User Guide for AVAILACAL Availability Calendars

AVAILACAL availability calendars are probably the simplest way to share availability information via the internet. There is no software to install. To set-up an AVAILACAL availability calendar all you need is an AVAILACAL account for one or more calendars. (If you don't have an account yet you can experiment with the free live demo, a fully functional AVAILACAL account with up to ten calendars). This user guide explains how to use, configure and update the calendars. Further discussion on items such as display options and FAQs can be found in the Support Area.

Calendar Basics AVAILACAL offers users a choice of online availability calendar displays. The examples shown here are an actual live calendar called "Example". These examples illustrate how the different styles are simply alternative ways of presenting the same availability information. On the right are the Mini Calendar (the smaller one) and the Flash Calendar (with the rounded corners). These both show one month at a time and clicking on an arrow on the right advances to the next month. The Flash based calendar can be modified to almost unlimited sizes and colour schemes. The mini calendar is optimized for displaying anywhere that screen space is limited such as on mobile phones. The Table Calendar below shows a number of months in one view. All of these calendar types can be set to show a predetermined number of months up to a maximum 24 months ahead of the current date. A WAP calendar designed for mobile devices with black and white screens is also available. There is more information about that at the foot of this page.

Calendar Administration When logged-in, a Calendar Administration Control Panel is displayed, like the image shown here. To edit dates on the calendar: Set a start date and an end date then select an 'action' to apply to the chosen dates. Click OK to complete the update. (The panel shown here is just an illustration.)

• Set Unavailable - Selected dates will be blocked-in in red.
• PM/Tails/AM - Similar to selecting "Set Unavailable" but the first day and the last day of the block are given tails, i.e. Both the top left half (morning) of the first date and the bottom right half (evening) of the last date will be green unless they have previously been marked red.
• Set Available - Select this to set any dates to green
• PM Unavailable - The early part of the day is available, the later part of the day is not.
• AM Unavailable - The later part of the day (e.g. afternoon, evening or night) is available.
• Set Orange - Orange dates can have any significance desired. A popular use is for 'Unconfirmed' dates.

Calendar Management

The Advanced Options Screen

automatically display multiple table calendars on a single web page.
See the Support Area for details and examples.

Setting the size of the Flash calendars.
The size of the Flash type of calendar automatically adjusts proportionally to the space provided for it. Its size is typically constrained by the either the height or width of a browser window, HTML frame, Iframe, table cell, or division. The border, margin, padding and spacing settings of these elements will also tend to affect the resulting size. Basically you can make it at any size you want, from tiny to full-screen. Check the Support Area for examples.


WAP Functionality
WAP stands for Wireless Application Protocol. It's a low bandwidth data transfer system, popularly used for internet access on older types for mobile devices such as phones and PDAs. The AVAILACAL calendar system's special functionality to work with these devices was a big deal at one time, however, because all AVAILACAL calendars provide excellent bandwidth efficiency and compatibility most newer portable internet devices now support full access to AVAILACAL calendars without the need to use WAP. The mini-calendar is probably the best option for displaying calendars on small mobile devices with colour screens, especially those devices which don't support Flash. The section below which gives instructions for WAP may be interest if you're interested in accessing your calendar(s) using a portable device which only has a black and white display or only offers internet connectivity via WAP.

Click here to open a detailed guide to the WAP functions below...

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Detailed Guide to WAP functions

The AVAILACAL WAP system shares the very same calendar information as the other AVAILACAL calendars, any of which can be used to view the same availability information. A valuable use of the WAP system is the ability to check availability and instantly update calendars from older mobile devices. There are some limitations to the WAP based calendar system:

• Editing a calendar via WAP is only possible after a calendar-specific password has been set.
• Calendar management (creating new calendars, setting passwords etc.) can not be done via WAP.
• WAP calendars are essentially black and white for maximum compatibility with different WAP devices.

Viewing a Calendar via WAP
To view or edit a calendar via WAP: Using a WAP device go to http://availacal.com/wap and enter the calendar ID as shown below (figure A) The calendar ID in the example shown is Example. Choose the calendar month that you want to view (B), and it will be displayed (C). Links below the calendar let you to jump forward to the next month or back to previous month. Available dates are indicated by the presence of month day numbers. Non-available dates are indicated by an X. Dates when only either the morning or evening is available are indicated by the symbols ] and [ respectively, along with a smaller sized day number. A key is shown by scrolling down below the calendar (as in figure 1 in the subsequent section of this guide).



Editing a Calendar via WAP
If a calendar-specific password has been set for a calendar it is possible to edit the calendar via WAP. To do this; first display the calendar as shown in figures A, B and C above, then scroll down past the key. Two links are provided. The lower link, labelled "Home (Start)" will return you to screen A (above), perhaps to view a different calendar. Choosing the "Calendar Admin" link displays a box in which to enter the password for editing the calendar (2). When successfully logged in, a series of screens prompts you for the booking start day, month and year (3,4,5). This is then followed by the same sequence to set the end date.

After entering the end date of the reservation a drop-down list of possible actions appears (6), This works in the same way as the standard Calendar Administration panel (see above). On clicking CONFIRM the calendar data is updated with the new data.



Please note: WAP devices vary. Actual calendar and interface display screens on specific devices may differ significantly in appearance from the images shown here.