User guide

v.4.0

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• Personal calendar
• Personal calendar sharing
• Group member's calendar
• Group calendar
• Delete events
• Layering
• Meetings
• Reminders
• RSS access
• Read-only access with iCal compliant software
• Read and write access from third-party software (CalDAV)
• Import - Export
• Personalization

Personal calendar

1. Add an event [top]
   Click on Add in the menu bar or on the + in the upper left corner of the appropriate time zone.

   

2. Add an "all day" event [top]
   Click on + in the upper left corner of the (day) zone (above the first line of calendar grid).

   An "day" event acts just like a normal event: editing, deletion, reminders, etc.

3. Set an event colour [top]
   Different event background colours are available. When creating or editing an event, select a colour next to Colour.

   Colours are only displayed to yourself: you can set a colour for a meeting, but it will only be displayed in your calendar.

4. Repeat an event [top]
   When adding or editing an event, click on yes in front of Repeat. Choose the frequency (all x days, weeks, months or years).
5. Edit an event [top]
   Click on the event subject and make all necessary changes.

Personal calendar sharing

1. Default access rights [top]
   
   • View events: all group members may always view busy time zones in your calendar (cannot be changed). However, you can hide an event completely by setting it private.
   • View events details: yourself (can be changed).
   • Add events: yourself (can be changed).
   • Delete events: yourself (can be changed).
2. Allow someone to view a single event details [top]
   Display the event details, click on Access rights and tick the boxes in the View details column.
3. Allow someone to view the details of all your events [top]
   Click on Access in the menu bar and tick the boxes in the View details column.
4. Allow someone to edit a single events [top]
   Display the event details, click on Access rights and tick the boxes in the Edit event column.
5. Allow someone to edit all your events [top]
   Click on Access in the menu bar and tick the boxes in the Edit events column.
6. Allow someone to add events [top]
   Click on Access in the menu bar and tick the boxes in the Add events column.
7. Allow someone to delete events [top]
   Click on Access in the menu bar and tick the boxes in the Delete events column.

Group member's calendar

1. Access to a group member's calendar [top]
   Click on View in the menu bar and then on the name of a group member (if the name does not appear immediately, click on Next to display the rest of the list).

   The events of the group member are displayed as busy time zones: you can view the details (event subject and description) only if the owner of the calendar has authorized you.

   The calendar owner name always appear on top of it (between the Previous and Next buttons).

   To go back to your private calendar, click again on View and select your name in the list.

2. Edit a group member's calendar [top]
   The calendars of other members function just like your own. However, in order to add, edit or delete events, you must have been given rights by the calendar owner.

   The possibility to add events is indicated by the "+" in each time zone.

   When you use repeat and reminder features in another member's calendar, the reminders are sent to the calendar owner (and not to yourself). Likewise, you can create meetings in another member's calendar (and invite yourself, or not).

Group calendar

1. Access group calendar [top]
   Select the group name in the second pull-down menu (the default value is "Private") or click on View in the menu bar and then on "Group Nameofthegroup".
2. Default access rights [top]
   
   • View events details: all group members (cannot be changed).
   • Edit an event: the event creator (can be changed).
   • Add events: group administrator (can be changed).
   • Delete events: group administrator (can be changed).
3. Add a group event [top]
   Go to the group calendar and check that you have the right to add events (+ must appear in every time zone). If this is the case, add an event as you would do it in your private calendar.

   You may edit all the events you have created but you may not delete them.

4. Allow someone to edit a group event [top]
   Display the event details and click on Access rights. Tick the boxes in the Edit event column.
5. Reminders in group calendar [top]
   You can create reminders in the group calendar. These reminders will be sent only to yourself and not to all group members.
6. Administrators: allow members to add events [top]
   Click on Access in the menu bar and tick the boxes in the Add events column.
7. Administrators: allow members to edit all events [top]
   Click on Access in the menu bar and tick the boxes in the Edit events column.
8. Administrators: allow members to delete events [top]
   Note: this right concerns all events in the group calendar; don't give it to anyone.

   Click on Access in the menu bar and tick the boxes in the Delete events column.

Delete events

1. Delete a single event [top]
   Click on the event subject and then on Delete.

   In case of a repeated event, you can delete this instance only by clicking on Delete or delete all instances by clicking on Delete all instances.

2. Delete old events [top]
   Click on Delete in the menu bar. Enter a date to delete all events prior to this date.

Layering

1. Features [top]
   You can layer calendars, whether they are managed by the virtual office (internal calendars) or available on the Web in the .ics (vCal/iCal) format (external calendars).

   Access rights apply for layered events:

   • Internal calendars
     The actions you can perform (view details, edit, delete) depend on the access rights the calendar owner has given to you.
   • External calendars
     These calendars are always read-only: you cannot therefore edit them.

   Besides, layered events are not in your personal calendar: you cannot therefore share them, add a reminder, etc.

   Note: Your subscription sets the maximum number of calendars you may layer.

   To configure the layering, click on Layer in the menu bar.

2. Activate layering [top]
   Add at least one calendar et tick theActivate layering box.

   The layering is permanent: it is active until deactivation.

   In layering mode, each event appears with the initials of its owner (person or group). The legend of initials appears on top of the calendar.

3. Deactivate layering [top]
   Untick the Activate layering box. You can reactivate the layering anytime without having to add calendars again.
4. Add an internal calendar [top]
   Click on Add a person or group calendar. Tick the appropriate boxes and click on Save. The new calendar appears in the list. Click on Save to display the new layering.
5. Add an external calendar [top]
   An external calendar contains public events (bank holidays, school holidays, sports events, etc.) and is available on the Web (see for instance iCalShare).

   Click on Add an external vCalendar. Enter a name for this calendar, its URL (it must begin with http://). You can also enter a description and choose a color for all events of this calendar. Click on URL check and, if the URL is accepted, click on Save. The new calendar appears in the list. Click on Save to display the new layering.

6. Delete a calendar [top]
   A calendar can be suppressed temporarily or permanently.
   • Temporarily
     Untick the box next to the calendar name in the View/ column: the calendar is not layered anymore. You can have it layered anytime by re-ticking the box.
     
   • Permanently
     Click on the Trash icon next to the calendar name.

Meetings

1. Definition [top]
   A meeting is a particular event which allows you to invite participants and to do the follow-up online. The participants must be members of the groups you belong to, or their email address must be in your address book (private or group).
2. Accept or decline a meeting [top]
   The invitation to a meeting is signaled by the pictogram . Click on its subject to display the details. You can view the list of invited persons and their answer to the meeting invitation by clicking on View next to Participants
   • To accept the meeting, click on Accept and the pictogram becomes . Once the invitation is accepted, you can always decline it later on.
   • To refuse the meeting, click on Decline. You can enter the reason why you decline. An email notification is sent to the meeting creator. Once the invitation is declined, the meeting disappears automatically from your calendar.
   The pictogram which signals a reunion in the calendar can change:
   • : At least one person has declined the meeting .
   • : Everyone has accepted the meeting.
3. Create a meeting [top]
   When creating an event, click on the Meeting tab. Choose a schedule, enter a subject and a description (optional). Then click on Invite and manage participants and on Add participants to access your addressbook (private and group). Select the boxes to invite the participants. You can easily invite all group members by ticking the first box (All members).
   • Participants who use the virtual office: the meeting proposal appears directly in their calendar with a flickering question mark. By clicking on the meeting subject, they accept or decline the meeting with a single click. In case they decline, you get an email notification (with a reason for declining if provided) and the meeting disappears from their calendar.
   • Participants who do not use the virtual office: an email will be sent to them with the details of the meeting. They can accept or decline it with a single click. In case they decline, you get an email notification.
   After clicking on Save, you can send a notification to each participant.
4. Invitations follow-up [top]
   The meeting creator can at any time view the answer of each participant by clicking on the meeting subject and then on Invite and manage participants. The possible status are: Invited (but no answer), Accept or Decline. Please note that a participant who has first accepted a meeting may decline it later.

   The pictogram which signals a reunion in the calendar can change:

   • : At least one person has declined the meeting .
   • : Everyone has accepted the meeting.
5. Edit a meeting [top]
   Only the creator of a meeting may edit it.

   Details (schedule, subject, description and/or location) or participants can be edited. To make the changes, first click on the meeting subject.

   • When the details are edited, the status of the invitations is reset: the participants must accept or refuse the edited meeting. An email notification is sent. You can disable this notification for each meeting.
   • To remove a participant, click on Remove participant next to this person. The meeting disappears from his calendar but no notification is sent.
6. Cancel a meeting [top]
   The meeting creator may at any time cancel the meeting by deleting it in his own calendar. Delete the meeting as you would delete a regular event. The meeting disappears from the calendar of the participants and an email notification is sent. You can disable this notification for each meeting.

Reminders

1. About reminders [top]
   Reminders that have a sending time in the past won't be sent. Example: if you create an event starting in an hour from now and ask to be reminded 2 hours before, no reminder will be sent.
2. Create an email reminder [top]
   Click on the event subject and select yes in front of Reminder. Decide at what time the reminder should be sent.

   Reminders are sent to your default sender address.

3. Create an SMS reminder [top]
   Click on the event subject and select yes in front of Reminder. Decide at what time the reminder should be sent.

   Reminders are sent to the cell phone number in your personal data.

4. Edit a reminder [top]
   Click on the event subject and select Yes in front of Reminder. Edit the schedule and/or the channel (email and/or SMS).
5. Cancel a reminder [top]
   Click on the event subject and select No in front of Reminder.
6. Reminders overview [top]
   Select Reminders in the first pull-down menu.
7. Agenda by SMS [top]
   Click on SMS in the menu bar and choose the days as well as the day of reception (the same day or the next day).

   Note: If your agenda is empty for one day, you will receive no SMS.

   You can edit the settings at any time or cancel the calendar by SMS feature by selecting off all boxes in the "Send my calendar for" section.

   You can also make a copy of your calendar on your cell phone by clicking on Now!:

   • If you chose to receive your agenda the same day, the agenda of the current day will be sent to you
   • If you chose to receive the agenda the next day, the agenda of next day will be sent to you.

RSS access

1. Features [top]
   RSS allows to gather several Websites (newspapers, blogs, etc.) in a single interface. You subscribe with an RSS reader (a software or a special Website) to an RSS feed, that is a special Web page published by each Website allowing RSS access. This RSS feed usually contains the title and summary of the last 10 published articles, with an hyperlink for each of them leading to the full story on the Website. As the RSS reader automatically refreshes all feeds, you are easily and quickly notified about new stories on all selected Websites.

   In this context, the virtual office offers several feeds: private (your inbox, your agenda, your documents, your bookmarks, etc.) and group (group agenda, group documents, group bookmarks, etc.). These feeds are protected by your usual login and password.

2. Available feeds [top]
   Each (private or group) calendar has 4 RSS feeds:
   • Today
   • This week
   • This month
   • 30 days (from today)
3. Compatible software [top]
   All RSS readers that manage authentication (feeds with login and password): Feedreader (Windows), for instance.
4. Software settings [top]
   
   1. Go to a calendar and move the pointer to one of the images.
   2. Right click on the image and select Copy this link location.
   3. Go to the RSS reader, create a new feed and paste the address.
   4. Enter the virtual office login and password in the RSS reader, and give the feed a name.
   5. Set up the automatic refresh rate in the RSS reader.

Read-only access with iCal compliant software

1. Features [top]
   Third-party software can connect to the virtual office, which is a calendar server.

   You cannot add or edit events using these software. The calendars are protected by your usual login and password.

   In your virtual drive, you will notice in the main folders (private + one folder per group) some "calendar.ics" files used for this feature: their size is 0 Kb. These files cannot be deleted.

2. Compatible software [top]
   Mozilla Calendar or Sunbird, Apple iCal, Microsoft Works, etc.
3. Software settings [top]
   For your private calendar, use the address:
   http://www.contactoffice.com/docs/login/private/calendar.ics.

   For a group calendar, use the address:
   http://www.contactoffice.com/docs/login/GROUP_NAME/calendar.ics

Read and write access from third-party software (CalDAV)

1. Features [top]
   Besides read-only access, calendars can be accessed with read and write rights from CalDAV compliant third-party-software.

   Please read the limitations though.

2. Limitations [top]
   Synchronizing between different software implies limitations:
   • For now, you can only access your own calendar. You can't access someone else's calendar or a group calendar.
   • If you add meeting participants in the third-party software, they won't be added in ContactOffice.
   • Reminders are not synchronized because they are software specific.
   • For now, categories (tags) deleted in the third-party software are not deleted in ContactOffice.
   • If you use the calendar at the same time in ContactOffice and in one or more third-party software: make sure to update the calendar in the third-party software before you make any change from it, otherwise changes made in ContactOffice will be lost.
3. Compatible software [top]
   
   • Mozilla SunBird (or Lightning, a plug-in for Thunderbird)
   • Apple iCal
   • iPhone (OS 3.0)
   Note: Microsoft Outlook 2007 has no CalDAV features.

   For other software, see http://caldav.calconnect.org/implementations/clients.html

4. Software settings [top]
   The settings depend on the software.

   Mozilla SunBird

   1. In the "File" menu, select "Subscribe to Remote Calendar".
   2. In the following screen, select "On the network".
   3. In the following screen, select "CalDAV" and enter the following address in the "Location" field: http://www.contactoffice.com/dav/login/private/events
   4. In the following screen, choose a name and a color (optional). Untick the "Show Alarms" checkbox.
   5. Enter your ContactOffice login (login) and password.
   Please note the limitations of this software:
   • SunBird can't handle calendars with a large amount of events (from more or less 1000 events).
   • Version 0.9 can't handle multiple identities for a same calendars server. Therefore, you can't connect to several calendars at the same time. To switch identities, delete the saved passwords in Options > Password > View saved passwords and restart SunBird.
   Apple iCal
   1. In the "iCal" menu, select "Preferences".
   2. Select the "Accounts" tab.
   3. Click on the "+" in the lower left corner. In the window that appears, enter a name for this calendar in the "Description" field.
   4. Entrer your ContactOffice login (login) and password in the 2 remaining fields.
   5. Click on the triangle next to "Server options" to unfold and enter the following address in the "Account URL" field: http://www.contactoffice.com/dav/principals/accounts/login/.
      Note: Do not forget the final "/", otherwise the connection will fail!
      You can also use the URL https://www.contactoffice.com/dav/principals/accounts/login/ if you wish a secure connection.
   Apple iPhone

   Note: You need iPhone OS 3.0

   1. In the "Settings" menu, select "Mail, Contacts, Calendar", then "Add an account"; select "Other", then "Add a CALDAV account".
   2. Enter www.contactoffice.com in the "Server" field.
   3. Enter your ContactOffice login (login) and password in the remaining fields.
   4. Go back to the "Settings" menu, select "Mail, Contacts, Calendar" and then the CalDAV account, then "Advanced settings".
   5. Enter http://www.contactoffice.com/dav/principals/accounts/login/ in the "Account URL" field.
      Note: Do not forget the final "/", otherwise the connection will fail!
      You can also use the URL https://www.contactoffice.com/dav/principals/accounts/login/ if you wish a secure connection.

Import - Export

1. Import [top]
   Before importing, select a private or group calendar. To import one or more events in vCal/iCal format, click on Import in the menu bar and select the vCal/iCal file on your computer.
2. Export [top]
   Before exporting, select a private or group calendar.

   You can export one, several or all the events from a calendar in vCal/iCal format to reimport them in a software compatible with this format:

   • Export only one event: click on the event subject and then on Export.
   • Export several events: select a view (day, week or month) and click on Export in the menu bar and then on Export the events of this page only.
   • Export the entire calendar: click on Export in the menu bar and then on Export all events of this calendar.

Personalization

1. Preferences [top]
   By clicking on Prefs in the menu bar, you can edit several settings:
   • Starting and ending hours
   • Time zone
   • Default calendar page: day, week or month
   • First day of the week
   • Default time duration for events (several choices between 0 and 480 minutes)
   • Calendar grid resolution: durations of the time zones (choices between 10 and 60 minutes)
   • Time format: 12 or 24h.