Insert a Color-Coded Legend

PrintableCal can create calendars containing data from multiple sources, all overlaid into the same page and color-coded based on the associated calendar data sources or categories. If your calendar contains data from a variety of sources, it can be helpful to insert a legend to show the color-coding.

To insert a legend, click the Legend button on the PrintableCal tab of the Excel, Word, or PowerPoint ribbon.

The Insert Legend Task Pane will appear after clicking the Legend button. The most recently used calendar data sources will be selected by default. If using Excel, you can choose to insert the legend as a picture or as formatted cells starting at the currently selected cell. In Word and PowerPoint, the legend will always insert as a picture. After inserting the legend as a picture, it can be dragged to the desired location or resized as needed.

You can also pick the maximum number of columns to use for the legend. For example, if you have 6 calendar data sources and you pick 3 columns, the legend will generate as a grid consisting of 2 rows and 3 columns. For a vertical legend, pick 1 as the maximum number of columns. For a horizontal legend, set the maximum number of columns to the same as the number of selected calendar data sources.

The fill and border color of the legend can also be specified.

Here's an example where the background color is set to gray with a darker gray border.

Insert a Category Legend

Legends can be inserted using either calendar colors or category colors. To insert a category legend, select Categories from the Legend type drop-down.

Category names and colors will be automatically imported when generating calendars with data from Outlook, Exchange Server, or VueMinder. Categories can also be defined in the PrintableCal Options or by clicking the New category button under Select categories.

Automatically Generate a Legend

PrintableCal can automatically generate a legend when creating a calendar. Most templates will include an automatic legend in their output. When a legend is automatically generated, it will show any category or calendar data source colors that are visible in the generated calendar. If there are no items associated with a particular category or calendar data source, that category or calendar data source will not be included in the automatically generated legend.

To include a legend when customizing a template, name a cell range "Legend" where the legend should be placed. Set the value of the Legend cell to "Legend(Columns=X)", where X is a number between 1 and 10. This value controls how many columns can be shown in the legend before wrapping to a new row. You could set the number of columns based on how much space is available in the template and the length of your calendar or category names. Align the cell text based on how you want the output legend to be aligned. For example, if you want the legend aligned with the right edge of the cell, set the text alignment to right.