website calendars for squadron/wing websites

[mynetdude]

I saw a really neat web calendar system that probably has more features than most of us would use, and has features that I would use more than some would (which is why I like it) but I also thought about what if others would like a piece of it too?

I want to use this app for several websites I am doing (at least two), I could buy individual licenses for that then I'd end up eating the cost of it 100% which can ONLY be used on those websites or I can buy a server license which would allow me to not only have two but I could have an unlimited number of install/licenses (assuming it works that way) which only costs $100 more for the server license than it is to buy two separate site licenses.

The caveat is, I can buy a server license which costs alittle bit of money and would like a way to offset the cost (maybe up to 75% of the cost?) then once offset future uses would be free.  I don't really like charging non profits even if I make no profit I just don't like doing so.

So if squadrons/wings would like something like this then maybe I will consider it depending on how well my questions are answered by the developer.

some of the neat features are:

repeating events, repeat event exceptions

"easter holiday effect" (this calendar will take into account for Good Friday that change on certain years and so on and I'm not sure if this is the only holiday but I think there is one more that does something similar.

Multiple color coded categories for events, user color coded events (each user who posts their own events can be color coded as well).

iCal support (meaning you can use MS Outlook, Sunbird, and other apps that support the iCal format). It also seems to allow remote editing (via iCal) which is handy to me

RSS/Syndication ability, file/URL attachments (I can think of GREAT ways to use this, as an example: encampment, attach CAPF 31 CAPF 60 and hold harmless agreements and so on right to the activity and parents/cadets can download them)

Here is a full list of features it has

http://www.extrosoft.com/About/Thyme/Features/

[tjaxe]

Have you looked at Google's calendar?  Our squadron uses it.

[mynetdude]

Have you looked at Google's calendar?  Our squadron uses it.

I have, and there is a Joomla mod that will let me integrate Google calendar, plus google aps is free to non profits.

There are a few things I don't like about Google calendar though. Plus this application allows more tightly controlled integration if you want to get that technical.

[JC004]

One calendar, which my company uses, is Easy PHP Calendar.  http://www.easyphpcalendar.com/

[mynetdude]

One calendar, which my company uses, is Easy PHP Calendar.  http://www.easyphpcalendar.com/

I have heard of this, first I've seen it though.  One major disadvantage (to some, I don't know about folks at CAP) is that it doesn't integrate into the website unless you manually wrap it in vs Jcal (for Joomla and Mambo) and the one I mentioned both wrap into the CMS.  Again Google calendars is possible you can even wrap/import it into Joomla but then you have to login separately and the more logins you have to deal with the more cumbersome it gets (which is why I was considering integration, less need for logging in so many times).

[dwb]

My squadron web site's calendar is an iCal feed off of a Google Calendar.  I used a Wordpress plugin that parses the iCal format.  Works well for us, and it's all free.

[mynetdude]

My squadron web site's calendar is an iCal feed off of a Google Calendar.  I used a Wordpress plugin that parses the iCal format.  Works well for us, and it's all free.

I knew that Google offered iCal, like I said why make a squadron member login twice once to the website to do certain things and then again for the calendar when I can just integrate a calendar that doesn't need a 2nd login?

[baronet68]

My squadron's calendar was built for FREE using Active Server Pages:

http://www.mcchord.org/calender/

I actually 'stole' it from the code provided at ASP101.com ( http://asp101.com/samples/calendar.asp ).  Their sample code has been modified to make it even prettier than before but I'm just a bit too busy to worry about changing it right now. 

[mynetdude]

My squadron's calendar was built for FREE using Active Server Pages:

http://www.mcchord.org/calender/

I actually 'stole' it from the code provided at ASP101.com ( http://asp101.com/samples/calendar.asp ).  Their sample code has been modified to make it even prettier than before but I'm just a bit too busy to worry about changing it right now. 

whatever gets the job done, others have mentioned other calendar systems they use.  The one I mention even though costs a bit is far more advanced than most of us need but I like the robustness of it.

[dwb]

why make a squadron member login twice once to the website to do certain things and then again for the calendar when I can just integrate a calendar that doesn't need a 2nd login?

My answer to that question (which I posed to myself) was that I couldn't find a calendar plugin that had a management interface I liked as much as the Google Calendar interface.  For me, it's worth firing up another browser window when I need to add events to the calendar, which is not all that often.  Historic events automatically disappear, so I only need to update to add new things.

[mynetdude]

why make a squadron member login twice once to the website to do certain things and then again for the calendar when I can just integrate a calendar that doesn't need a 2nd login?

My answer to that question (which I posed to myself) was that I couldn't find a calendar plugin that had a management interface I liked as much as the Google Calendar interface.  For me, it's worth firing up another browser window when I need to add events to the calendar, which is not all that often.  Historic events automatically disappear, so I only need to update to add new things.

Maybe for you, but when it comes to making things easier and more efficient logging in twice is not one way to do that.

If lets say a DCC wants to schedule some events on the calendar and also wants to make a detailed announcement of the upcoming events that DCC is going to have to login twice: once to the calendar, 2nd time will be the DCC will have to login to the site itself to post that information.

OR

The DCC can login at the start, and be able to post to the calendar AND publish other content as needed.  Naw I like this idea better

[floridacyclist]

Ours is at http://freecal.brownbearsw.com/serfl432 . I've tried using their standalone CGI calendar, but can't afford $600 and couldn't convince them to sponsor us. A big reason I stuck with that was the RSS integration with the front page of our website, but if Google will let us do that as well I might take a peek, especially if I can lose the Google ads.

[stillamarine]

Ours is at http://freecal.brownbearsw.com/serfl432 . I've tried using their standalone CGI calendar, but can't afford $600 and couldn't convince them to sponsor us. A big reason I stuck with that was the RSS integration with the front page of our website, but if Google will let us do that as well I might take a peek, especially if I can lose the Google ads.

Gene,

We have it on ours, take a look. http://pensacolacap.co.nr/

I like it, we have it set that only certain people can edit it.

[mynetdude]

Well it turns out our squadron wants a groupware type of setup. The only thing I know that can do that is Yahoo groups and I believe Google Aps as well.

The problem is, our squadron is so anti-computers, nobody wants/knows how to work with websites other than me and one other cadet.

I had a cadet demonstrate a website for the staff meeting, it was simple and such and so I could edit it or the cadet could when there was a need to.  My thing is, I don't want to limit it to just two people who are the only ones who can edit the website or put "news" or "articles" because these have to be generated by the unit PAO in the first place.  Most of our members do not know how to insert content in between all the HTML code so that is why I came up with using Joomla.

Joomla allows anyone with proper permissions to post information as needed, problem solved! But now with the Joomla website application, integration isn't exactly easy because now you have to find components that will work with the back/front ends.

I have looked for a couple of groupware applications that can/will interface with Joomla, it is about $180.00 for it which is far less than $600, still $180 is a lot of money to spend.

I haven't quite figured out the best way to do this really... yet. There are not a lot of options for the new Joomla 1.5 version, so only time will tell.

[Lancer]

but if Google will let us do that as well I might take a peek, especially if I can lose the Google ads.

Gene, real easy, just use the XML link for your Google Calendar as a feed into any RSS to JavaScript service and put it on your website. That's what I'm doing.

[CAPlikeCrack]

I definitely have to say Google Calendars are the best bet.  First of all, people have to be able to subscribe to the calendar via a feed so they can view it with their own calendaring software (whether it is their own Google Calendar, Outlook, GroupWise, or Sunbird).  Second, you have to have a strong web interface for regular browsing on your website.

Yes, there are some components/modules for Joomla that integrate Google Calendars very nicely.  Even better, Google has published some gadgets that integrate easily with any website.  There is one for the calendar object here:
http://www.google.com/ig/directory?synd=open&num=24&url=http://www.google.com/ig/modules/calendar-for-your-site.xml&output=html

My unit uses that gadget as a custom module on the front page of the website  to display the mini calendar and agenda.  Check it out here:
http://mankato.mncap.org

Then, for the full calendar we just use the embed the html link provided in Google Calendar sharing on an article, as you can see here:
http://mankato.mncap.org/calendar.html

Good luck with whatever you decide on!

[Robborsari]

Our wing (TN) has been struggling with this also.  We have decided to develop a custom CMS that is integrated with the capwatch database.  One of the things it will do is interface with the National Calendar in e-services.  It has a custom display of calendar events but the data comes from the national database. 

Database integration with national gives us a huge advantage in reducing management workload.  Permissions for areas of the site can be tied directly into Job assignment and unit.  Units below the wing can integrate into the CMS and share the calendar and other features. 

We are developing it on Linux in Php for Apache and myphp but it is not welded to any of those.  It should be fairly portable.  We have a converter to go from the captwatch.mdb to myphp.  It works well but I still have to automate the download. 

I have seen many many solutions using yahoo, google, opensource and pay calendars and the trouble I had with all of them is that it is a pain to administer who has update rights.  With a lot of people that can update you have to constantly add and remove them as folks come and go. If you only have a few then they have to do all the work to get things posted and that can lead to a low update rate.  It is a very thorny problem.  -R-

[rjacobs]

My squadron uses the free version of localendar.  $10/yr will remove the ads (which requires a PayPal account to do...).  It works well enough, but tends towards the ugly side.  Every free or cheap PHP calendar I've looked hasn't improved anything enough to justify the effort to switch.  Google was my biggest hope, but it has one drawback.  We post schedules in our events descriptions and Google doesn't display line breaks in it's description field.  So I continue to search for the 'perfect' calendar solution...

[addo1]

  My squadron uses Homestead Web Builder.  We have a calender on there, done nicely.

[floridacyclist]

Well it turns out our squadron wants a groupware type of setup. The only thing I know that can do that is Yahoo groups and I believe Google Aps as well.

Something like phpgroupware? I think it's at www.phpgroupware.org but am sure you could google it if that's wrong