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WiscCal

Tutorial for Native Client

Welcome to the WiscCal Tutorial for Native Client, designed to help first-time users easily navigate their way through the product. In this tutorial, you'll pick up the basics of using the application for accessing and managing your WiscCal account and manipulate a few sample Entries in your Agenda. A quick note: there are several versions of the native client in distribution. There will be cosmetic differences between these versions (e.g., for the various options for a meeting the Macintosh clients use a left-side palette of icons in the edit meeting window while Windows clients use a set of tabs), but the basic procedures and feature discussed in this tutorial apply to all versions. Where the icons differ, both are displayed (e.g., Windows/Macintosh).

A first look at your Agenda

The view you see the very first time you sign in to your Agenda is the Daily View. The view you see thereafter is the view that was selected when you last exited the application either Daily, Weekly, or Monthly.

Before you create any Entries, take a look around your Agenda. Notice that the day of the week is highlighted in red, with a blank column beneath it. This means you have no Entries scheduled for that day, but we'll take care of that shortly.

The bar of icons running across the top of the page is the toolbar. With the toolbar, you can change how your Agenda is displayed, create any type of Entry, or view another user's Agenda.

The arrows on either side of the Calendar icon / let you scroll backwards and forwards by the time length of the current view (e.g., scroll by day if in Daily View or by month if in Monthly View). For now, though, we're going to go to the Day View and create some Entries. Click Windows:/ on the toolbar to get started.

A word about Entries

Entries are the basic building blocks of your Agenda. They allow you to manage important events with Meetings, keep track of projects with Tasks and post reminders to yourself with Daily Notes. You can create Day Events to mark off anniversaries or birthdays and even generate an Entry that occurs on a regular basis.

There are four types of Access levels you can assign to an Entry: Normal, Public, Personal and Confidential. Depending on the Access Rights you set, users will be able to see certain types of Entries, but not others. For additional information about Access Rights, please consult the online help.

In the native client applications there are often multiple ways of creating or selecting entry items (e.g., menu options, the toolbar icons, double-clicking objects on the agenda window, single-clicking then typing, right-clicking and selecting from the drop-down menu, etc.). This tutorial will illustrate only one way of using the application. You should experiment and find the way that best suits you and how you work.

Assignment 1: Creating a Meeting

This is the Entry you'll probably use the most to manage your Agenda. It represents anything you want to schedule that has a specific start and end time.

Click  /   to bring up the New Meeting window. This is where you enter all the relevant information about the Entry.

Windows:


Macintosh (OS X):

Do This

  1. In the appropriate fields give your Meeting a title and duration. Note that the date and time default to the time your preferences indicate is the beginning of your Normal Hours. If the date and time are incorrect, alter them to what you want.
  2. Click on the Details tab and enter some text in the Details section. It will show up in your Agenda when you create the Entry.
  3. The Importance level set on this Details tab can be indicated in your Agenda by different colors (set in your preferences). Give the Entry an Importance level of High.
  4. Set an access level for the Entry on this same Details tab. Access levels determine who can see the Entry when she or he views your Agenda.
  5. Don't worry about the other options on this page. Click Create.

Assignment 2: Viewing a Meeting in your Agenda

Now let's take a look at how the Meeting from the previous example appears in your Agenda window. Depending on your preferences, Entries will display more or less information in your Agenda. The following example illustrates how changing your preferences affects the display of the Entry.

Use the Date Picker / (or the arrow buttons to the left and right of it) to find the Entry you created in Assignment 1.


  • The colored block represents the Meeting in your Agenda.
  • The title, location, start and end time are shown.
  • / Indicates, if present, the meeting has attendees other than yourself.
  • Indicates, if present, that the meeting has notes for viewing.
  • Indicates, if present, that the meeting has an attachment.
  • Indicates, if present, that notification is enabled for this meeting.
  • The icon on the far right indicates your attendance status:
    • No response as yet.
    • Will attend meeting.
    • Will not attend meeting.
    • Will attend, but prefers another time for the meeting.

Do This

  1. From the Tools menu select Options.
  2. Your viewing choices are displayed in the Agenda | Display section. Deselect the "Start and End Times" and "Icons" checkboxes.
  3. Click OK to return to your Agenda and view the Entry. You'll notice that it only shows the title and text from the Details.

Tip

It's a good idea to have these defaults on at all times when you first start to work in your Agenda. As you get accustomed to managing your schedule with the Web Calendar, you can then customize your preferences. Return now by selecting from the menu bar Tools | Options and returning the check next to the options you want to see displayed.

Assignment 3: Creating a Task

As the next step in the tutorial, you're going to create a Task. A Task is a project that is either ongoing or has a specific start or end date. Configure a Task's importance level and enter a description for the Entry on the same page. Use Tasks to keep track of any assignments you need to complete.

Click / on the toolbar to bring up the New Task window.


Do This

  1. Pick a Task you need to complete by a specific date. Give it a title and type related text in the Description section.
  2. Uncheck the "Start date" radio button in the Start section. Then give your Task a due date and time in the Due section.
  3. If it's a project on which you've already done some work, indicate its Complete percentage in the Status section.
  4. Click Create when you are done. The Task now appears in your Daily Agenda.

Assignment 4: Creating a Repeating Entry

Your next task is to create a Repeating Entry--an Entry that occurs over a period of time you specify when creating it.

Click / on the toolbar to bring up the New Day Event window.


Do This

  1. Enter the normal information for the Day Event like you did with your Meeting in Assignment 1.
  2. Click the Repeating button. You'll see this window:
  3. In the Repeating Options section, modify the default options so that the entry repeats weekly for the next eight weeks. You can use a start and end date, but it's easier to click on the radio button next to For: and replace the 1 with an 8, to indicate 8 weeks. You'll then see this:

    If you're using a Macintosh client, note that you need to click on the Add ... before the server will enter the repeating items, and you must do this before you click on the OK button and leave this window or the repeating items will not be saved.
  4. Click Create when you are done.

These daily entries show up in the bottom pane of your weekly agenda. Alternatively, you can switch to Monthly view and see them with their flag icon.

Assignment 5: Viewing an Event Calendar

Your last assignment is to search for and view an Event Calendar on the system. Created by your system administrator, an Event Calendar is a Agenda that uses Entries to represent different activities of a given organization. For example, a concert hall could have its own Event Calendar, with Entries representing shows on different dates. Your system administrator could create an Event Calendar for company events or vacation records. It's a feature that allows you to filter information into your Agenda, create a list of favorite Event Calendars and then access that list through a pull-down menu in any of the views.

Click / to bring a page where you can search for Event Calendars.


Do This

  1. The native clients work differently than the web client. Since an Event Calendar is nothing more than a special form of an Agenda, you can search for an Event Calendar like you can search for a normal user's Agenda. Type "events" into the "Open Agenda For" field and press the Return key.
  2. You should see a list of matches to the word "event," in this case the eight event calendars in our system. Select one and click Ok to view the event in its Agenda.
  3. Entries booked by your system administrator appear in the Day, Week or Month Views of the Event Calendar.

    To copy an event to your calendar, right click on the specific event and select 'Copy'. Next, go to your calendar, and select 'Paste' from the Edit menu. This will copy the event to the same date/time on your calendar.
  4. Close the item and agenda windows when you're ready to return to your own Agenda.

Wrapping up

Congratulations, you've finished the WiscCal Tutorial for Native Client! You're now ready to take advantage of the powerful scheduling tools that WiscCal has to offer. If you're not sure how to do something, or just want more information about a feature, please consult the on-line help for more information. You can also call the DoIT Help Desk (264-HELP) for additional help.

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