Adding a New Filter

Calendar filters are used to describe how you want a particular calendar to look and the data you want to inlude in the calendar. To add a new filter, you perform the following steps:

  1. Click the Add button, or select Add from the right click context menu.

    The Edit Filter: (inserting) window opens.

  2. Enter a Filter Name. Filter Name is a mandatory field.

    This is the name of the filter that appears in the filter list.

  3. Enter a Description. The Description is a mandatory field.

    Enter a description that describes in a few words what the filter does. This way others will not create the same filter. You can also choose via the Public Filter checkbox if others can view and use the filter. If you disable the checkbox, the filter will not appear in others' filter lists.

  4. Only the Filter Owner or Administrators can edit a filter. If you want others to edit it as well, remove the owner; then anyone can edit it.
  5. You can set up the various pieces of the filter in the tabs on the window: Views, Tasks, Theatres, Volunteer Activities, Projects, Plays, and Query (currently unused). The Publish tab lets you set up the filter to be manually (and in the future, automatically) published as a shared calendar to the Internet.

Views Tab

The Views tab is used to select options for the visual display of the various items on the list.

As you make changes to on the Views tab, the mini-calendar on the window changes so you can see what the effects of the changes will be.

Parts of the Views Tab

Starting Day The dropdown list lets you select the starting day for the week. Sunday is the default.
Initial Calendar View Determines the initial view of the calendar. You can select between typical calendar views and group views that may show more than one calendar column at a time.
Check Boxes Hide times - determines if the times will show on the individual calendar items.
Hide completed tasks - hides any tasks whose Status is "Done" or "Cancelled".
Hide ToDo's column - hides the Today's Tasks and ToDo's column on the right of the calendar.
Hide holidays - Hides holidays.
Hide month calendar - hides the month calendar in the bottom left of the calendar.

If you have selected an appropriate group calendar, Days to Show will display, enabling you to show more than one day at a time for each calendar column, as you can see in this example:

Tasks Tab

The Tasks tab is used to select whether tasks display for the filter and which ones.

If Show Tasks is selected, tasks will be displayed on the calendar. By default, All Participants, All Owners, and All Types are shown.

If you turn off All Participants, you will be able to select individual task participants (employees only) to show. You also have the special options of "No one", meaning tasks that have no one assigned to them, and "Me", which will show the tasks of whomever you are logged in as.

If you turn off All Owners, (as in the above image) you will be able to select only tasks owned by particular employees. You also have the special options of "No one", meaning tasks that are owned by no one, and "Me", which will show the tasks of owned by whomever you are logged in as.

If you turn off All Tasks, you will be able to select only tasks of certain types that you wish to see.

Performance/Theatres Tab

You use the Performances/Theatres tab to select the venues to display for the filter.

If Show Performances is selected, performances will be displayed on the calendar. By default, All Theatres are shown.

If you turn off All Theatres, you will be able to select individual theatres or venues to display.

Volunteer Activities Tab

The Volunteer Activities tab is used to select whether volunteer activities display for the filter and which ones.

If Show Volunteer activities is selected, volunteer activities will be displayed on the calendar. By default, All Activity Types are shown.

If you turn off All Activity Types, you will be able to select individual activity types to display.

Projects Tab

The Projects tab is used to select whether projects display differently for the filter and which ones.

If Show Projects is selected, project tasks will be displayed on the calendar using their default project colour instead of the task colour. By default, All Projects are shown.

Turning off All Projects, you can select individual projects, so that only their tasks are displayed.

If you had only selected the Tasks checkbox you would have seen these project tasks as well. When you select Projects, it shows the projects tasks using your default colour (usually yellow), while the non-Project tasks remain in the task default colour (usually blue).

You can also determine the level of detail to show for projects, such as whether the project record or the group records display. The default is for only the tasks that are part of the project to show.

Events / Plays Tab

The Events / Plays tab is an additional filter that can be applied on top of the others. It is used to select whether only tasks, performances, volunteer activities, or projects attached to particular plays/events will be seen in the calendar.

If Show only these Plays is selected, then the additional filtering is applied. By default, All Plays are shown.

If you turn off All Plays, you will be able to select individual plays/events so that only calendar items attached to those plays/events are displayed.

Patron Dates Tab

The Patron Dates tab is used to select whether birthdays, anniversaries and spouse birthdays display on the calendar.

If Show Patron dates is selected, you can choose whether to show birthdays, anniversaries and/or spouse birthdays on the calendar.

Click here for more information on these fields in Patron Data.

If the date is on February 29 and the current year is not a leap year, it is shown on February 28 instead.

Query Tab

The Query tab is unavailable at this time.

Publish tab

You use the Publish tab to upload a shared calendar file to the internet.

To publish a calendar, you perform the following steps:

  1. In the Calendar to Publish entry box, enter the web location of the calendar.

    The format will resemble:

            www.example.com/calendars/public/MyEventsCalendar.ics

    This does not have to be any special calendar location, it just needs to be a location where a file can be FTP'd to.

  2. Enter the Username for the ftp account.
  3. Enter the Password for the ftp account.
  4. Click the Publish Now

    You will be asked to enter a starting and ending date. All items on the calendar that match the filter criteria and between the starting and ending dates will be packaged up into an industry-standard iCalendar file (.ICS extension) and FTP'd to the location on the web.

    If the starting date is omitted, all calendar items into infinity past will be included. If the ending date is omitted, all calendar items into infinity future will be included.

The resulting calendar can be subscribed to from iCal or Outlook by entering the file location in these programs. Or you can supply a link to the calendar in the form:
        webcal://www.example.com/calendars.public/MyEventsCalendar.ics

Clicking on the link will open their calendar program and ask if they want to subscribe to the calendar.

This feature can be used to publish a calendar of all performances for the season to your website. Patrons can subscribe to the feed and when you re-publish in the future with new performances, their calendar will be updated with the new performances as well.

It can also be used to publish work schedules for people. If they are subscribed they will also get all the changes in their personal calendars.

The subscribers to these calendars DO NOT have to have a copy of Theatre Manager for this to work.