Canvas's free calendar feed puts due dates in Google Calendar, but it copies whatever Canvas says and you can't check anything off. Secretariat reads Canvas and Google Calendar together, puts it all on one list you check off, and can send that list back to Google Calendar as its own calendar named Secretariat.
Start with the free way
If you only want Canvas due dates in Google Calendar, Canvas's own calendar feed does that for free. The steps are in our Canvas to Google Calendar guide, along with what the feed leaves out.
What Secretariat adds
- Dates from each class syllabus (and on Student Pro, class announcements), so a date Canvas got wrong or never had still lands on the right day.
- When Canvas moves a due date, you choose Move or Keep instead of it silently changing.
- A list you can check off, and Catch up checks things off for you when Canvas says you turned them in.
- Your Google Calendar comes in too: every calendar you have turned on, class calendars included. Google reviewed and approved how Secretariat reads Google Calendar.
- The same piece of work listed in two places shows up as one to-do. Checking off one checks off all of them.
How it sends your list to Google Calendar
- Turn it on in Settings, Your list in Google Calendar. It's off unless you ask for it.
- Secretariat makes a private calendar link for you. Google Calendar subscribes to it as its own calendar, named Secretariat, next to everything else there.
- Events you make in Secretariat, your to-dos and your due dates show up in it.
- It only goes one way. Google Calendar shows them, and adding, editing, checking off or moving them still happens in Secretariat.
- Google checks the link for changes every few hours, so a change can take a while to show up there. Secretariat itself is up to date sooner.
- The same link works with an iPhone's own Calendar app. You can make a new link or turn it off any time, which stops the old one working.
What it won't do
- Secretariat never writes to your Google Calendar or changes your existing events. It only reads Google, and your list reaches Google through the link Google subscribes to.
- It never changes anything in Canvas.
- Checking something off in Google Calendar isn't possible, since Google only shows the Secretariat calendar. Check things off in Secretariat.
Common questions
- Is the Canvas feed enough on its own?
- For some students, yes. It's free and puts Canvas due dates in Google Calendar. It doesn't read syllabi or announcements, can't be checked off, and copies any wrong date Canvas has. Our guide covers the steps.
- Will Secretariat change my Google Calendar events?
- No. It only reads Google Calendar. Your list shows up there as a separate calendar named Secretariat that Google subscribes to.
- Does it work with a school Google account?
- The Secretariat calendar is a private link, so any Google Calendar that can add a calendar from a URL can show it, a school account included.
- How fast do changes show up in Google Calendar?
- Google checks subscribed calendars on its own schedule, every few hours. Secretariat's own list and week view update sooner.
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