| An events list is used for planning activities and for notifying users of activities they need to be aware of, must attend, or might have an interest in. For example, an organization may have its annual meeting or holiday party listed as an event. The Human Resources department might post a "lunch and learn" event. The IT department might have a weekly status meeting listed as an event. After the date for an event has passed, it is no longer displayed on the Home page. However, it is still available for viewing and editing using the All Items view. Creating a New Event An event item can be a single happening, a recurring activity, or a meeting where others are invited. The event type depends on the selection of options when the event is initially created. The steps for creating an event, and the options available, are as follows: 1. | From within the Events list, click on New Item.
| 2. | Enter a title for the event in the Title box.
TIP The first few words are all that will show up in the Calendar view, so choose them wisely! For example, instead of titling the event "Annual Company Picnic," call it "Picnic" so that the word "Picnic" shows up instead of "Annual," making it more clear what type of event is on the calendar. | 3. | Enter the date that the event starts in the Begin box. The date can be manually keyed in, or the calendar can be used (by clicking on it) to select a date.
| 4. | In the box next to the date, enter the start time hour or use the drop-down list of the times and select a time from the list. Entering the number once selects the a.m. time, entering the number a second time selects the p.m. time. Do the same for the minutes.
| 5. | Enter the end date and time in the same manner as the start date and time. However, the end date needs to be entered only if the event ends on a different day than the start day. Otherwise, the end date can be left blank.
| 6. | Enter a description for the event.
| 7. | Enter the location where the event will occur.
| 8. | If the event will be happening on a recurring basis, click on the radio button that corresponds to the frequency of the recurrence (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Yearly). Then enter the pattern for the recurrence (for example, every second day, every Friday, the second Tuesday of every month) and the range of dates for scheduling (for example, start on Jan 1, 2004, and end on Jan 1, 2005, or schedule 10 recurrences, or end the scheduling by June 30, 2004).
| 9. | To create a meeting workspace site for this meeting, select the box next to Workspace. A meeting workspace is a SharePoint site that contains various lists and libraries that can be used before the meeting for preparation, and after the meeting for documentation and follow-up. The actual lists and libraries created depend on the type of meeting selected when the workspace is created.
| 10. | Click on Attach File if a file with pertinent information, such as directions, is to be added.
| 11. | Click on Save and Close to save the item.
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Figure 12.26 shows a calendar list in Calendar view with several events scheduled. When a user hovers over a link on the calendar additional information is shown, including the start and stop times and the description of the event. Figure 12.26. Calendar list in Calendar view. 
Linking Events to Microsoft Outlook 2003 Events can be linked to a Microsoft Outlook 2003 calendar, or to other calendar applications compatible with Windows SharePoint Services. In Chapter 9, the section "Exporting Events to Outlook 2003," covers the process of using the Link to Outlook button in the toolbar. A single event can also be exported to the calendar application (as long as the event is not a recurring event). The following steps show how to link a single event to Microsoft Outlook 2003: 1. | From the events list page, click on the event to display the options for the event.
| 2. | Click on Export Event. A File Download box may appear asking whether the file should be opened or saved to your computer. If this dialog box appears, click Open.
| 3. | The information from the event is transferred to a Microsoft Outlook 2003 appointment, and the appointment is displayed in an Entry/Edit mode. At this point, additional information can be added to the Microsoft Outlook 2003 appointment, such as a reminder, location, and description of the appointment, and attendees can be invited.
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NOTE When the event is exported to Microsoft Outlook 2003 (or other calendar application), it is not linked to SharePoint, thus no synchronization occurs. If changes are made to the appointment in Microsoft Outlook 2003, they are not reflected in SharePoint, and if changes are made to the event in SharePoint, they are not reflected in the Microsoft Outlook 2003 appointment.
When an entire events list is linked to a calendar application program such as Microsoft Outlook 2003, there is a link between the calendar application and the SharePoint events list. If the list is changed in SharePoint, it is reflected in the calendar application (although the application may need to "refresh" the view of the list). However, in the calendar application, the events list is read-only. No modifications can be made to it from the calendar application. |
