Set Up a Vacation Calendar in Daylite

Learn how to create a shared vacation calendar in Daylite using a Smart List, so your whole team can see who's away directly from their Mac.

Set up a Vacation Calendar in Daylite

Daylite lets you create a shared vacation calendar using a Smart List — so your whole team can see who's away without switching apps or checking a separate tool. A Smart List is a saved, dynamic filter in Daylite that updates automatically as your data changes. The setup takes two steps: create vacation appointments using the Vacation type, then build a Smart List calendar to display them.

Before you start: This feature is available on Mac. Smart List calendar views are not available on iPhone or iPad.

Key rules:

• Any Appointment with the Type set to Vacation will appear in the Smart List calendar automatically
• The Smart List can be shared so teammates see it in their sidebar without needing to set it up themselves

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Step 1: Add Vacation Appointments in Daylite

When someone on your team is taking time off:

1. Create a new Appointment in Daylite.
2. Select the "All Day" checkbox so it spans full days rather than specific hours.
3. Set the date range to cover the vacation period.
4. Set the Type to Vacation.
5. Click Save.

All Day appointments display as banners at the top of the calendar view, separate from time-blocked entries — so vacation blocks are easy to spot at a glance. Any appointment with the Type set to Vacation will appear in the Smart List calendar automatically.

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Step 2: Create a Vacation Smart List Calendar in Daylite

1. In the sidebar, under Calendars, click All Calendars.
2. Click + and select New Calendar Smart List.
3. Click + to add a filter condition.
4. Set the condition to Type > is > Vacation.
5. Change Share with from No One to Everyone.
6. Click Save.

The Vacation Calendar will appear in your teammates' sidebars on their Macs automatically — no setup needed on their end.

Pro Tip: Customize Your Vacation Calendar View

Once the Vacation Smart List calendar is set up, you can customize how it displays. Click the gear icon in the calendar view to access display options:

• Separate by User or Resource — gives each team member their own column, so you can see at a glance who is away on any given day.
• Color by User or Resource — colours appointments by person, making it easy to identify whose vacation is whose.

These settings are per user — each team member can customize their own view independently.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can teammates see the vacation calendar on iPhone or iPad? The shared Smart List calendar view is Mac-only — it won't appear in Daylite on iPhone or iPad. However, vacation appointments can appear on teammates' iPhones and iPads through Apple Calendar with additional setup: each team member needs to be added as an invitee on the appointment, and each user needs Daylite's calendar sync configured to display appointments by category. See Calendar Sharing for setup instructions.

Does the calendar update automatically when new vacation appointments are added? Yes. Because it's a Smart List, any Appointment with the Type set to Vacation appears immediately — no manual refresh needed.

Can I use this for other types of time off, like public holidays or sick days? The Type field uses fixed values, so you can't add custom types like "Sick Day" or "Public Holiday." For other types of time off, we recommend using Categories or Keywords on the appointment instead, then creating a Smart List filtered by that Category or Keyword. You can either combine them into a single shared calendar or create a separate Smart List calendar for each type.