In this Scrivener tutorial, we will create a calendar. I use Scrivener to organize all my articles and tutorials into year and month folders. But many times I just need a visual representation of my editorial calendar for the month. I use a monthly calendar to record the publication dates for each article, as well as the dates for sending out the BellaOnline newsletter and posting about the new articles on social media. I use color coding to distinguish these different tasks.

After a little experimentation, I decided on a calendar layout that has a graphic header, including the month and year text. See the link below to download the graphic header that I used in the example. Of course, I removed the month and date so that you could better use the graphic. If you wish to create your own header, it should be about 2000 x 300 pixels at 72 dpi. This header sits above the Scrivener table, which is the body of the calendar. Each day of the month will be a table cell that can accept text. Under the calendar is a text box, which includes the color code information. The instructions below are for the desktop version of Scrivener.

We will first create the basic layout for a monthly calendar.


1. Add a new page anywhere in the Binder. In my example, I renamed the Research folder to Research / Templates. This is where I saved all my calendar templates.
   
   As we will be creating a seven day a week / monthly calendar, we will need a table with seven columns, for the days of the week. We will also need 13 rows. The top row of table cells will have the name of the days. Below the first row, we will have a row of cells for the day numbers for the first week and the next row of cells will be for text input cells for each day.
   
   
2. Place your cursor in the position where you wish be add the table image header. Drag the .jpg image in to the page. Right-click and choose Scale Image. Use the slider to scale the image to fit the page. (see screenshot)
   
   
3. Let's add the table. Move your cursor to the next line. From the Menu, click Format - Table - Table. This will give us the default table that spans the page and has three columns and two rows. Also the Table window will open.
   
   
4. In the Table window, set Rows to 13 and Columns to 7. (see screenshot)
   
   We will design the calendar.
   
   
5. Let's color the top row of cells. Select all 7 cells. In the Table window set the Cell Background to Color Fill and set the color using the Colors window. (see screenshot)
   
   
6. Add the name of the days in each cell. Select all the cells. Format the text in the Format bar for font family, size, color and center alignment. (see screenshot)
   
   
7. Select all of the next 12 rows and format the text in the Format bar as you wish.
   
   
8. Select the first cell in the second row and add the first day number. If the first day of the month is not Sunday, this will be the number for the Sunday from the previous month. It's optional to add these numbers from the previous month. If you do, set the text color for the previous month's numbers to grey. Then, add the first day of the current month and continue to complete the row. Select just the current month's numbers and set the text color as you wish. (see screenshot)
   
   
9. We need to enlarge the next row of cells, as these will be the cells for adding information. Place your cursor over the bottom border of this cell row and drag downward. (see screenshot)
   
   
10. Repeat the previous steps for the other rows of numbers and text boxes.
    
    
11. If you wish to use color coding, add a text box below the table for the color key.
    
    

To download header image:

1. Click this link
   
2. Right-click on .jpg image
   
3. Select Save Image As and save to your computer