Add To Calendar Updates

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Keywords: AddEvent, Add to Calendar, Account Settings, Agenda Items, Sessions, Events, Emails, DDF

Document ID: platform-support_certain_com_hc_en-us_articles_1500000567541-Add-To-Calendar-Updates

Add To Calendar Updates

About this topic

Add to Calendar is a feature that displays options to add an event to calendars. The AddEvent service will be integrated. This change affects how calendar links appear on confirmation pages and in emails. The goal is to present calendar options consistently across agendas, sessions, and events.

Upcoming Changes to Add to Calendar

In our 7.1.7 patch release, the Add to Calendar feature will be replaced with an integration to the AddEvent service. The AddEvent service is used by many other web applications. Review is important if you have live events that leverage the Add to Calendar feature because the presentation of Add to Calendar links on confirmation pages and in emails will change. Customers with a Virtual Test Environment (VTE) can preview and test the functionality prior to production release. Add to Calendar configuration will introduce an account level option and event level configuration.

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 and 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. Lastly, the appointment subject, body, reminder time, etc., will continue to be configured in these areas as well.

Agenda Items

To display the Add to Calendar link on the confirmation page of a registration form for agenda items, 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 registrant will now see a new button rather than a link to an ICS file. Hovering over the button will display the calendar options configured for the account. The registrant will then select the desired calendar, which will be launched, adding the calendar appointment assuming the registrant is 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

To display the Add to Calendar link on the confirmation page for sessions, you have two configuration options that are both available under Forms > Sessions > Session Display Options > My Sessions: Verify & Confirm.

For both configuration options, the only change in behavior for registrants is that instead of clicking on a link to open an 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 the "Show link to add to calendar" option under Forms > Confirm > Settings. Under the "Show link to add to calendar" area, editable fields 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 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.

Attendee Facing Forms

Attendee facing forms reflect the new Add to Calendar experience described above.

Agenda Items

To display the Add to Calendar link on the confirmation page for agenda items, include the Add to Calendar field as a Field to Display under Forms > Agenda > Agenda Display Options > Personal Agenda Settings. On the confirmation page, the Add to Calendar button will appear in the Personal Agenda section. The behavior for registrants changes from a link to an ICS file to a button with a calendar options menu. The registrant will select the desired calendar to be launched.

Sessions

For sessions, see the two configuration options described under the Event Level section. The behavior changes from a link to a button. Hovering over the button displays the account’s configured calendar options. The registrant selects a calendar to add the session to.

Events

For events, see the Show link to add to calendar option under Forms > Confirm > Settings. The configuration areas listed earlier apply to events as well.

Email

The AddEvent implementation in emails differs from registration forms in that emails use the Direct URL Method, which dynamically creates a URL with 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 display like the images below.

Event Add to Calendar DDF

This is what the old Add to Calendar DDF looked like in email. This is what the new Add to Calendar DDF looked like in email.

If you enable additional calendars, this is what they will look like.

Custom Implementations

If you previously worked with our 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, Session Catalog provided a link to "Download Calendar" to 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 and to configure the body of the appointment can be configured by editing the Design Elements of the Catalog and clicking on the icon. This will open the Edit Buttons & Icons drawer, where you can navigate to the Add to Calendar tab.

That should cover it!

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