Settings explained: auto-refresh and cancelled events
Last updated: June 10, 2026 · 3 min read
Two toggles, one settings panel
manyCalendars has two settings that decide how your unified view stays current: Auto-refresh calendars and Remove cancelled events. Both live in the settings panel and both take one click to change.
Like everything else in manyCalendars, these settings run entirely on your device. Changing them sends nothing anywhere. This guide covers what each toggle does, what the defaults are, and when you might want something different.
Auto-refresh calendars
This toggle is on by default. With it on, manyCalendars refreshes your URL calendars and your tab calendars at two moments: when the app opens, and every 15 minutes after that. You open the app, you see a current picture, and it stays current while you work.
To change it:
- Open manyCalendars in your browser.
- Click the settings gear at the top right.
- Find the Auto-refresh calendars toggle.
- Click it to turn automatic refreshing off, or back on.
With the toggle off, manyCalendars stops all automatic refreshing. No refresh when the app opens, no 15-minute cycle. Your calendars stay exactly as they were the last time they updated.
Off does not mean stale forever. The manual refresh button still works. Click it whenever you want fresh data and every calendar updates on the spot. Turning auto-refresh off just means refreshes happen only when you ask for one.
Most people leave this on. Turn it off if you want the view to change only when you say so, for example while presenting from your laptop or working through a planning session where a shifting grid would be a distraction.
Tip: Auto-refresh covers tab calendars too. Reading a calendar from a browser tab is a Pro feature, built for work calendars IT will not let you export. If that is your situation, upgrading to Pro keeps even your locked-down calendar fresh on the same 15-minute cycle.
Remove cancelled events
Meetings get cancelled. This toggle decides what happens to them in your unified view.
With the toggle on, any meeting cancelled on the source calendar is automatically removed from manyCalendars. On the next refresh it simply disappears. Your grid only shows events that are actually happening.
With the toggle off, cancelled meetings stay visible. They appear struck through and marked as cancelled, so you can tell at a glance what was scheduled but is no longer happening.
To change it:
- Open manyCalendars in your browser.
- Click the settings gear at the top right.
- Find the Remove cancelled events toggle.
- Click it to choose your preferred behavior.
Which should you pick? If you want the cleanest possible grid, turn it on and let cancellations vanish. If you bill around meetings, like to notice when a client cancels often, or want a record that the 3 pm was cancelled rather than missed, leave it off and keep the struck-through history in view.
One more thing
Both settings remember your choice, and like all manyCalendars data, that choice is stored locally in your browser, on your device, not in our cloud.
Looking for more walkthroughs? Browse all tutorials in the Help Center, or email support@manycalendars.com if a setting is not behaving the way this page describes.