. So we'll stretch this out  
to go full width and then type the month  
and we'll set its style as well. Make it as  big as you want. Maybe even use a fancy font.  
Now if you want to put some  things on specific dates here  
you could do that by just clicking in the cell and  then going to a new line and typing something. But  
you probably want it to be justified with  the bottom of the cell rather than the top.  
So instead of that what I like to do is go and  create another text box, put that in a cell  
like that, enter something, and if you go to  Format Text you could align to the bottom,  
you could also go to the right, left, or  center. You could, of course, set its style  
so let's make it a little bit bigger and maybe  italic and then we'll add a new style for this.  
Then go to Format, Text Layout and  
increase the text inset a bit. So now you  could add these on various different days  
as you need.
To color things up a bit you can drag and drop  ClipArt or things you find on the internet or  
you can just use these shapes here. There's so  many different things it's easy to find things  
for a calendar. So, for instance, if I search  for snow here I'll come up with a snowman.  
You could put a snowman here in the upper left  hand corner. We can maybe change the color  
and then we can maybe look for something else.  
Whatever fits your style and the month. You can  also add graphics into the calendar easily enough.  
So, for instance, somebody's birthday on a certain  day. You can take the cake and place it inside.  
So you can keep adding graphics  and doing what you want.
The great thing is next month you  can start by taking this calendar  
and then making a copy of it and then simply  change the month, getting rid of these boxes,  
and remember to add new boxes just like this  all you need to do is Option drag and it will  
create a copy of it and then you can place a  new one in a certain spot and then changing the  
graphics. You could make one for the next month  even quicker than the first time you did it.

Comments: 10 Responses to “How To Create a Calendar In Mac Pages”

Carol

4 years ago

How do you get the margins on right side & bottom of the page? I can get the rulers & the 1/2 inch on the left & top but not on the other 2 sides. Thanks so much for all the wonderful information. I look forward to your newsletter every week.

Gary Rosenzweig

Carol: The guides? I'm just dragging from the left and top rules. Click and drag in them.

Thanks for your prompt reply Gary. I have tried to drag multiple times- it does not work. It does for the left side & the top but not the other 2.

By the way I am using Pages version 10.2.
Thanks Carol

Carol: Other two? There is only the left and top. Drag your horizontal guides from the top, your vertical guides from the left.

Got it!!! I was pulling from the right & from the bottom!!! Thank you!!!!!!!

Raymond

OK, thanks. After a few tries, it started working. My problem was that this was the first time i tried "Pages", so a lot was new to me. However, this was a great tut (in the end - lol) and a lot more powerfull than the "Open Office" app i normally use. Thanks

PS - as an afterthought... This year, 2021, the month of May needs in fact 6 rows - i worked a way around it, but maybe you have a solution that dosn't need me inserting a New Row and messing up the whole Template ?

Raymond: Depends on what you want it to look like. You could manually change it to make the last day 29/30/31 like some calendars do. Or, add another row and keep that version around for the next time it happens.

@Gary - Thanks, i made a new Template, with the extra Row, in case it turns up again. Thanks again ;) I'll be following you on YT.

Comments Closed.

How To Create a Calendar In Mac Pages

Comments: 10 Responses to “How To Create a Calendar In Mac Pages”

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