DynaCal User News & Tips

Default Tab

    With DynaCal’s multiple Calendar View options, you have the ability to create & save customized views of the calendar, and set a default calendar view to appear automatically each time you log-in. And now, (this is the exciting part) you also have the ability to choose the tab – Events or Reservations – that will display first when you log-in! If you’re happy to continue landing on the Events tab, simply  log-in as usual; there will be no changes for you. However, if you’d prefer to land on the Reservations tab when you log-in, here’s what to do:

• Go to the Reservations tab and create a Default view (select a calendar view and then click "Make this my default view" at the top right side of the page)
• In the confirmation box, click the “Make Reservations tab your default tab” link.

Now each time you log-in, you'll be taken directly to the Reservations tab and this default calendar view. It's that simple!

Work Order Requests Have Arrived!

This week we’re introducing the newest member of the Work Order family….Work Order Request forms!  You can now create a link to a Work Order Request Form, and distribute that link to anyone in your organization who may submit requests for Work Orders. With just a few clicks, they can submit their detailed work order requests directly to the DynaCal user with edit rights to that Work Order category. But don’t worry, every request must be reviewed and acted upon before becoming an “Open” Work Order!  Work Order Request Forms are designed to streamline the Work Order process for your organization, saving time & energy, and eliminating the “paper shuffle.” 

Click here to see how it works!

For more details about DynaCal’s new Work Order feature, contact us today at 1.866.984.3962 or email support@dynacal.com.

New Release Coming Soon!

DynaCal is pleased to announce a New Release, coming June 20! Look for these great new features and enhancements…

For our Facility Manager Edition users…

Work Orders – A beta version of the new Work Order function is here at last!  Create Work Orders, assign them to maintenance staff, report time and materials used, automatically send updates by email, and more!  We look forward to hearing your feedback on this new feature!

2-Way Syncing with Schedule Star – With this release we’ve closed the loop and made it possible to sync your facilities 2-way between DynaCal and Schedule Star.  Enter facility reservations in DynaCal and they show up as School events in Schedule Star.  Enter athletic events in Schedule Star that use facilities and they show up as reservations in DynaCal.  This great new feature gives you and the athletic director complete visibility into facility schedules and virtually eliminates double booking and scheduling conflicts! 

For our Calendar + Plus and Facility Manager Edition users…

Reservations View –For Organizations using Resources, this tab gives users the ability to quickly see all Resource Reservations, listed by Resource, rather than Event Name. Want to quickly see what’s happening in the Auditorium this week? Find it with a single click on the Reservations tab! View, add, print, export, sync, and generate Resource Reports directly from the new Reservations tab.

For all DynaCal Editions…

Communications View – View and manage all your News & Announcements, Cancellations & Delays, and Assignments on their own tab, separate from Activities and Events.

The Word is Out!

Thanks to all of you who visited us at the Indiana Association of School Business Officials show last week! It’s always great to talk with you, hear your feedback on what’s working, and get your input on upcoming features. Of course, we also enjoyed connecting with a few future DynaCal users too!  The word is out….DynaCal is the way to Get a Grip on Your Schedule!
And here’s something else to get the word out about…..Work Orders are coming soon!  There have been many requests for this feature, ranging from polite to passionate (you know who you are!) and now your patience is about to be rewarded. In the next few weeks we’ll be rolling out a beta version of our new Work Order function, which will allow you to create and manage Work Orders district-wide. We look forward to getting your feedback on it!

My DynaCal Gets the Word Out!

You can boost your communication power in an instant simply by using DynaCal’s Communications Categories to post news, announcements, closings & delays and assignments on your calendar. That’s because My DynaCal users are sent instant Email or Text Alerts every time a Communication Category posting is made. All you need is one or more Communication Category (Announcements, Cancellations or Assignments) established for your calendar. (If you're not a calendar Administrator, have your Administrator set up these categories for you!)

Then, use the appropriate Communications Category each time you post newsletters, special announcements, school closings, weather delays, and teacher assignments. DynaCal will instantly notify My DynaCal users through Email and Text Alerts. Take advantage of this time-saving feature and grow your communication power today! 

Saved By The View

DynaCal’s Private Categories give you the convenience of scheduling personal meetings and family activities in DynaCal, right alongside your organization’s public events. If you’re already using this great feature for personal appointments, you know how handy it is to have everything in one convenient, central location. But did you know you can customize your calendar view so that you will see only the events (both Private and Public) you’re interested in?  It’s called a “Saved View” and it works just like the My DynaCal feature for public calendar users.

After you login, simply click on Calendar View>>Categories. Then select all the categories you want to include, and save. Next, click the “Make this my default view” link. Now, your customized calendar view will automatically appear every time you login.

This is just one more way that DynaCal is working for you!

Where's My New Event?!?

The Case of the Vanishing Event….

….The new event you’ve just added to the calendar appears in Event Maintenance, but disappears when you open the Public Calendar! We’ve gotten several calls from you about this mysterious phenomenon. But rest assured, it’s not mysterious, nor phenomenal. Nearly always, this problem occurs because the Category of your new event is not selected for the Featured Calendar you are viewing. Check it out by going to the Featured Calendar Edit page (Admin tab > Featured Calendars > Edit). There you will see which categories have been selected, and can make the appropriate changes. If this doesn’t solve the problem, make sure that the Category for this event is Public, and not Private. Remember that Private Categories cannot be made visible on the Public Calendar. And as always, you can contact us by phone (1-866-984-3962) or email support@dynacal.com for further help.

I’m a visual learner, show me how

DynaCal Update - Customer Requests

Last night we implemented a few new features based on requests from our Users.

Show Categories Collapsed or Expanded

When adding or editing events, Users now have the option of seeing the Category list collapsed or expanded.  Many of our Users have a long list of Categories that they have permissions to, and this feature will minimize their scrolling up and down the page to find the Category they are looking for.  When selecting a Category, simply check the "Collapse" check box next to the "Clear" and "Go" buttons.

The Categories will stay collapsed until you uncheck the option.

Users will now also have the same option when viewing your events by Category in Event Maintenance.

New User Profile Report

For you Calendar Administrators with a large number of Users, a large number of Categories, or both, we've created a summary report that shows you all of your Categories, Users and their permissions on one page.  This will help you as you make changes to your calendar structure, when you're adding or changing multiple users, or simply in when you want to do a general review of all your Users and their permissions.

The new report is in a downloadable CSV (Excel) format, and can be generated by clicking the new "User Profile Report" button on the Department & Category Maintenance page

or on the Users & Permissions Maintenance page.

For each User / Category, the report shows one of 3 values.  A value of "E" indicates that the User has Editing + Viewing rights.  A value of "V" indicates that the User has Viewing only rights. A value of "N" indicates that the User has no Viewing or Editing rights.

 

Thanks for your continued feedback.  Expect more improvements and new features in the near future!

The First Release of 2008 is Up and Running!

New Public Calendar features have been put in place. We've added new navigation - by Departments and Schools - to make it easier for your Public Calendar visitors to find the events they are looking for.  We've added 2 new Category types; Cancellations and Assignments.  These new Category types, along with our existing Announcement Category type, are now highlighted on the Public Calendar with a new navigation section called "Communications".  And finally, we've totally revised our search function and made it available in the top / right corner of all calendar pages. 

For a brief slide show that summarizes and shows these new features, click here.

Thanks for all your feedback, we welcome your suggestions for improvement.  Stay tuned for our next round of additions coming soon!

Welcome to the DynaCal User News & Tips Blog

We will be using this blog format to post tips and helpful information for our users.  Feel free to post your comments - but please remember to be courteous and polite!  Our goal here is to help you understand as much about the features of DynaCal as possible, and get your feedback about how we can better satisfy your calendaring, scheduling, and communication needs.  Thanks!