This topic describes the characteristic features of the Events module. Future improvements in the module are also listed.
Module Overview
The Events module provides users with the ability to schedule and announce events or happenings through their Web site. The module is based on the Generic Content module, which
means that it handles and stores data in the form of IContent objects. This fact also means the following features are provided in the module:
• Ability to customize meta fields
• Commenting system
• Categorization of events
• Tagging of events
The Events module provides a geo-mapping feature for the location of events. The module provides the ability to display maps of an event's location from three leading map
services:
• Google Maps
• Yahoo! Maps
• Live Maps
The geo-mapping feature provides in-built functionality for location geo-coding (retrieving geo-latitude and geo-longitude values) based on the street, city, country and state
(only for the United States of America).
Administrative Side of the Module
The administrative side of this module is largely similar to other Generic Content modules. It has the standard abilities to manipulate events (create, view, update,
delete), panels for managing tags, categories and comments, and to define module-specific permissions.
The Events module introduces a new specific panel for working with geo-mapping settings, which allows users to provide necessary data (such as an API key) for working
with third party APIs.
A specific feature of the Events module is the ability to display events in the form of a List or a Calendar. When the user is more interested in an event’s content (such
as the Title or Category to which it belongs), the List view is the more suitable display mode. On the other hand, if the user is more interested in the
actual date and time at which the event will take place, the Calendar display mode should be used.
The Calendar display mode provides a familiar interface similar to Google Calendar or Outlook Calendar, and allows users the following actions:
• View events in graphical calendar view with the ability to observe day, week or month
• Create a new event by clicking on an empty slot of time
• Edit an event by double-clicking on it
• Reschedule an event by dragging it from one location in the calendar to another
• Reschedule the length of an event by dragging the bottom handle of an event box
Public Side of the Module
On the public side, the Events module offers two out-of-the-box controls:
• Events View
• Events Schedule View
For more information on the public controls, see Events Public Controls
Possible Module Extensions
Following are some improvements that could be implemented in the Events module:
Rss Support
An RssProvider should be implemented which would allow users to publish RSS feeds of all events or events that belong to particular categories. This feature would allow
visitors of a Web site to keep up-to-date with newly-announced events without necessarily checking the Web site.
Support for Recurring Events
When creating or editing an event, users should have the ability to define the recurrence of the event. The implementation should closely resemble the one already built
in the Telerik control RadScheduler.
Registration for Events
The Events module should provide registration for attendants. An event that allows registration should specify number of vacancies, final date of registration and similar
information. On the public side, there should be a registration form that would provide user registration.
See Also