Keywords:AddEvent, Add to Calendar, Calendar, Outlook, ICS, Agenda Items, Sessions, Events, Email, Account Level, Event Level, Catalog, Session Catalog, Personal Agenda, My Sessions
In the upcoming 7.1.7 patch release, the Add to Calendar capability will be replaced with an integration to the popular AddEvent service used by many other web applications.
The presentation of the Add to Calendar links will change.
The Add to Calendar functionality will continue to work if no changes are made.
Customers who have a Virtual Test Environment (VTE) will be able to preview and test the functionality in that environment prior to the release being posted to production.
Add to Calendar Configuration - Account Level
In the upcoming 7.1.7 release, a new account level configuration option will be available to administrators under Account Settings > Management > Add to Calendar > Add to Calendar Display Settings.
By default, the only calendar that will be enabled is the desktop version of Outlook, which was the previously supported calendar.
Administrators can update the label displayed next to each calendar's icon for each calendar.
Administrators can enable additional calendars by selecting the "Display?" option and saving.
Add to Calendar Configuration - Event Level
Configuration of the Add to Calendar link label and default icon will continue to be driven by the label defined in each of the respective areas displayed below for agenda items, sessions, and the events within forms.
The default calendar icon can be overridden with a custom icon, which can also be uploaded in these areas.
The appointment subject, body, reminder time, and related fields will continue to be configured in these areas.
Agenda Items
To display the Add to Calendar link on the confirmation page of a registration form for agenda items, you must include the Add to Calendar field as a Field to Display under Forms > Agenda > Agenda Display Options > Personal Agenda Settings.
Upon display of the confirmation page, the Add to Calendar link will display in the Personal Agenda section.
The only change in behavior for registrants is that rather than clicking on a link to open a .ics calendar file, a button will display and, upon mousing over the button, JavaScript will trigger the display menu of the calendar options configured for the account.
The registrant will then select the desired calendar which will be launched, adding the calendar appointment assuming they are logged in to that service. If not, they will be prompted to login.
This is the old Add to Calendar link.
This is the new Add to Calendar button.
This is the new Add to Calendar behavior when mousing over the button.
Sessions
For sessions, you have two configuration options that are both available under Forms > Sessions > Session Display Options > My Sessions: Verify & Confirm.
Option 1: Include the Add to Calendar field as a Field to Display which will include the Add to Calendar button as a column in the tabular view summary of the sessions that the registrant has registered for.
Option 2: If the Replace Table Layout with Session Template option is selected, the selected template will be leveraged in place of the table layout. The session template can be configured to include the Add to Calendar DDF under Forms > Sessions > Session Templates and, upon landing on the confirmation page of the registration form, the session template will render for each session the registrant has registered for, displaying the Add to Calendar button.
For both configuration options, the only change in behavior for registrants is that, rather than clicking on the link to open a .ics calendar file, a button will display and, upon mousing over the button, JavaScript will trigger the display menu of the calendar options configured for the account.
The registrant will then select the desired calendar which will be launched, adding the calendar appointment assuming they are logged in. If not, they will be prompted to login.
This is the old Add to Calendar link displayed using the table view.
This is the new Add to Calendar button using the table view.
This is the new Add to Calendar behavior when mousing over the button.
Events
To display the Add to Calendar link on the confirmation page for events, you must select Show link to add to calendar under Forms > Confirm > Settings.
Under Show link to add to calendar, the editable areas include Link Text, Calendar icon, Appointment Subject, Appointment Location, Append (Select Data Fields), Appointment Body (including HTML formatting), and Reminder Time.
The only change in behavior for registrants is that, rather than clicking on a link to open a .ics calendar file, a button will display and, upon mousing over the button, JavaScript will trigger the display menu of the calendar options configured for the account.
The registrant will then select the desired calendar which will be launched, adding the calendar appointment assuming they are logged in. If not, they will be prompted to login.
See the screenshot above to preview what the menu of calendar options will look like.
Email
The AddEvent integration in emails uses the Direct URL Method, which dynamically creates a URL with the appointment details.
When included in an email as a DDF, or in the Personal Agenda section for agenda items or the My Sessions section for sessions (either using the table view or the session template layout), the Add to Calendar link will now display like the images below.
The old Add to Calendar DDF looked like in email.
The new Add to Calendar DDF looked like in email.
If additional calendars are enabled, this is what they will look like.
The implementation of AddEvent in emails differs from registration forms because JavaScript does not work in emails.
Custom Implementations
If you previously worked with the Professional Services team to implement localization including Add to Calendar, some updates may be required to that setup.
If that is the case, please contact us.
Session Catalog
Previously, the Session Catalog provided a link to Download Calendar for registrants viewing the My Schedule page.
The download included a single .ics file with an appointment for each registered session.
While that link will continue to be available temporarily, the new preferred Add to Calendar option using AddEvent will display in the Catalog for Registered sessions after clicking into each session.
The option to enable or disable the Add to Calendar option as well as to configure the body of the appointment added to registrant's calendars can be configured by editing the Design Elements of the Catalog and clicking on the Add to Calendar tab.
Screenshots
Screenshots illustrate the new configuration and behavior of the Add to Calendar feature, including the account-level settings, the per-item templates, and the in-email presentation.