Help

Uh oh! We're in the process of changing the look of the site - again! Though the images below are slightly out of date, you should still find it useful.

At the top of the screen and to the left, there are two navigation bars. The one at the left, above the "Most Popular Calendars" contains the items you need to tell whether you are logged in and to add or administer your listings. When you are not logged in, as the button for accessing the registration page and the login function are shown. When you are logged in you will see the options for adding new events and for administering your existing ones.

Creating an Account

Click the register link. You will be presented with a form to enter the information required to create an account. We are requiring that people create accounts to enter listings in order to prevent the database from being filled with spam listings by automated means.

Once you have submitted your information, an email will be sent to the address you provided (you should provide information that you can access easily). In this email will be a link that allows you to verify that you intended to create an account, and that the information is legitimate. Some email clients break the link across two lines, so you may have to copy and paste it into your browser in order to access the page properly.

Once you verify your account, you will be logged in for this session.

logging in

When you return to the site you will need to log in to add new listings or to edit your existing ones.

On the secondary navigation bar, click the log in button. Fill out the form (your user name and passwords). Please note, your password will contain only lowercase letters and numbers.

Once you have logged in, it will say your name and the items on the subnavigation bar will change to:

Administer Your Events, Add New, and Logout (see inset).

Adding a New Event

Click the Add New button.

The calendar allows you to choose the start date of your event. Browse to the correct month, and click the blue button with the right date.

A form will appear where you enter the information about your event.

Entering your data

The primary items to fill out are:

1. Start Date: the date the event begins
2. End Date: the date the event ends
3. Recur: select "Once" if the event happens only on the start date; "Daily" if it occurs every day between the start and end date; "Weekly" when it happens on the same day each week; "Monthly - day" when it occurs on the same week day of the month (e.g. the second Monday of the month, or the last Friday); "Monthly - date" if it recurs on the same date of each month (e.g. it happens on the 15th, or the 22nd); and "Annual" if it happens once a year on the same day - like Canada Day.
4. Start Time: OPTIONAL set this parameter if the event always begins at the same time.
5. End Time: OPTIONAL set this parameter if the event always end at the same time.
6. Label: this is the title of the event. Maximum: 60 characters.
7. Location: OPTIONAL where is the event taking place. Only set this parameter if the event always takes place at the same location for the duration of the event.
8. City: OPTIONAL. If the event is in one city only, enter that information here.
9. Province: OPTIONAL. If the event is in one province only, enter that information here.
10. More Info: Open text box where you can add extra information about the event, including promotional information.
11. URL: OPTIONAL website address
12. Organization: OPTIONAL
13. Cancel: OPTIONAL by checking this box, the event will continue to appear on the calendar, with a strike through it. Use this function if you want to notify people of a change in plans.

Categories

There are plenty of choices for categories to find/view your listings, and we are always interested in adding more - if they are not so narrow that they will be empty most of the time.

1. Event Type: Which main class(es) of event is this?
2. Locale: Which geographic regions does this event appeal to? (Allows website owners to target events that might be in neighbouring towns and cities rather than just their own.)
3. Sector: What types of people, or business sectors, does this event appeal to?

Your listing can appear on as many calendars as are relevant to the focus of the event. To select more than one, simply hold the control (Ctrl) key (or the apple key on a Mac) as you click the mouse. For instance, if your event pertains to small businesses, business networking, and is especially for women, select all three categories in the "sector" drop down.

Remember: listings are moderated so any extraneous categories will be removed.

Editing Events

There are two ways of accessing a specific event that you have created. You can either use the calendars to browse to it, and when you view the details you will see an edit button at the end (if you are logged in), or use the Administer Your Events button.

When you click the Administer Your Events button you will be presented with a list of all the events you have created, and a few details about that event. First you have the details about the event, and a batch of checkboxes showing which categories you have (and haven't) selected, so that you can get a quick overview.

Beneath the details block is an edit button. Click this to go in and update the individual contents.

Please note: Editing an event puts it back int he moderation queue in order to prevent spammers from abusing this site.

Exceptions

If you have set a recurring event, and it will not occur on a specific day (for instance, you may meet every month, but be taking December off) you can use the "Set Exception" function.

Clicking the "see exceptions" link launches a smaller calendar which simply indicates which months they are to be appearing. It opens on the current month, so you have to browse to the month for which you want to set (or remove) the exception.

If the date is one on which an instance of your event is taking place, it will have either a "set exception" link, or "remove exception". Click it to change the status of the event.

Using the event calendar on your site?
We'd love to know. Drop us a line with the site name, the URL of the page with the calendar, and we'll gladly add you to the links page!