Create a Set of Calendar Items

Use the Calendar Item window to create a Calendar Item. Calender Items populate Calendars with a set of records based on the Query and duration parameters.

To create a Calendar Item:

  1. Open the Calendar Item window:
    1. Open the Calendar Manager.
    2. In the Manager, click a Calendar, and then click EditEdit Button to open the Calendar Properties window.
    3. Click the Add buttonCreate New Button.
  2. Define general information:
    1. Business Object: Select the Business Object to show on the Calendar. You can select any Major Object or any Business Object that allows Saved Searches to be defined against it.
    2. Item Name: Specify a name for the Calendar Item. This is the way the item will be displayed on the legend. The default value is based on the selected Business Object, but can be changed.
    3. Query: Select the search to be executed to determine which items should be displayed on the Calendar. For example, you can limit the search to only open records. For best results, do not put any date criteria into the query because the Calendar will automatically search for items based on the currently displayed date range. If you do not specify a query, then all records of the selected Business Object type that fit into the currently displayed date range will be displayed.
    4. Item color: Select the color to display for the Calendar Item. The system does not enforce the choice of different colors for different items, but for best results, select distinctive colors for each item, but avoid very dark colors as the text may be hard to read.
  3. Select Fields to determine how items are found and how they are displayed:
    1. Start date: This is the date/time Field that controls where items are displayed on the Calendar. This Field is used when searching only read items that fall within the currently displayed time range.
    2. End date: If set, this controls the length (duration) of the item.
      Users may experience performance issues when Calendar Items span across several weeks or months, particularly in the CSM Browser Client. For best results, use the Business Object's end date field (example: Scheduled End Date for Change Requests) or use (None) and instead, use the Default date/time options.
    3. Header text: The Field that shows up in the title for the Calendar Item.
    4. Prefix with object name: If the header text is not clear (example: If it is a number like the ID of the Change), then selecting this option will add the name of the object in front of the item in the title. For a Change Request, that would change 12345 into Change Request 12345.
    5. Display text: This is the Field used to fill in the body of the item; it is usually a large text Field that describes the item.
  4. Define default date/time options to use if appropriate information cannot be found:
    1. Duration: If there is no End date, or the End date is empty, this specifies the size of items on the Calendar. For example, if a task has a start time, but no end, it might make sense to show it as taking up two (2) hours on the calendar.
    2. Start Time: If the Start date does not have a time component, or the time has not been set, this specifies the default time to use to display the items on the Calendar, rather than having all of the items show up as starting at midnight.
  5. Define display/editing options:
    1. Allow edit: Select this check box to allow Users to edit the item directly from the Calendar. The User must also have appropriate edit rights for the Business Object.
    2. Allow dragging: Select this check box to allow Users to move the item (change its time) on the Calendar. The User must also have appropriate edit rights for the Business Object. Note that, if you use a system-managed Field for the Start date, such as Created Date/Time, you should disable this option because you rarely want to allow Users to change this value.
    3. Allow resizing: Select this check box to allow Users to resize the item (change its duration) on the Calendar. The User must also have edit rights for the Business Object and an End date Field must be specified. Otherwise the item does not have a duration.
    4. Allow caching: Select this check box to allow the Calendar to cache Business Object information in order to make dragging and resizing more efficient.
      Caching improves performance but it can cause problems if objects depend on each other for live values. For example, the Calendar might display multiple objects that depend on one another to control their legal times.
    5. Items shown by default: Select this check box to display the item by default on the Calendar. If you clear this option, the item still appears on the Calendar Legend, but no data is retrieved until the User explicitly selects the check box next to it.

  6. Select OK.