PlusPortal Calendar

You can create calendar events in PlusPortals, import events from an ICS file, and sign in to your Google account to choose which of your Google calendars display in PlusPortals. To learn more about managing calendar events, see the topics below:

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Create a Calendar Event
• Edit Calendar Events
• Delete Calendar Events
• Export Calendar Events to an ICS File
• Print Calendar Events
• Create, Edit, and Delete Event Categories
• Import Calendar Events from an ICS File
• Manage Google Calendar Settings
• Manage Outlook Calendar Settings

Create a Calendar Event

When you create a calendar event, you can set its location, visibility, and event category, and add links and attachments. You can also send an e-mail notification to parents, students, and/or staff to inform them of the new event.

To create a calendar event, follow these steps:

1. On the navigation bar, click Communication > Calendar.
2. Click New Event.

Tip: You can also double-click the day you're creating the event for, which automatically selects that day as the event date.

The  Event  dialog box appears.

3. Type the Title, Summary, and Location of the event.
4. Next to Visible To, select which user groups can see the event.
5. If you want the event to appear on the login page, select the Show on Login Page (Public) check box.

Important: For the calendar to appear on the login page, you must also select the Use PlusPortals Home Page instead of Login Page check box and the Events check box via Miscellaneous > Appearance > PlusPortals Home Page.

To display this event on your Redisite, you must select the the Show on Login Page (Public) check box.

6. Enter the Start Date and End Date of the event, including the time. Or, select the All Day Event check box.

Tip: You can click the calendar icon to set the date and the clock icon to set the time. The clock icon drop-down list provides the time in 30-minute increments.

7. Next to Select Category, do one of the following:

• Select an existing category from the Select Category drop-down list.
• Create a new category by clicking New, typing the category name and selecting a color, and then clicking Save.

Note: For more information on event categories, see  Create, Edit, and Delete Event Categories.

8. Do any of the following:

• To create a recurring event, select the frequency from the Repeat drop-down list.
• To provide event resources, attach a file or add a link.
• To notify users about the event, select the Send E-Mail Notification check box.

9. Click Save to post this event to the calendar, where users can click it to view its information.

10. If you selected the Send E-Mail Notification check box in step 8, a dialog box appears with the information you added to the new calendar event. Select who the e-mail should be sent to, edit the Subject and Description if you want, and then click Send.

Edit Calendar Events

Follow these steps to edit a calendar event:

1. On the navigation bar, click Communication > Calendar.
2. Click Manage Events.
3. Next to the event you want to delete, click .
4. Edit the event as necessary and click Save to save your changes.

Tip: To return to the calendar, click Show Events.

Delete Calendar Events

Follow these steps to delete an event from the calendar:

1. On the navigation bar, click Communication > Calendar.
2. Click Manage Events.
3. Do one of the following:

• Next to the event you want to delete, click .
• Select the check boxes for each event you want to delete and click Delete Events.

Tip: To return to the calendar, click Show Events.

Export Calendar Events to an ICS File

You can export events to an ICS file using the following steps.

1. On the navigation bar, click Communication > Calendar.
2. Do one of the following:

• To export all the events, click Options > Export Events.
• To export selected events, click Manage Events, select the check boxes for the events you want to export, and then click Options > Export.

3. Type a Begin Date and End Date for exporting the events, or click to select the dates.

Note: Only events that fall within this range of dates are exported.

4. Click Export, and then OK.

Print Calendar Events

You can generate a list of calendar events and print the list using the following steps:

1. On the navigation bar, click Communication > Calendar.
2. Click Options > Print Events.
3. Click either Print Agenda View or Print Calendar View.
4. In the Filter drop-down list, select All to print all events, or click an event category to print only events in a certain category.
5. Click and do one of the following:

• If you're generating the list in agenda view, select the range of dates you want to search for events. Only events occurring within that date range are printed.
• If you're generating the list in calendar view, select the month you want to search. Only events occurring within that month are printed.

6. Click Print.

Create, Edit, and Delete Event Categories

This topic covers how to create, edit, and delete an event category. Event categories organize events and communicate information about them at a glance. You and other users can filter events on the calendar by selecting a category.

To manage calendar event categories, follow these steps:

1. On the navigation bar, click Communication > Calendar.

The Calendar tab opens.

2. Click New Event.
3. In the Event dialog box, locate Select Category, and complete any of the following options:

• Create a new category:
  1. Next to Select Category, click New.
  2. In the Add Calendar Category dialog box, type the Category name.
  3. In the Choose Color drop-down list, select a color, and then click Apply.

Note: To allow teachers to use the category, select the Allow Teachers to use this category check box.

                    d. Click Save.

• Edit an existing category:
  1. In the Select Category drop-down list, select a category, and then click Edit.
  2. In the Edit Calendar Category dialog box, edit the category name, color, and teacher access, and then click Save.
• Delete an existing category:
  • In the Select Category drop-down list, select a category, and then click Delete.

4. In the Event dialog box, click Cancel to exit without creating an event.

Import Calendar Events from an ICS File

• This option creates the events in the PlusPortals, based on the items in the import file.
• Once imported, there is no connection to the original calendar. If an event changes in the original calendar, the change must also be made on the calendar in the PlusPortals. Re-importing the calendar will not update the events – it will duplicate them.
• When importing the events, you will have all the normal event options available to you – visibility settings, categorizations, and the Show on Login Page setting.

To import the contents from another calendar into the PlusPortals, the calendar must be exported to an ICS file. Please contact the company that offers the calendar for instructions on this, use the company’s help menu, or run a Google search (you can often find user group instructions).

Once an ICS file is created, the process to import the events into the PlusPortals is as follows:

1. In the PlusPortals Admin Site, click Communications > Calendar.
2. On the Calendar page, click Options > Import Events.
3. On the menu that appears, click Choose File and browse to the ICS file on your workstation.

4. Set the applicable Begin and End dates.

   These dates correspond to the dates on the calendar you are importing. For example, if you enter a Begin Date of 9/1/2020 and there are events in August of 2020 those events will not be imported.

5. Click Next to move to the Calendar Events Import Settings screen.

   The events will show with 10 per page. Make sure to go through the settings for all events before clicking the Import Events button.

6. On this screen, do the following:

   • Select the events which should be imported, or click the box at the top of the selection column to select all events.
   • (Optional) Select the applicable Category for each event.
   • Set the applicable visibility settings for parents, students, teachers and the login page for each event, or check the box at the top of the each column to set to visibility for all.
7. Once all settings are completed, click the Import Events button.

Manage Google Calendar Settings

Administrators can sign in to their Google account from PlusPortals, choose which calendars to display in PlusPortals, and choose how to display those calendars.

• This option creates a live feed between the selected Google calendar(s) and the PlusPortals.
• Once initiated, if changes are made to the events in the Google Calendar those changes will be reflected in the PlusPortals as well.
• These events cannot be edited in the PlusPortals – they must be edited in the original Google calendar(s).
• Only a single Google account can be fed to the PlusPortals, but all calendars associated with that account can be included in the feed.
• You can also set the visibility for parents, students and teachers, for each calendar, as well as make the events visible on the login page.
• The events cannot be custom categorized, but all events from the feed will be automatically categorized using the name of the calendar in Google.

To manage your Google Calendar settings, follow these steps:

1. On the navigation bar, click Communication > Calendar.
2. Click Calendar Feed.
3. Click Sign In with Google, and then enter the credentials for the Google account that maintains the calendar.
4. The first time the user selects Google Calendar as the source, they'll be prompted to select the account they want to use, prove that they have access to the account if they have 2FA enabled, and allow the PlusPortals to connect to their account by selecting Continue > Allow.
   
5. Next to the calendar you want to manage, click Edit.
6. Enter the calendar's Start Date and End Date.
7. In the Color drop-down list, select a color for the calendar.
8. If you want the calendar to appear on the login page, select the Show on Login Page check box.

Important: For the calendar to appear on the login page, you must also select the Use PlusPortals Home Page instead of Login Page check box and the Events check box via Miscellaneous > Appearance > PlusPortals Home Page.

8. In the Visibility column, select which user groups can view the calendar.
9. Click Update to save the calendar settings.

Manage Outlook Calendar Settings

• This option creates a live feed between the selected Outlook calendar(s) and the PlusPortals.
• Once initiated, if changes are made to the events in the Outlook Calendar those changes will be reflected in the PlusPortals as well.
• These events cannot be edited in the PlusPortals – they must be edited in the original Outlook calendar(s).
• Only a single Microsoft account can be fed to the PlusPortals, but all calendars associated with that account can be included in the feed.
• You can also set the visibility for parents, students and teachers, for each calendar, as well as make the events visible on the login page.
• The events cannot be custom categorized, but all events from the feed will be automatically categorized using the name of the calendar in Outlook.

To set up the live Outlook feed, follow the steps below:

1. In the PlusPortals Admin Site, click Communications > Calendar, and then click Calendar Feed.
2. Click Sign up with Outlook, and then enter the credentials for the Microsoft Outlook account that maintains the calendar.
3. Click Allow when asked if PlusPortals can have offline access.
4.  All calendars associated with the Microsoft Outlook account will appear on Outlook Calendar Feed Settings screen.
5. In order to enable the feed with a calendar, click the Edit button. When clicked, the check box to enable the calendar feed for that calendar is selected.

6. Set the applicable Start Date and End Date for the feed, and configure the visibility settings.

   These dates correspond to the dates on the calendar you are importing. For example, if you enter a Start Date of 9/1/2020 and there are events in August of 2020, those events will be ignored in the feed. The PlusPortals calendar is continuous from year to year. In light of this, you can set your End Date way into the future to ensure that the feed doesn’t cut off, or you can set the date for the end of the school year, then update the date once the next year begins.