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Who Should Use This

You should be reading this:

• If you need to schedule events for your organization in a publicly viewable calendar.
• If you want to inform your visitors of holiday hours.
• If you need to create separate calendars for different purposes on your website.

The Calendar module is one of the most useful in the Content Management System and is also one of the easiest to work with once you learn how. Your events will be presented in a dynamic fashion, allowing your visitors to navigate and view upcoming months, and it will update itself on your web pages automatically after you have set it up as you enter new events.

To work with your Calendar, go to Website > Calendar. The Calendar module allows you to categorize and enter your event data, and appears on the website in two different ways:

Calendar Preview

The Calendar Preview is a small format 'front-end' for your calendar that will show the next few events coming up. It displays events from the current month, and as needed, in the next calendar month, but does not display events two months out or more. It is designed to sit in a relatively small area and provide images, titles, and dates for your next few events as links your visitors can click to view the individual event details. It also has a View Calendar link at the bottom right that allows your visitors to view the full current calendar month.

Full Calendar View

The Full Calendar View displays a calendar grid for the current month, with a box in the calendar for each day, in the traditional style. Each event title is a link your visitors can click on to view the full event details. The current day's date is highlighted in red. Below the calendar is a list of visible categories and a list of all events for the month. You will also see administrative options beneath the calendar that will not be visible for your visitors.

Calendar features include a Printer-Friendly View and the ability to Subscribe to the Calendar page (using an RSS subscription client) with the buttons in the lower right. Clicking on any event will take you to the full page description for details. The Calendar will stretch vertically to accommodate however many events you have.

How to Create Your Calendar

The first part of this process is to create your Calendar Categories so you can enter your event information into the Calendar module. Once the event information is in the system, you can add the Calendar to as many pages as you like, and you can have each copy of the Calendar show only the information you want it to show. Here is how to enter your event information:

1. You can get to this part of the system by going to Website > Calendar. 
2. You will need to set up your Categories in the calendar in order to enter events. Click on the New Calendar Category button to add your first Category.
3. Enter the Calendar Category Name and click Save.
4. Once you have created a Category, it will appear in a list when you go into the Calendar module. You can edit the title of the category or you can delete a category by clicking on the options button on the right side (it looks like a stack of three dots). All events in a deleted category are also removed from your calendar.

Most organizations create a general category for Events (sale and promotional events, trade shows, etc.) and many create one for Holidays to list special seasonal hours. If you teach classes in your organization or if you sponsor clubs of some kind, you will want a category for each of those. If you have facilities that can be rented or reserved, you will want to create a Reservations category as well.

If you have questions about what calendar categories your organization might need, please call us at support and let us help you through the setup process - 385-404-6200.

Creating Events

Once you have created your Categories, you can begin creating Events. There are two kinds of events; general Events and Classes. In this article we will not be covering Class data entry. Click here to view the article for the Classes module in the Using Modules section of the Knowledge Base. Here is how to create Events:

1. To create a general Event, from the opening screen of your Calendar module, click on the name of the Category in which you want the Event to appear (see image above).
2. You will see the Event List for that Category and you will have the option to enter a New Event, New Class, or to Upload Events. Click on New Event to begin creating your first Event. Once you have created an Event, you can delete them from this list by clicking the Delete button to the right. You will always be asked to confirm that you really want to delete the Event, and once it is gone, it will no longer appear on the Calendar.

3. After you have clicked the New Event button, you will see a blank version of the Edit Event screen below. The fields in green are required fields and the Event will not save if you leave one of them blank.

4. You will need to enter a Title for your event (how you enter it here is how your visitors will see it in the Calendar Preview and on your Full Calendar View).
5. It will already be in the Category you started with, but you will also need to enter a Location for the Event.
6. Optional fields such as Address and Phone Number are not always necessary, but we highly recommend you always enter full Event descriptions into the Description area so your visitors are fully informed.
7. In the Description, you can enter text, images, columns, you can even embed a video if you like. It's a good idea to write as full a  description of your event as possible, and it's recommended to liven it up with rich content, if possible.

When writing a Description for your Event, remember that the Title of the Event is not really enough to 'sell' it. The first two lines of text in your Description, on average, are what will come up as the text for a search-engine result when someone comes across your Event through a web search, so it is important that you 'sell' your Event with good marketing content. Make sure that the most important details are in those first two lines, in addition to attractive marketing language, that will include a call to action to attend the Event.

8. Image - You should have an image for every event you do! The images will show up in the calendar preview, and when a visitor is looking at your full calendar grid, if they click on an event, they will see a large view of the image along with your other event content. To add your image, click on either Select From Server or Select from Computer. With the former choice, you can either upload a new image or search for one that's already been uploaded. With Select from Computer, you can search your computer for the image you want and double click on it to upload it. When you save the even, the image will upload, prior to that, you won't see the image. Your images need to be fairly large, 600-800 pixels, and should be Jpeg or PNG files. For your SEO (search engine optimization) it's a good idea to name the image file the same as the event so the search engines as well as visually-impaired visitors can learn what the image is about.

9. Event Scheduling - In the lower section of the Edit Event screen, enter the date for the Event. If it has multiple dates, enter the first date.  Also enter the Start Time and End Time for the Event.  If it is an all-day Event, enter your opening time. If the Event is one that repeats on a regular basis, or if it will be held over several days in a row, check the box for Repeat to see your options on how you can have the Event repeat.

• Daily - Use this option if the event will run two or more days in a row.
• Every Week - Use this option if the event will happen on the same day of the week for two or more weeks in a row.
• Every Two Weeks - Use this option if the Event is 'on' one week and 'off' the next.
• Every Month - Use this option if the Event will happen on the same calendar date each month for two or more months (e.g. on the 5th of each month).
• First Sunday of Every Month - Use this option if the Event will be held on the same ordinal day of the month for two or more months (e.g. on the Third Saturday of each month).
• Every Year - Use this option if the Event will happen on the same calendar date annually (e.g. the 25th of December).

Adding Your Calendar Module to a Page

It is very easy to add the Calendar module to a page, and the module is fully automated, so it will display and manage the data that you have entered for your events, and will also update in real time as you add more. Here is how you add the module to your page:

1. After logging into the system, go to Website > Website Editor and then go to the page where you want your Classes module to display (e.g. your Events page).
2. Click Add Content at the top of the page, then click Add Body Content. In the old Rain system, in the upper left corner of the page, just under the Admin Toolbar, hover your cursor over the triangle with the Plus and then click on Add Body Content in the drop list.

3. From the list of modules, find Calendar and click the Add button.

You will now see the Calendar Preview on the page, and your visitors will be able to click to view the full Calendar. For help making a page or link go to the full calendar view from the start, click here: How to Create a Navigation Link to the Current Calendar