NB: This is a pretty long and comprehensive guide. If you’re comfy with Google Calendar already just scroll right to the last screenshot to get the correct link for sharing with PlaceCal — the actual link we need is a bit non-obvious.
Creating a new calendar
Firstly, let’s create a new calendar for all your Public events. This makes it really clear which events are going through to PlaceCal.
1. Go to the “+” symbol on the left hand side of the screen.
2. Click on “New calendar”
3. Give your calendar a name and a description if you like. Check the timezone is correct (London).
4. Click the back arrow in the top left to go back.
5. Now you can add events to your calendar. Click in the calendar grid roughly where your event is – don’t worry if it’s a bit off, you can change this later.
6. Make sure that the event is being created on the right calendar.
7. Once it’s created, click the pencil to edit the event information.
8. If your event calendar covers multiple venues, add the venue. Be sure to use the autocompete to set the location: having the name correctly here helps PlaceCal make sure the event goes on the correct pages.
9. If your calendar is entirely for one venue, you can either skip this step or use it to store a room number.
10. When this is done correctly, it will show up in the Location bar with a postcode.
- If appropriate, add in details about how often the event repeats.
12. Add a description – the more detailed the better. Descriptions support Markdown syntax if you’re comfortable using that. Links will automatically be converted into clickable links inside PlaceCal.
13. Your event listing is complete!
14. Repeat this process for your other public events.
Sharing your calendar link with PlaceCal
Your calendar is now up and running and can be updated either with a desktop browser, or using the Google Calendar phone or tablet app. Now you need to share this information with us so we can import it into the site.
Go back to the main screen, click on the three vertical dots next to your calendar name, and click “Settings and sharing”
Select “Make available to public”.
This will bring up a warning – this is fine and is just warning you this information will now be public.
Scroll to the “Integrate calendar” section. Copy the “Public address in iCal format” (not the public url!) field.
You can now continue: