Simple, step‑by‑step help for getting the most out of the Choiceworks Calendar.
Create a Calendar
A simple, step by step guide to making your first visual calendar in the Choiceworks Calendar app.
Open the app and tap Add
Start on the main app screen. In the top right corner, tap the Add Calendar (+) button to begin a new calendar.
Set the calendar information
Fill in the "Set calendar information" form. Give your calendar a name, add a photo if you like, then choose your options: turn US holidays on or off, pick a time interval, and set which day the week starts on. When you are happy with your choices, save the calendar.
See your new calendar
That's it. Your new calendar now appears on the main screen, ready for you to start adding days and activities.
Add Events to Your Calendar
A simple, step-by-step guide to adding events to a Choiceworks Calendar, so your day is easy to see and easy to share.
Open a calendar and tap Edit
Open the calendar you want to add an event to. In the top right corner, tap Edit to begin making changes.
Pick a day in month view
You are now in month view. Tap any day to choose it, and it will highlight in yellow. To move to a different month, use the arrows at the top. Then tap the plus button in the toolbar to open the Add Event dialog.
Fill in the event and save
In the Add Event dialog, choose an image, then set the date, time, duration, alarm, and how often it repeats. When everything looks right, tap Save to add it to the calendar.
Sync Across Your Devices
Choiceworks Calendar can use iCloud to help keep your calendars backed up and matched across your own iPad and iPhone, all on your own Apple ID. Turn it on before you need it, keep important calendars exported too, and confirm sync has finished on each device.
Turn on iCloud Sync & Backup
Make sure each device is signed into iCloud with the same Apple ID. Then tap the gear (Settings) icon in Choiceworks Calendar and turn on iCloud Sync & Backup.
Your calendars can stay matched
After you turn it on, your calendars are stored in your own iCloud, and devices signed into the same Apple ID can stay matched after iCloud has time to sync. Add an event on the iPad, then open Choiceworks Calendar on the iPhone to confirm it appears. To restore on a replacement device, iCloud Sync must already be on, the device must use the same Apple ID, and iCloud needs network access and enough storage.
Close and reopen the app
Sync starts the next time you open the app. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen, flick Choiceworks Calendar up and off, then tap to open it again.
Pick the Language Your Cards Speak
Choiceworks Calendar's picture cards can show and speak their words in English or Spanish. The words on the cards and the voice that reads them follow this choice. Everything else stays in the app's language.
Open Card Language
Tap the gear (Settings) icon on the main screen, then tap Card Language.
Choose a language
Pick Match App Language, English, or Spanish (Español). Match App Language is the everyday choice: the cards follow whatever language the app itself runs in.
To change the app's own language
Open Settings on your iPhone or iPad, scroll down and tap Apps, tap CW Calendar, then tap Language. Menus, buttons, and day labels follow the app's language; your own photos and words never change.
Customize Day Labels
The day screen's My Schedule and All Done headers can say anything your family says. Pick your own words like To Do or Finished, record them in your own voice, or turn a label off to hide it.
From the Menu
Tap the gear (Settings) icon, then tap Customize Day Labels. Choose which calendar (if you have more than one), then choose the My Schedule or All Done label.
Or right from a day
Open any day and tap Edit. Tap the My Schedule or All Done label, marked with a pencil, to open the same editor.
Make it yours and save
Type your own words, record audio in your own voice with the Record button, or use the Turn label off switch. Save with the checkmark. Reset to default brings back the original wording any time.
Pick the Picture Size on the Day Schedule
In the latest update, the iPad day schedule has the same minus and plus picture-size control that Choiceworks boards have, so the pictures can be exactly the size your child needs.
Open a day on your iPad
Open your calendar and tap a day to see its schedule. The picture-size control sits in the row of buttons at the top of the day schedule.
Tap minus or plus
Tap the minus to make every picture on the schedule smaller, or the plus to make them bigger. The schedule updates right away with each tap.
Set it once and it stays
Your size is saved automatically, so every day's schedule opens at the size you chose. Change it again any time.
Color Code Your Events
Give each kind of event its own color, or give each child their own color, so anyone can read the calendar at a glance.
Color one event
Open the event and look for the color circle next to Done at the top. Tap it and pick a color from the menu. That event now shows in its color on the calendar.
Give a child their own color
Open your child's calendar settings and tap Color. Pick a color from the same palette. All of that child's events show in their color, so two kids' days are easy to tell apart.
Mix the two
An event's own color always wins. So you can give everything Emma's purple, and still make the dentist appointment red so it stands out.
Take a color off
Tap the color circle again and choose None. The event goes back to the child's color, or to the plain look if no child color is set.
Using Calendar with VoiceOver
Choiceworks Calendar works with VoiceOver, Apple's built-in screen reader, so a blind or low-vision parent, teacher, or child can use it by listening and touch.
Turn on VoiceOver
Go to Settings, then Accessibility, then VoiceOver, and turn it on. If you have set the accessibility shortcut, you can also triple-click the side button to turn VoiceOver on and off any time.
Open the calendar and swipe
Swipe right or left to move from one item to the next. Choiceworks Calendar reads each day and event aloud as you land on it. Double-tap to open or play what you are hearing.
What reads aloud
The parts that matter speak, so the calendar works without sight: the days of the month, each day's events, and the buttons and switches you use to move around the app.
We built this for real families
If something does not read the way you expect, tell us at info@beevisual.com. We keep improving how Calendar works for blind and low-vision families, and your note helps.
Reorder Events
Put the events on a day in the order that works best, so the schedule reads from top to bottom the way your child expects.
Tap Edit to start
Open your calendar and tap Edit in the top right corner. This turns on edit mode, where you can make changes to days and events.
Pick the day you want
While in month view, tap the day you would like to change. The day will highlight in yellow so you know it is selected.
Switch to day view
Tap Day near the top left to open that single day. Now you can see all of its events listed one below the other.
Drag to reorder
Press and hold the gray handles on the right side of an event, then drag it up or down into the order you want. Let go to drop it in place.
Create Repeat Events
Have an activity that happens again and again? Set it up once and let it repeat. Here is how to make an event recur on your Choiceworks Calendar.
Tap Edit
Open your calendar and tap the Edit button. This lets you start adding and changing events.
Pick the start day
In the month view, tap the day you want your event to begin. The day will highlight in yellow so you know it is selected.
Open the Add Event dialog
Tap the plus button in the toolbar to open the Add Event dialog for that day. This is where you give your event a name, a picture, and a time.
Turn Repeat on and save
Find the Repeat switch and turn it ON to make the event recur. Then choose how often it should repeat, like daily or weekly, and tap save.
Countdown to an Event
Build excitement for a trip, a birthday, or any big day by showing your child exactly how many days are left.
Start the countdown
Tap the day of your big event so it highlights, then tap the "123" countdown button in the corner of your calendar. The countdown window opens for that day, and you confirm the event to start. This turns any event into a friendly day-by-day countdown.
Watch the days count down
The countdown begins and shows a big "days until" number, so your child can see at a glance how close the day is. Use the pause and stop controls at the bottom whenever you need them. This is a wonderful way to build anticipation for a trip or birthday.
Print or Share a Calendar
Two different needs, and the app does both: a paper or PDF copy of the current view, or a .cwc copy file for the calendar you have open.
Tap the Share icon
Open the calendar you want to share. In the top right corner, tap the Share icon. A short menu appears.
Choose the right option
The menu shows Print this view, Email this view (PDF), and Back Up / Share Calendar.
To hand the calendar to another caregiver
Choose Back Up / Share Calendar, then use the iOS share sheet to AirDrop the file, send it by Mail or Messages, or save it to Files. It saves the calendar you have open.
They import it and start using it
When the other person opens the .cwc file, Choiceworks Calendar asks to import it. They tap Import, then Open, and the calendar is now on their device, ready to use with your child, the same routines, pictures, and structure.
Good to know: it shares a copy
Sharing sends a snapshot of the calendar as it is right now, so it makes a separate copy on the other person's device. Changes you make later will not show up on theirs, and theirs will not show on yours. If you send an updated .cwc for the same calendar, Choiceworks Calendar asks before replacing the matching calendar's events.
Create Custom Images and Audio
Make your calendar personal by adding your own photos and voice recordings to any event.
Open the event editor
Tap the event you want to change to open the event editor. This is where you can update the title, image, and sound for that event.
Open the image chooser
Tap the event's picture to open the image chooser. From here you can pick a new image or create a custom one.
Take or pick your own photo
In the image editor, tap the camera icon in the top right corner. You can take a new photo or choose one from your photo library.
Add a label, photo, and your voice
In the image setup screen, type a label so you know what the picture is, and use the camera to set the photo if you have not already. Tap the red Record button to record your own voice, then tap the green Playback button to hear it back. Re-record any time until it sounds just right.
Back Up / Share a Calendar
Keep a restorable copy of the calendar you have open for device changes, updates, or emergencies. Here is how to save a backup file and bring it back when you need it.
Save this calendar as a file
Open the calendar you want to save, tap the Share button, then choose Back Up / Share Calendar. This saves the current calendar into one .cwc file you can keep or send.
Choose where to keep it
You can save the file right on your iPad in Files or iCloud Drive, AirDrop it to a nearby device, or send it by Mail or Messages.
Bring this calendar back
To restore from a backup, open Settings and tap Import Calendars, then pick the .cwc file you saved earlier. If it matches a calendar already in the app, Choiceworks Calendar asks before replacing that calendar's events; otherwise it adds the calendar.
Sync to Apple Calendar
Turn on one switch and Choiceworks Calendar adds calendar copies to the built-in Apple Calendar app on this device. If your Apple Calendar account syncs across devices, Apple handles that outside Choiceworks Calendar.
Turn on the sync switch
Tap the gear (Settings) icon to open the settings menu, then find "Sync to Apple Calendar" and turn the switch on. Like any iOS switch it is white when off and turns green when on.
Allow calendar access
iOS will ask for permission to use your calendar. Tap "Allow" so Choiceworks Calendar can add its Choiceworks calendars. If you tap "Don't Allow" by mistake, you can turn access back on later in the device's Settings app: scroll to CW Calendar in the app list and allow Calendars.
See them in Apple Calendar
That's it. Your Choiceworks calendars now show up inside the built-in Apple Calendar app, each one named "Choiceworks - " followed by the calendar's name. Events appear alongside the family's other calendars in the Apple Calendar source your device is configured to use.
Lock Editing with a Passcode
Lock Editing with a passcode so your child can use the calendar freely without changing or deleting anything.
Turn the passcode on
In the settings menu, turn on Passcode and choose a code. Editing then stays locked until the code is entered, so a child can use the calendar without changing it.
If you forget your passcode
No calendars or data are lost. On the passcode screen, tap Forgot Passcode?. The app asks you to confirm it is really you with your device passcode or Face ID, then turns the Calendar passcode off so you can set a new one.