Cross-calendar blocking events

BusyCal for iOS lets you create time-blocking events that mirror an event's busy time from one of your calendars onto another — even when the destination calendar lives on a different account. This is useful when you want to keep a personal calendar from leaking event details onto a shared work calendar (or vice-versa) while still letting colleagues see when you are unavailable.

Whenever you update the original event's date, time, or details, the corresponding blocking event is updated automatically to stay in lockstep with it.

Block on Another Calendar

To block time on another calendar based on an existing event:

1. Long-press an event in any calendar view to open its context menu.
2. Tap Block on Calendar and choose a destination calendar from the submenu.
3. Choose how the blocking event should appear:
   • Show as Busy & Remove All Details — copies just the date and time onto the destination calendar with [Busy] as the title. No notes, location, URL, or other details are copied. Recommended when the destination is a shared calendar where privacy matters.
   • Include details — copies the original event's title, notes, and location across so the destination shows the same context as the source.

tip

When you choose Show as Busy & Remove All Details, the destination event is stripped of everything except the date and time. Anyone you share that calendar with sees only that you are busy at that time — not what for.

important

Once a blocking event has been created, BusyCal keeps it in sync with the original. Avoid editing the blocker directly — your changes will be overwritten the next time the original event is updated.

Automatic Time Blocking with Rules

In addition to manual blocking, BusyCal supports automatic time-blocking rules — for example, mirroring every weekday meeting on a Family calendar onto a Work calendar so colleagues never double-book you, without you having to remember to block each event by hand.

Rules can currently only be created and edited on the Mac, through the Calendar Info dialog's Automation tab. They are not visible anywhere in BusyCal on iPhone — but rules you set up on the Mac do sync to iPhone automatically over iCloud and remain active there: any event you add or edit on iPhone that matches the rule triggers the same blocker, exactly as it would on the Mac. The resulting blocker then syncs back to your Mac (and any other devices) like any other event.

For full details on how rules work — destination selection, working-schedule windows, custom day/time ranges, the three-rule-per-calendar limit, and the cross-device evaluation model — see Automatic Time Blocking with Rules on the BusyCal for Mac page.

Hiding Blocking Events from View

When both the source and the destination calendars are visible in BusyCal, the same time slot will show two boxes — the original and the blocker. To declutter the view, turn on Settings > Show in Calendar > Combine Identical Events. BusyCal then displays only the most appropriate copy (typically the original) and hides the blocker. The blocker is still present on the other calendar, so your availability remains visible to anyone you share that calendar with.

Unblocking an Event

To remove a blocker, long-press the original event, tap Block on Calendar, and select the same destination calendar — this toggles the blocker off. Alternatively, long-press the blocking event itself and delete it directly.

Travel Time in Blocking Events

If the original event has travel time set, BusyCal can extend the blocking event's start time so the travel period also appears as busy on the destination calendar — useful when you want colleagues to see you're unavailable during your commute, not just during the meeting itself.

You control this from Settings > Advanced > Travel time in blocking events:

Option	Behavior
Match original event times	Blocking events use the same start and end as the original. Travel time is not reflected on the destination calendar.
Include travel time in all	Every blocking event starts earlier by the original event's travel duration so travel time also appears as busy. (Default.)
Include travel time in "Show as Busy" only	Only blockers created with the Show as Busy option start earlier. Blockers that include full details keep the original event's times.

This setting is shared between your Mac and iPhone, so changing it on one device updates the other.