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Why Can't I See My Events in BusyCal? Calendar Suddenly Empty

If your BusyCal calendar suddenly appears empty or you can't see your events, don't worry—there are a number of things you can check. This issue is typically caused by display settings rather than data loss. Here are the most common causes and solutions:

Check Calendar Visibility First​

The left panel in BusyCal shows all your subscribed calendars with checkboxes next to each name. These checkboxes control whether events from that calendar are visible:

  • Unchecked box = Calendar events are hidden
  • Checked box = Calendar events are visible

If your events have disappeared, first verify that all relevant calendar checkboxes are checked.

Hidden Calendars

If you don't see all your calendars in the left panel, go to View Menu > Show Unsubscribed Calendars to reveal any unsubscribed calendars. Also enable View Menu > Show Hidden Calendars to show any calendars you may have hidden in the past.

Other Common Causes for Missing Events​

Account Exclusion Mode​

Account Exclusion Mode temporarily hides all calendars from specific accounts, allowing you to focus on events from just one account. When activated, all calendars under the excluded account become invisible.

How to check if Exclusion Mode is active:

  1. Look for account names in the left panel
  2. Hover your mouse over each account name
  3. An orange toggle indicates Exclusion Mode is ON for that account

To disable Exclusion Mode:

  • Hover over the account name
  • Click the orange toggle to turn it OFF
  • Your calendars will immediately reappear

Filter Mode​

BusyCal offers two search modes that can affect event visibility:

  • Search Mode (⌘F) - Shows matching results in the sidebar while keeping all events visible
  • Filter Mode (⌘⌥F) - Hides all events except those matching your search term

If you accidentally activated Filter Mode with a search term, your calendar will only show matching events. To restore all events:

  1. Check the search field at the top of BusyCal
  2. Clear any text in the search field
  3. Press Escape to exit Filter Mode

Learn more about searching and filtering in BusyCal.

Smart Filter​

Smart Filters are saved searches that can dramatically change what events are visible. An active Smart Filter might be hiding your events if its criteria don't match any current events.

How to check for active Smart Filters:

  • Look at the Filter Bar (below the toolbar)
  • Blue filter buttons indicate active content filtering
  • Click any active filter to see all events again

For detailed information about Smart Filters, see our Smart Filters guide.

If none of these solutions work, your account connection may need attention. Check BusyCal > Settings > Accounts to ensure your calendar accounts are properly connected.

Calendar Recovery

If you suspect your calendar data was accidentally deleted, you can easily restore your calendar from a recent backup. BusyCal automatically maintains backups to help you recover from data loss.

Finally, please contact us with your app's logs so we can help you in case none of these suggestions helped.

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