Sept. 3, 2009

New calendar gives users more options

by Erin Rosacker

Iowa State's online events calendar received an overhaul recently, giving users more interactive options to keep up with what's happening on campus.

Now users can customize what they want to see by category. "Featured Events" is the default feed for viewing calendar entries, but events also can be filtered into these categories:

  • All (every category)
  • Academic calendar (Registrar deadlines, University holidays)
  • Arts, performances (concerts, films, plays, exhibits, arts workshops)
  • Athletics (Cyclone games and events)
  • Conferences (day-long symposiums, seminars)
  • Diversity (multi-cultural activities)
  • Lectures (speakers, panels, presentations)
  • Live Green (events and topics supporting green initiatives)
  • Meetings, receptions (retirements, open forums, book signings)
  • Special events (dedications, ceremonies, banquets)
  • Student activities (SUB and student club/organization events, socials)
  • Training, development (classes, workshops, "lunch and learns")

Events can be displayed as a daily, weekly or monthly list. A calendar box in the top left corner also gives users the ability to check a specific date.

Looking for something in particular? Just type keywords into the "Search Events Calendar" field at the top of the page to find an event in the database. More specific search parameters also are available.

Keep connected

E-mail reminders, RSS feeds and downloads are new options available to calendar users.

To receive a weekly e-mail of upcoming campus events, send your e-mail address to weeklyevents@iastate.edu. A list of the upcoming week's featured events will show up in your inbox early Sunday morning. For individual events, you can have an e-mail reminder sent to you -- on any one of the days prior to the event, or on the day of the event.

Users can download their favorite event categories (or individual events) for their Microsoft Outlook (PC) or iCal (Mac) applications using iCalendar or vCalendar files. Customized RSS feeds of the calendar event categories also are available.

More information on subscribing to these feeds, including download directions, is available on the calendar home page by clicking on the "Subscribe" link at the bottom of the left column. Some hold-over favorites still are available, too. Links to other calendars -- alumni, exhibits, ISU Extension, interfaith and City of Ames -- are listed under "More Calendars."