Tech Forum

I notice that when a reoccurring event is updated or modified (entire series), a window pops up notifying the person that modifications to individual events would be lost. Can the program be modified so that doesn't happen? For example, if I have a reoccuring event for the primary room each week, but one week, I change it to occur in the RS room. Later, I want to change the whole series to start an hour earlier. Why does the room change need to be lost? Alternately, couldthe program be changed to identify the dates where individual changes were made and what the changes were?

Thanks, Greg

greglebaron wrote:I notice that when a reoccurring event is updated or modified (entire series), a window pops up notifying the person that modifications to individual events would be lost. Can the program be modified so that doesn't happen? For example, if I have a reoccuring event for the primary room each week, but one week, I change it to occur in the RS room. Later, I want to change the whole series to start an hour earlier. Why does the room change need to be lost? Alternately, couldthe program be changed to identify the dates where individual changes were made and what the changes were?

This warning is a lot scarier than it needs to be -- and you did not quote it correctly in a very important detail. Note that it says "Important! If any of the events in this repeating series were previously edited separately from the rest of the original series - by any user - those edits may be overwritten by this action" (emphasis added).

The fact is that very few edits get overwritten in this process. I don't know 100% what happens, but in my experience (which includes a lot of manual testing on this very topic), only changes that are in the same fields get overwritten. For example:

• If you have changed the location for one event in the series, and then you change the description or title for the series, that location change for the one event will still be in place.
• If you have deleted one or more events in the series, and then you change anything about the series, except for the repeating rule, the deleted events will still be deleted.
• But if you have changed the location for one event in the series, and then you change the location for the series, that location change for the one event will indeed be overwritten and now conform to the new location for the series.

In the example you gave, your room change for the one event will not be lost.

You are correct -- I did not quote the warning; I provided a description of what I understood from the popup. After your explanation, I agree that the warning is "scarier than it really is". I apprcieate your clarification. I had not understood that information from the popup or from anything I had read in the training.
Thanks again, Greg

aebrown wrote: [*]If you have deleted one or more events in the series, and then you change anything about the series, except for the repeating rule, the deleted events will still be deleted.

I beg to differ. I was just today editing some recurring events where individual instances had been deleted. I only made changes to times or descriptions, but the deleted instances were put back on the calendar. And it happened more than once, so it wasn't just a fluke. It was rather disconcerting to have to go back and re-delete all the instances in question.

mtwerner wrote:I beg to differ. I was just today editing some recurring events where individual instances had been deleted. I only made changes to times or descriptions, but the deleted instances were put back on the calendar. And it happened more than once, so it wasn't just a fluke. It was rather disconcerting to have to go back and re-delete all the instances in question.

I will stand by my claim that deleted events in a repeating series remain deleted when you only change the description. I have never seen anything to the contrary.

But when you change the event time as well, I wouldn't be surprised if the deleted events come back. Remember that I said "I don't know 100% what happens," and it's certainly possible that event times are lumped in with exceptional deletions in the algorithm that determines whether a change should affect all events in the series as originally defined, or just the remaining events that are not exceptions to the change being made.