Cortana is one of the killer features of Windows 10, and she is also one of the reasons why some people are using Windows 10. One of Cortana's best features is the fact that she can schedule and manage appointments for you. All you have to do is write or ask her to do that, and she will comply. Here's how it all works:

Open Cortana

Before you can check your schedule or add appointments to your calendar, you must first open Cortana. You can click/tap on Cortana's search field from the taskbar and type the commands you want her to do. You can also launch it by simultaneously pressing the Windows + C keys on your keyboard. Alternatively, if you prefer using your voice only, say "Hey, Cortana!" and she will answer. Now using any of these methods, ask Cortana what you want her to do:

How to see what's on your schedule with Cortana

If you want to check your schedule and see whether you are free for the next hour or have to go to an appointment, you can ask Cortana something like "Cortana, what's on my schedule?" or "Cortana, what's on my calendar today?". Then, Cortana will tell you what's next today. Alternatively, if you prefer, you can also ask her for your schedule during the entire week or weekend.

Cortana will comply and check your calendar for any planned activities. If she finds any, she will display them in a list and, if you used voice, she will also speak to you about them.

How to ask Cortana to add an event or appointment to your calendar

Cortana can also add events to your calendars, not just check for any existing ones. To ask Cortana to add an event or meeting, launch her and type or speak "Cortana, make an appointment with [someone] at [time]."

Of course, this is just an example, as Cortana can answer to different variations: you can also ask her to "schedule an event," "add an event," "create an appointment" and so on. Cortana is excellent when it comes to synonyms.

Then Cortana asks for your confirmation about the event or appointment that you want to schedule. You can check whether she understood the details correctly, such as the name of the event, the date and time when it will be scheduled and the calendar that will be used to save it.

How to change the details of an appointment using Cortana

Cortana is also able to change details of appointments such as their titles or hours. All you have to do for that to happen is ask Cortana to change a certain detail of a certain event. For instance, you can ask her something like "Hey, Cortana, change the time for the dinner with [someone]."

Cortana will then ask you what exactly you want to change about that event. Enter the new details and click/press Change, or say Change if you use voice controls.

What's missing from Cortana right now?

Unfortunately, it appears that Cortana does not yet know how to include or invite other persons to your appointments and meetings. That would have been handy. Right now, you must use a Calendar app and edit the events manually to include and invite other persons, or you must do it the old-fashioned way: call them over the phone or send a raven like in Game of Thrones. 🙂

Another thing we wished Cortana could do was to delete events from our calendars and notify users about conflicting appointments. For instance, we have created just for testing two dinner meetings and an event for going on a ride with our bikes, all at the same time tomorrow, at 4 PM. Unfortunately, Cortana was OK with that! Maybe she thought we want to grab a bite while riding our bikes? 🙂

Finally, we wished that Cortana would not "go blank" as often as it does. There are times when Cortana seems to work but she does not do anything, and all you can see is this:

Even if you wait for a long time, nothing happens. It is clear that Microsoft still has much work ahead if they want Cortana to be a reliable virtual assistant that anyone can use.

Conclusion

Cortana is a strong feature, and the fact that she can create and edit appointments for you is an interesting aspect of hers. It is a good and useful thing that you can see your schedule, add events and change details for the existing ones. However, there are things that Cortana should be able to do, and she still has moments in which she doesn't want to work. What do you think about her and her ability to schedule appointments? Use the comments section below to share your opinion.