Calendar Integration 1.0

I’m actually merging the “Social Groups Events” addon you can find in the Social Groups Enhancements Bundle, because it need to be updated, the old technique require a file edit and i did not like the idea.

What will be in the Bundle?

– Calendar integration with Forums, Social Groups, Members Profiles.
– Calendar Enhancement with Event Types styled, Holidays Styled
– Calendar Search *(Dylan released a version, i will see with him!) i have a different version, working directly in the calendar, so we may just compete!
– Ability to transform any type of event to a different type
– Ability to move an event to a different calendar
– Ability to give style to an Event, permission based
– Ability to choose which calendar will show its events in the forumhome or portal page
– Calendar link in navbar has now a popup with the different calendars listed

some other functions to be added soon, when i can code again. the ones listed above are known and coded since last year…

As a teaser, here is it:

nex_cal_int_addevent_forumdisplay.jpg

Views: 253

73 thoughts on “Calendar Integration 1.0”

  1. Taragon dit :

    If I understand correct, using this a new event could generate a new thread?

    If so, many thanks!

  2. nexia dit :

    Yeah, you know “Events Forum” from Evercraft… people complain that it is doing more than 20 new queries per page… actually, my system is not adding any… 😉

    … ok, code changed, the process add one query on forumdisplay and one in showthread… sorry but the default vBulletin can not deal with proper hooks.

  3. nexia dit :

    i do not have a Import script yet, so both systems are not “compatible”, yet… i’ll see to do a move later this winter, when i recovered.

  4. Taragon dit :

    Yes, I’ve been using the Evercraft version for a couple of years now. About the import script, I’m not really sure if I’ll use… Events will stay events, threads will stay threads. As most events lie in the past people will just have to figure out the rest… Or at least in my case…

    One important question though, something that stopped functioning using Evercraft’s product. Will it be possible to move threads around without loosing their connection to an event?

  5. nexia dit :

    the complexity of Evercraft’s engine was way astounding…

    what more than just have a eventid linked to a threadid… 😉 so you can move a thread, you can move an event from calendar to calendar without loosing its link with the thread or discussion *(yeap, we can join an event with a discussion)..

    what new?!… you can join an existing event with an existing thread/discussion…

    and for the best of it, as i know many sites have mega big databases, no thread or post table is edited during the process, so there is no database lock, no lag, no buggy situation on mega big sites…

    50% of the engine is based on existing permissions for forum, social groups, calendars… why re-invent a wheel that already go round and round…

    😉

  6. nexia dit :

    i had to do a trick to have a screenshot containing all the possible features of this engine, so here is something:

    nex_calinteg_edit_event.jpg

    what you see here is the Events Tools, where you manage the event that is linked to:

    1- Select the Calendar where to post the Event *(you always have to anyway)
    2- Select the Social Group you want the event to be posted in
    3- Select the Forum you want the event to be posted in
    4- Select the UserID you want to link with the Event

    each of them is independant, you can not have all these at the same time… what the ADMIN can do btw is unlink the event from a forum and re-link it to a social group, or a userid… the system will make sure you are not linking the event to too much stuff at the same time… 🙂

    btw, the logic of a “CMS” would mean you can link the Event with a Forum as well as a Group and a UserID… but this become a little bit cumbersome… i’ll see to add this later if needed!

  7. Taragon dit :

    Nice! 🙂

    Though, I’m not really sure about the looks personally.

    Having the newly added features moved to the Additional Options menu, and giving each setting its own fieldset (textarea goes underneath the text) might give things a more vBulletinish look.

  8. nexia dit :

    it look simplier when you only have one choice… rofl… but yeah, maybe a new design.. this is a “drafted” version

    also, the only possible way i had to add these fields in the calendar_edit template was to use a simple variable addition, anyother way would require template edit, which is bogus in vbulletin usually.. rofl

  9. Taragon dit :

    yes, sort of having second thoughts here as it also isn’t exactly Additional Options material…

    If the textarea will be moved I guess I’ll be pretty much a happy customer 😛

  10. nexia dit :

    this is the default Event Editor, remember… i’m not editing the default vBulletin stock… lol

  11. nexia dit :

    nex_caliteg_edit_event.jpg

    Here is something completely NEW and GREAT… instead of deleting a “single day” event to change it to a “recurring or ranged” event, now when you “Edit Event”, you will see the upper part added with this forum.

    what it does?… switch your current event to the type you need. Then you simply have to edit the event with the right dates.

    this could be pointless with the default Calendar, but when you have discussions and threads related to these events, you simply do not want them to be deleted or unlinked to the event if you want to simply change the type of event… so this is the solution.

    … even if Jelsoft guys say it’s pointless, i know a lot of things they see as pointless… that’s why i code them!

    … but this is useful even in the eyes of Jelsoft… if you have a number of subscribed events, the best way to keep your members is to not have to delete that event if you need to change its type…

  12. nexia dit :

    also, Rick worked with the End-User side of things, “how things are logically supposed to work”… and the result is way better than the first pitch you can see on the front page. the logical details of the posting process is way better, and the code will be simplier. sadly as Jelsoft “forgot” a lot of hooks in the calendar because it is abandonned until 4.2, he had to rework some processes to work outside the frame.

    like for the “Delete Event” which will be screenshoted tomorrow, when i have some atoms of energy… we have to replicate part of the process to make it work against threads and group discussions, because there is no hook…

  13. nexia dit :

    nex_calinteg_showthread_event_no_reply.jpg

    ok, here is a first screeny of the showthread page, and here are the details:

    the event show on top, you can customize the event block as it is independant from the default vB. it is localized just below the navbar and show only when the thread is linked to an event.

    the firstpostid is detected and dropped, so if a thread is linked to an event, the firstpost is not shown, the event replace it. *(the firstpost is a replicate of the event message/title, to help browsing in search). As you can see here, if the firstpost is dropped and there is no reply, a cute field indicate the case. the message is different if the thread is closed and there is no reply.

    you can not edit the first post, you edit the event… you can manage the thread, it will manage the event the same way. if you subscribe to the thread, you subscribe to the event as well.

    the Event block is shown on all pages OR first page only, depending on admin option.

    the event generate a dB Query… one. would be possible to avoid it, with a file edit, but i suppose this will be re-evaluated by Jelsoft once i sell 100 000 versions of this hack… 🙂

  14. nexia dit :

    some other details:

    if you close the event, you have the choice to close the thread, same for the opposite
    if you delete the event, you have the choice to delete the thread, same for the opposite

  15. nexia dit :

    forumdisplay?

    with events in the threadbits AND events to come in the next X days…

    nex_calinteg_forumdisplay_events.jpg

  16. nexia dit :

    nex_calinteg_monthly_with_colors.jpg

    and what with Event Colors ?! you can choose a color for each event… can be edited to be more stylish.

    and here is the look in the forumhome What’s going on block:

    nex_calinteg_colors_in_wgo.jpg

  17. nexia dit :

    For the “Event Colors” technique, here are the hints:

    1- In the “Date & Time” panel in vBulletin Options, you now have a new dropdown in the bottom of the page:

    nex_calinteg_options_eventcolors.jpg

    and here are some examples:

    17 Basic Web Colors

    nex_calinteg_event_webcolors.jpg

    8 Eyes Colors

    nex_calinteg_event_eyescolors.jpg

    you have to note that this option let you choose more than the “basic” 5 colors you could find for “urgent, important, essential, non-urgent, etc” type you could find in a regular calendar… and it’s easy to create new sets of colors, a little bit of coding, nothing fancy.

  18. nexia dit :

    ok, i added some template edits to the new system, so the calendar look like a real calendar… screenies will come later for the monthly and yearly display… right now i wanted to add the screenshots of the “Calendar Events Rethink” product released here last year… i integrate it to this product, with better look and addition of the Birthdays look (not in the screenshot)…

    nex_calendarevent_rethink-without.jpg

    this is actually what you get with the default calendar…

    and here is what you get with the new display, adding style to the ranged and the recurring events…

    nex_calendarevent_rethink-with.jpg

    the look can be modified via the CSS template, but right now the recurring are in bright blue and the ranged events are in pale background with a final bar…

  19. nexia dit :

    forgot to indicate how forums are linked to calendars:

    nex_calinteg_forumedit.jpg

    that’s what you see in the bottom of your forum editor… 🙂

  20. nexia dit :

    visit this page to see what we do with the Social Groups regarding the calendar and Events… https://unpapapro.com/social-groups-enhancements-bundle/bundles-screenshots/5189/

    added to what you see there, we can now join an event with a discussion, so the same way as the forum can create new threads…

    the whole engine as displayed here with the SG additions will be released before Halloween.

  21. nexia dit :

    right now, i’m testing it before releasing it, so sure there are bugs…

    1- it is not updated on the “read” status, so it still show unread even if you posted it yourself…

    2- when replying in quick-reply for the first reply, the message ” This event can be discussed… ” is not vanished on post, so it look strange… can’t really do a thing about this, but hey, i’m not perfect!

    3- i will check to add some other color sets for the event tags, because it is ugly like hell on pale styles.

    4- Social Groups bundle is interacting crazily with it, have to be deactivated until i fix that release too…

  22. nexia dit :

    5- have to fix the display in the navbar, because under a third level of forum, when we add the calendar id and the event name, it shows really ugly.. can’t do a lot because this is based on the navbar structure, but i will take a look anyway.

  23. nexia dit :

    Hey, i’m surprised of the answers i got via pm *(seems that nobody is willing to post their comments on my public forum… rofl)

    So here’s the deal: i’m waiting for some guy with a budget to see if i have to drop the release of this addon. When i have my answer, i will Pre-Release this addon to its first level of features, meaning the actual Forum/Calendar integration. In the next days i will continue working on it, merging with the social-groups thingy so there is more features for a “version 2.0”

    So when i release it in the next hours/day, the startup price for the Pre-Release sale will be 10$, promotion ending on december 1st, 2009. Then the Regular price for this bundle will be of 20$.

    What will be included in the bundle:

    1- Forum/Calendar integration
    2- SocialGroup/Calendar integration
    3- Extra Features for managing Events
    4- RSVP integration
    5- Complete redesign of the Calendar/Events templates, customizable
    6- Search inside Calendars
    7- List of subscribed events in UserCP
    8- List of public events in Profile tab

    Lifetime support, no version checking

    … more to come when the deal is sealed.

  24. Taragon dit :

    About option 7, will you make it a tab or a block?

  25. nexia dit :

    tab OR block… it’s already a simple switch inside vB anyway

  26. Alfa1 dit :

    How about event discussion threads?

  27. nexia dit :

    hum, what?

    it’s the Forum/Calendar integration… 😉

  28. Alfa1 dit :

    OK. I’ll go back to my cage. 😛

  29. mandrin dit :

    OMG, this is gonna be EXACTLY what I and especially my users/clients have been needing for a looong time now
    As I stated on another thread, we base our recreational lives around what events are happening when and where over the weekend.

    The way that this module is so based around events and how they are presented in a time (calender) structure is awesome.

    Just a question )and also please forgive my lack of coding knowledge if what to me seems simple or doable but it involves heavy coding):

    What are the chances of having an interactive map integrated into this? Let there be the ability for event organisers to input GPS co-ords so that their event will popup on a localised googlemap window.
    Plus let there then be a regional map window with all the event tabs displayed.
    Again, forgive my lack of knowledge 🙂

  30. nexia dit :

    having gps coordonates is a bit different from building events across forums, so your questions would be best in a seperate request, but i will answer anyway… 🙂

    in the calendar manager, it can be possible to add a custom field to each calendar where you put these coordonates, and then on the display page, that custom field is used to generate the code that would display the googlemaps…

    though i never played with this yet, i know it is possible because i’ve seen this in other engines. i’ll see what i can do.

  31. mandrin dit :

    Thanks for the feedback.
    (You are too quick tho, as I just private messaged you about this, so please forgive the spam ;))

    Seriously… FTW!!!! If you can do this I will be utterly speechless as it really would be such a cherry on the cake!

    I am just looking for a truly comprehensive way to offer my clients a decent CMS’ish / Social driven experience bit with retaining them on the forum.

  32. nexia dit :

    the answers are quick because “when i’m online” i am on the site quite often.. lol

  33. Alfa1 dit :

    Im sure many webmasters will need this.

  34. abnvet dit :

    Has this been released?

  35. nexia dit :

    not yet…. still waiting for some echoes from IB, but it looks like the idea is not on their list… will recover from the H1N1 and see if i start with this release… remember that if i release it i have to support it for the next year, so i have to know if it worth it.

  36. mandrin dit :

    Please take your time and make it right… This mod is going to rock!!!

    Regards,

  37. nexia dit :

    This version 1.0 contain only the Forum/Calendar integration, which is already a great enhancement with what exist for the calendar already.

    The version 2.0 will contain the integration with the Social Groups, the User profile and “maybe” the Projects Tool. Right now the focus is on the existing engine because it is complete and need the input from the clients to add more features and change the behavior of the existing stuff when needed.

    I release this version today and will post screenshots and tutorials in the next days… i’m a bit behind schedule for this due to all the events we faced in real life. The engine is ready, just not well documented… that will be corrected in the next days, but at least you know about it.

    So, what about this release:

    1- you simply import the new product, and you upload the files contained in the “UPLOAD_FILES” folder… in the same path as your vBulletin.

    2- for each of your calendars, you modify the Calendar Permissions to enable/disable posting and editing features on each usergroup. Most of you never even thought there was permissions on the calendar because you never used it… that’s not complicated.

    3- For each forum you edit, you go in the bottom of the edit page and you set which calendar your users will have access to when posting new events. Remember that you have set permissions for posting new events inside the calendar, in point #2…

    4- the best thing to test is to try it yourself… 😉

    note: updated on december 1st, 2009: “Post Reply” button will now send to the right page with no error anymore. missing variable fixed, thanks to … re-upload the files from the /nex/ folder, that will fix it! [user]mandrin[/user] for reporting this ditch…*(i never use the longreply page… sorry never saw it)

  38. mandrin dit :

    I don’t know what to say Nex….

    OMG!!! This is a really sweet mod… I subscribed, downloaded, installed and my jaw hit my desk. This mod is sooo simple yet VERY powerful. My business is very much region/geographically based in terms of where my clients participate in events and to be able to provide a regional calendar that ties in with their own regional forum is what I have been needing for a while now.

    My hat off to you! You have built something nothing short of awesomely insightful.

    Much, MUCH thanks!!!

    P.S. As I asked before, if there is a way to also incorporate a google map where based on co-ords, input, there is also a google map shown in the post, that would be the cherry on the cake. Whatever it takes I will try assist/pay you to develop that.

  39. nexia dit :

    for googlemap, i think i will have something soon, because i’m actually building on a tool similar to your needs but for wordpress/buddypress… i’ll see what i can do quickly for vBulletin.

    and i’m sorry for your jaw…

  40. mandrin dit :

    Hehehehe,

    Awesome stuff Nex! You do the googlemap addon for this mod and forget my jaw… I will keel over back to last week!!!! lol

  41. mandrin dit :

    Just a thing,

    I set up calendars per forum secion and set permissions etc, created an event and when clicking that event through the forum it said “This event can be discussed, you are welcome to post a first reply. “

    When I click the “Post Reply” button, it goes to next screen with the following message “Sorry! This forum is not accepting new posts. “

    Did I miss/forget to set something?

    Regards,

  42. nexia dit :

    hum, I may be the one who forgot something… let me make some tests…

    i edited the release 3 weeks ago, so i forgot about some situations … my fault. will debug this if is a bug.

    btw, it may be permissions only.

  43. mandrin dit :

    I also thought permissions, but they have been set for users to post events.

  44. nexia dit :

    no, i mean I have set wrong permissions in the script… i’m updating some other script this week, so i will try to look at some testings during the week… may not be answered right today…

  45. mandrin dit :

    Sorry to add to your stress levels man 🙂

    No worries at all.

  46. nexia dit :

    hum, i’ll have to ask, but is your forum also open to discussions?… because even if you set permissions for the calendar, if the forum where you post events is closed to discussions or your usergroup have no posting access to it, the system will show the line, but not permit posting… *(that’s what i tested yet)

  47. mandrin dit :

    Hi there,

    Yup, the forum is open to thread posting…

    I think this is a “linking” issue. What I have found is that if I enable the calendar module, post an event and want to post, I get the error “Sorry! This forum is not accepting new posts.”
    The event also has a calendar icon attached to it’s post in the forum.

    However, If I then disable the mod (under Mandage Products) and go back to the event in the forum, the icon has changed to a forum icon and I am then able to post a reply.

    If I then RE-enable the mod, the thread icon changes back to a calendar icon and now I am suddenly able to post a reply.

    If I delete the forum thread events, using the forum moderator tools, they are still visible in the regional calendar.
    If I delete the event from within the calendar then it is still visible in the forum as a normal thread.

    This is my current feedback fiddling with this…:)

  48. nexia dit :

    ok, so it’s a +/- config in the permissions… thanks for the report… i’ll debug this on the evening…

  49. mandrin dit :

    Sweeeeet!
    Good luck in finding the gremlin. Kick it’s ass! 🙂

  50. mandrin dit :

    So any news with regards to a fix?
    My users are itchy as hell to play with this mod 🙂

    Regards,

  51. nexia dit :

    oh, ok,… i think i need to upgrade my brain, i forgot how to code vBulletin…. rofl

    hum, let me catch up on vB, i was working on WordPress for weeks now, dizzy


    found the bug…. it’s stupid, missing variable… will update as soon as i find the way to fix it… 🙂

  52. nexia dit :

    ok, bug fixed… it now redirect the “Post Reply” button to the right page with the right postid, so there is no error anymore… you simply have to reupload the content of the /nex/ folder on your site, no need to upload the product file again, only one file was edited!

  53. mandrin dit :

    Lo there Nex,

    Ok, thanks a mill for this update as it now seemingly works fine. I have tried a number of different ways to post replies and they all work fine. I will go live with this and if there are any glitches, I will report back.

    Once again I thank you very much for this brilliant mod!

    Good luck with the wordpress stuff. A very interesting development route that… 🙂

    Regards,

  54. mandrin dit :

    I forgot to ask,

    Where do I edit the info text under the title that says “*The times shown may change, depending on DST settings” ?

    Admin options or Phrase Manager? (I am just been lazy asking before I go on the search ;))

  55. mandrin dit :

    Ag, it took 10 seconds 🙂

    Ye, search in phrases for “The times shown may change, depending on DST settings” and replaced by a space… Sorted.

  56. nexia dit :

    yeah, this setting is related to the original calendar, i have no power over it… rofl you found the solution on your own… 🙂

  57. KURTZ dit :

    any live demo Nexy? 😛

  58. nexia dit :

    who deactivated the calendar ???

    edit: very strange, the navbar template was really missing the calendar link…

    ok, here we go:

    Calendar Test Ground – vbEnhancer.com for testing threads

    vbEnhancer.com is the calendar with right ID for the show!

  59. nexia dit :

    a bug found long time ago will be fixed soon…. when a new event is posted, it is “complicated” to have it “read”… you have to post a reply in it for making it so… vB is unable to do two tasks at the same time, still posting and reading first post is two different logics… crap

  60. KURTZ dit :

    OK, just opened 2 events …. but i don’t see the threads … :S

  61. nexia dit :

    ok, here how it goes:

    1- to create events with threads, you have to be in the forum, and use the dropdown menu “Post an Event”
    2- if you are in the calendar page, you can not create a thread, you really need to be in the forum.

    this is supposed to be fixed in the next version, as i add the choice to select the forum where you want to post the event…

  62. KURTZ dit :

    @nexia 25843 wrote:

    ok, here how it goes:

    1- to create events with threads, you have to be in the forum, and use the dropdown menu “Post an Event”
    2- if you are in the calendar page, you can not create a thread, you really need to be in the forum.

    this is supposed to be fixed in the next version, as i add the choice to select the forum where you want to post the event…

    i haven’t the permissions … :S

  63. nexia dit :

    oh, sorry… fixed… 😉

  64. Alfa1 dit :

    I could have sworn it had RSVP. So where did you stick it??

  65. nexia dit :

    the RSVP was planned for version 2.0, sorry but i had to release this version sooner, due to the demand.. 😉 after christmas i start working out the 2.0 version…

  66. mandrin dit :

    Hehehehehe…

  67. reddyink dit :

    what features does it have??

    look at the MOD at vb.org by
    Farcaster’s Event Attendance

  68. nexia dit :

    The Event Attendance feature is planned for the next version of this addon. Farcaster’s version is not supported neither compatible with this engine… sorry

  69. reddyink dit :

    @nexia 25980 wrote:

    The Event Attendance feature is planned for the next version of this addon. Farcaster’s version is not supported neither compatible with this engine… sorry

    What engine??

  70. nexia dit :

    this product i may say… 😉

  71. mandrin dit :

    Nex,

    What has the uptake of this mod been like?

    I see loads of people are rather waiting on mods to be coded/re-designed for VB4 *erk, talk about convoluted* Drives me mad, as there are some killer sites out there running on very old versions of VB.
    While VB rocks, the mods really maketh the forum sweet!!! 🙂

  72. nexia dit :

    as a guess, i would tell you that 4.0 will take a lot to take-off… the only reason why people will upgrade to 4.0 is because they were forced to upgrade their license to be still supported when 3.8 goes down.

    but i can also tell that from the 72 boards i once owned, there was less than 1/3 which were on the 3.8 generation, they were mostly keeping their old version because they liked it that way… there was even 2 boards on the 2.x generation… so people can stick on the old style, old ways…

  73. mandrin dit :

    Yup, and if a board is nice and stable, regardless of it’s ver AND it works fine for the community/owner, then rather let sleeping dogs lie.

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