Tags are user-defined labels with which you can categorize and color events in BusyCal. You can also search and filter events in your calendar based on tags.

NOTE: Some images in our online documentation may appear outdated as BusyCal continues to evolve over time. However, the core functionality mentioned in the documentation still applies.

Tag Types

Two different types of tags can be assigned to events in BusyCal: Tags and My Tags. They are essentially the same, i.e., you get to assign memorable keywords to events.

You should use My Tags when you want them to remain local to your Mac and thus private. My Tags do not sync to other devices and are not visible to others on shared calendars or meeting events with other attendees.

Tags sync to all your devices running BusyCal. When using the old-style Exchange Web Services (EWS) account type, Tags will map directly to Categories displayed in Outlook. On newer MS Graph-type accounts, Tags no longer map to Categories - BusyCal will display a Categories drop-down in the Info Panel that syncs with Categories in Outlook.

Also See: Automatic Tagging

Entering Tags

To apply tags to events, type them in the Tags field. When adding tags to an event, the tags are auto-completed as you type, based on tags you have entered previously. TIP: Entering a hex color code in the tags field automatically turns it into a colored tag.

Note: To see the Tags field on the Info Panel, you must enable it in Info Panel Preferences.

You can also apply tags to an event by Control-clicking an event and choosing a tag from the contextual menu.

Tag History

BusyCal automatically remembers tags as you create them and adds them to the Tag History. Choose Edit > Edit Tags to open the Tag History dialog, where you can add, delete, rename, and colorize tags.

Note: Deleting or renaming a tag in the Tag History dialog does not affect any events that already have that tag applied. However, changing the color of a tag does affect all events with that tag.

Tag Colors

You can use tags to color events. For example, you can have an “Important” tag that is colored red, and a “Family” tag that is colored green.

Normally, events appear in the same color as the calendar they’re stored on. But you can override the event color by adding a colored tag to an event. If you add multiple colored tags to an event, the color of the first tag, sorted alphabetically, is applied.

Event Colors

In BusyCal 2022.3.1 and above, items can also be colored using the new Color property.

This property is automatically synced with the Tags property and behaves as a shortcut, i.e. when you pick a color, a special Colored Tag is assigned to the event. You can use the drop-down to quickly switch between colors. Custom colors can also be assigned as hex-codes (e.g. #00FF00 represents the color Green).

NOTE: Event colors from Google Calendar now sync directly with this new property.

Tag Syncing

Tag history, along with the colors assigned to them, sync automatically with all your devices over iCloud since v2024.2.5. You can disable this behavior under Settings > Advanced.