Creating Events

• Use a name that clearly identifies the purpose or topic of the event.
  
• Provide strong “scent” by hinting to the specifics of your event:
  
  • To make sure people understand what it is.
    
  • To entice people to read the details.
  • To encourage people to attend. 
    
• Limit the name to 250 characters.
• Do not use your unit name in the title unless absolutely necessary.

• The Summary is required, and should be a short overview of your event.
• Summaries are limited to 20 characters.
  
• Use plain text only. Do not include links.

To add a more detailed event Description, click the “Add a full description” box directly beneath the summary field and enlarge the field by pulling down the page extender in the bottom right. This will open a description field where you can add formatted text, HTML and links to other websites, including registration sites.

• Include a full description of your event.
• To add a link to a website:
  •  Click the “Insert Link” icon (world and chain link) and add the URL (e.g. http://buffalo.edu/myeventname) and link text (e.g. Corporate Challenge Registration).
  • In the “Target” field, choose “New Window.”
• Limit description to 1,000 characters.
  
• It is OK to use HTML.

Adding a location to your event is essential. The calendar’s default list of locations includes the most commonly used rooms and venues at UB. Locations are searchable.

• All locations include either latitude/longitude coordinates or street address, city and state for the benefit of visitors using GPS-enabled wayfinding (e.g., Google maps).
• If you are publishing an event to the master UB event calendar and a desired location is not listed, contributors may add a location manually.
  • Use the add button to the right of the location field. Your location should use the style and syntax in the table below.
• When you add a new location:
  • It will not appear in the location drop-down for future use, nor will it be searchable. You may copy and alter previously submitted events.
  • It will not be Google Maps enabled. Please include complete street address, city and state to make wayfinding easier for event attendees.
• Requests to add locations to the global drop-down menu can be submitted on the Calendar Service Request form.

When adding new locations, structure your entries as follows:

And use the following usage styles:

Here you will set the date and time, and for recurring events (series), you will set the pattern and any variances from that pattern.

Check Availability - Think of the interface as a scheduling tool. Pick the date, then the interface changes to show time. Click into the interface to grab a time block (an hour by default). Drag the time block or expand it as needed. You can also add multiple time blocks so be careful to delete any you do not want.

This interface is intended to help avoid scheduling conflicts, which generally is not a concern with our calendar.

Repeat Weekly - Quickly repeat this pattern on a weekly basis at the same time.

Multiple-Day Options - Use this tool to go beyond a simple weekly pattern. A new dialog box appears with a table of dates and times, and settings to choose the repetition pattern (daily, weekly, etc.) and the final end date. This will establish an Event Series in the calendar, which can be edited as a single unit, or individually for each event in the sequence. When done, save the details or cancel/delete and return to the main schedule details.

Featured (also know as 'Highlighted') events appear in the carousel at the top of the main calendar.buffalo.edu website. The calendar automatically populates these four spots based on the following:

• The event must be flagged as a highlight by a Unit Admin checking the 'This is a Featured Event' box on the event creation form.
  
• The event must include an image otherwise that spot in the carousel will be left empty.
  
• The carousel is populated in chronological order.

The calendar team has no control over what events appear there; we are unable to force events into those four slots. Unit Admins should exercise discretion when selecting which events are featured, so as not to overpower the available spots, especially with series.

In addition to these system requirements, please also adhere to the following best practices: 

• Featured events should appeal to a large part of the UB community, or to many people from multiple constituencies.
• Featured events should position UB appropriately within our brand guidelines (including your choise of accompanying image).
• Featured events should have compelling text.
• Featured events (all events!) should include clear and complete information, including a contact.
• Featured events must have an image.
  
  • For a series, we often recommend using a stock image.
  • For a one-off event, if you don't have a specific image handy, the interlocking UB logo or spirit mark will do. These are available within the calendar's Media Library (avilable while creating the event).
    
  • For instructions on how to upload an image to your event, please see 'Images and Attachments' below.

Include contact information for the person or office that can provide more information about the event.

Contact name:

• Include the first and last name of the person who can provide more information about the event.
• Limit to 25 characters.

Contact phone:

• Include the area code and phone number of the primary contact.
• Limit to 100 characters.

Contact email:

• Include the email address of the primary contact.
• Limit to 250 characters.

Categories and keywords can help your audience find your event by narrowing search results.

Keywords are ad hoc words or phrases added to events to make them easier to find in a search. These also become part of the navigation—people can click on the phrase to bring up any other entries that use the same keyword. Keywords are NOT used in our website feeds.

Categories are provided as filters in the search function of the calendar program.

Event contributors may choose more than one category or combine category, event format and audiences to refine their event purpose and content. To make it easier for people to find your events, it is recommended that you assign at least one category. Best practice is to add at least one category for your school and one for the event topic or theme. The table below details the categories available to you. They represent the most commonly used event topics and themes.

See the Feeds to UB Websites section for more information.

To push your event directly to your UBCMS website calendar, select the appropriate feed keywords.

To select multiple feed keywords or to select additional keywords when one or more have already been selected, you must control-click your selection; otherwise, all other previously selected keywords will clear.

Use this field to include the name and company, organization or school affiliation of the person who will be presenting, lecturing or speaking at the event. For example: T. J. Eckleburg, OD, Eckleburg Corrective Lenses and Billboard Design Co.

In this field:

• Include the primary cost (in USD) per person to attend your event. Use “Free” if appropriate.
• If there is more than one cost (e.g., $20 general public, $10 UB students), prioritize the UB-specific cost (in this example, the student cost) and include any additional cost information in your event description.
• Example: Free - Registration is open to current faculty and staff only. Registration is REQUIRED.

Audience options include the primary audiences who are the targets of UB’s events. Choose the primary audience to whom your event is directed to make your event more easily found in user searches. You may choose multiple audiences.

The campus field is mandatory. Choose from among these options based on where the event will primarily be held. If your event takes place on more than one campus, choose the primary campus and note additional campuses in your event description.

• Downtown Campus
• North Campus
• South Campus
• Off Campus
• Online

These options allow you to specify the mode or manner in which your event will be presented.

Images are encouraged for all events and are required for Featured Events.

• Images must be under 3MB in size, and the total size of all images must be under 10MB.
• Limit image file names to 250 characters.
  
• Images must be one of these formats: gif, jpeg, png, tiff or bmp.
• Images must include alt text for accessibility.

For featured events, images should be slightly wider than tall to work well in teh featured event panel on the main page. The ratio is about 1.3 width to height (226x178 px, but 344x300 works). Other orientations (including portrait, panoramic, even square) will stretch.

When chossing your image, please observe these best practices:

• Images should position UB appropriately within our brand guidelines.
• Images should be compelling.

To upload an image:

1. Navigate to the 'Pictures & Attachments' section of the event creation form.
2. Click Media Library.
3. Click Branding Elements.
4. Select from:
   
   • Official Logo Interlocking UB 400x400px
     
   • Official UB Spirit Mark 400x400px

Interlocking UB vs. Spirit Mark?

Use 'Official Logo Interlocking UB' by default for any event—it works especially well for formal events (e.g., academic or business meetings as well as events like the Celebration of Academic Excellence), but it is always appropriate for any UB activity. Use the spirit mark for more casual events, such as sporting or high-energy student or alumni activities.

Read more about UB brand identity guidelines.

Attachments include documents that are of use to attendees. We suggest using this feature sparingly.  

• Attached files must be under 10MB in size.
• Limit attachment file names to 250 characters.
  
• A wide variety of file formats are permited, including gif, jpg, jpeg, png, tiff, bmp, mov, qt, avi, mp4, wmv, wma, wmf, wav, mp3, m4a, ram, doc, docx, xls, xlsx, ppt, pptx, vsd, vsdx, pdf, txt, swf or html.