Posting a Reservation is not seen on the general calendar, how to ask for space

Discussions about the Calendar Tool at lds.org. Questions about the calendar on the classic site should be posted in the LUWS forum.
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bhayashi
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Posting a Reservation is not seen on the general calendar, how to ask for space

#1

Post by bhayashi »

I'd like to make a couple comments.

1. As a new Building Scheduler, it is confusing to have some still using the Classic version that was suppose to end. Wish it would be removed.

2. I understand the purpose of the Reservations area. This is where you can reserve or block out a space of time for a particular ward to use. From viewing the tutorial, you are suppose to be able to see this reservation under the general calendar that all members will see. The problem at this end is that any entry under Reservations is not seen in the other view for members.

3. I have noticed some wedding receptions at the stake (another building) are seen in the Reservations view, but not on the general view. The Reservations area is suppose to only be available to Building Schedulers. Seems to me this should not have been entered in this area.

4. With the old method of requesting building use, there was a request made that was send via email to the scheduler. Now that leaders can do this on their own, how is a request to be made for something like a reception. Do they need to know who to call or is there a way they email the request as before?

Any input you can share is much appreciated.
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aebrown
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#2

Post by aebrown »

yukyuk wrote:1. As a new Building Scheduler, it is confusing to have some still using the Classic version that was suppose to end. Wish it would be removed.

The Classic Ward and Stake Websites still have a couple of useful features that have not been replaced by new officially released tools, so that's why the Classic site is still available.

However, a stake website administrator for the Classic site can follow the instructions for Turning off the classic calendar; then the calendar-related links on the Classic site will automatically go to the new Calendar. Talk to your stake clerk about doing that.
yukyuk wrote:2. I understand the purpose of the Reservations area. This is where you can reserve or block out a space of time for a particular ward to use. From viewing the tutorial, you are suppose to be able to see this reservation under the general calendar that all members will see. The problem at this end is that any entry under Reservations is not seen in the other view for members.

First of all, it's not generally very important for members to see Reservations, any more than it is important for them to see events that are on calendars belonging to other wards. That would just be needless clutter on their calendars.

However, for those who are scheduling events, it can be helpful to see reservations and events for other wards. The good news is that any member can see both of those. They just need to follow the instructions for Viewing other ward calendars.
yukyuk wrote:3. I have noticed some wedding receptions at the stake (another building) are seen in the Reservations view, but not on the general view. The Reservations area is suppose to only be available to Building Schedulers. Seems to me this should not have been entered in this area.

Note that the Reservations area shows both Reservations and Events that are scheduled for your building (you can turn various subsets of these on and off using the checkboxes). The Reservations appear in a lighter font, and the Events are black. Are you sure you that the wedding receptions are Reservations, or are they simply events that are visible on that calendar.

One thing you need to be aware of is whether there is more than one building scheduler for your building. If you're the only one, you can be confident that you are the only person creating reservations. But you said that you are new in this calling. Perhaps the previous scheduler created that wedding reception reservation. There are various opinions on this matter, but some building schedulers have used Blocked Reservations to create such events, thinking that they shouldn't appear on an event calendar. I personally think that is a bad practice -- only an Event truly books the building.
yukyuk wrote:4. With the old method of requesting building use, there was a request made that was send via email to the scheduler. Now that leaders can do this on their own, how is a request to be made for something like a reception. Do they need to know who to call or is there a way they email the request as before?

There is a dropdown by each location's name in the main calendar view; one of the options in that dropdown is "Contact Building Scheduler," which has the building scheduler's name, phone, and email address. So it should be pretty easy for them to send you an email.

However, it is my firm opinion that even a wedding reception should be made by a ward calendar editor -- there's no reason to send such a request to you. A building scheduler doesn't even have the ability to put any event on a calendar, unless he or she had been given additional rights to some calendar.
Questions that can benefit the larger community should be asked in a public forum, not a private message.
GrasseDD
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Carry me back to ol' Submitty!

#3

Post by GrasseDD »

aebrown wrote: There is a dropdown by each location's name in the main calendar view; one of the options in that dropdown is "Contact Building Scheduler," which has the building scheduler's name, phone, and email address. So it should be pretty easy for them to send you an email.

However, it is my firm opinion that even a wedding reception should be made by a ward calendar editor -- there's no reason to send such a request to you. A building scheduler doesn't even have the ability to put any event on a calendar, unless he or she had been given additional rights to some calendar.
Does anyone else feel this is a clunky step backward from the old-fashioned calendar? The good old "Submit" request button was quicker, easier, and less prone to error. Unless there is some Church directive to push everyone into using the distributive calendaring model, would it be so bad to give web admins the option to include that button for his/her units? That wouldn't hamper those gung-ho into the new model, and it would allow us Luddite units a way to simulate the old model--even give us a comfortable way of transitioning to the new.
mevans
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#4

Post by mevans »

aebrown wrote: They just need to follow the instructions for Viewing other ward calendars.
aebrown: The link you provided above was to the wiki documentation that has since been moved. I haven't found this topic in the new documentation. Can you provide a current link? I am interested in how a member can see the calendars of other wards.
russellhltn
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#5

Post by russellhltn »

Go to viewing the calendar and go to the section "View Events by Location".
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mevans
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#6

Post by mevans »

RussellHltn wrote:Go to viewing the calendar and go to the section "View Events by Location".

Thanks. I see the instruction is to look at the reservations calendar and any event that is reserved shows on the reservations calendar. It distinguishes between reservations and events with reservations by the color scheme. I don't actually have the ability to look at another ward's calendar, just the building schedule. I can't tell which ward or calendar an event came from unless the event happens to capture that information in the title. That seems like a limitation.
russellhltn
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#7

Post by russellhltn »

mevans wrote: I see the instruction is to look at the reservations calendar and any event that is reserved shows on the reservations calendar.
Maybe this is a terminology issue, but that's not what I've reading. It says to go to the week view calendar. You will then be able to see all events and reservations for that location.
mevans wrote:I can't tell which ward or calendar an event came from unless the event happens to capture that information in the title. That seems like a limitation.

You may be able to tell by who placed that event on the calendar by looking at the name. But yes, that problem has been pointed out. One workaround is to have every ward put an abbreviation of their name in the title of all calendars. Then instead of "Youth Activities" it's "SLC1: Youth Activities".
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aebrown
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#8

Post by aebrown »

mevans wrote:I don't actually have the ability to look at another ward's calendar, just the building schedule. I can't tell which ward or calendar an event came from unless the event happens to capture that information in the title. That seems like a limitation.
For some ideas on dealing with that (and a hint that the developers may address this in a future release), see the thread Ward Name Visibility in Week View.
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mevans
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#9

Post by mevans »

RussellHltn wrote:Maybe this is a terminology issue, but that's not what I've reading. It says to go to the week view calendar. You will then be able to see all events and reservations for that location.
Yes, it lets you see all events and reservations at a location. It doesn't actually allow you to see calendars from other units. For example, if a youth activity occurred at someone's house, you wouldn't be able to see that. Only events and reservations for the location. You go to the week view because reservations don't show up on Month view.
russellhltn
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#10

Post by russellhltn »

mevans wrote:It doesn't actually allow you to see calendars from other units. For example, if a youth activity occurred at someone's house, you wouldn't be able to see that. Only events and reservations for the location. You go to the week view because reservations don't show up on Month view.

Correct. But that's the best we can do with the tools we currently have.
Have you searched the Help Center? Try doing a Google search and adding "site:churchofjesuschrist.org/help" to the search criteria.

So we can better help you, please edit your Profile to include your general location.
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