How to Manage a Complex Schedule with Teamup

You can customize how you use your Teamup calendar so that managing a complex schedule is easier for you and your entire group.

If you’re managing a full calendar, with multiple inputs, variations, and sharing needs, you know how time-consuming it can be. A complex schedule requires a robust, carefully planned solution. However, that solution can still be as simple as possible, and it can be easy to use. If you put careful thought into how you structure and organize your calendar, with Teamup’s powerful and unique features, you can streamline your schedule management.

Here are a few questions and answers that have come up as we work with Teamup users to help them design the best calendar solution for their complex scheduling needs.

Do I need two master calendars?

I have set up a master calendar for managing our shared space and room reservations. Now I want to set up calendar to manage our staff availability and requested time-off. Do I need to set up a separate master calendar?

In most cases like this, you can make your current calendar work for you, without needing an additional master calendar. (The exception is if the total sub-calendar count goes above 50. The Premium subscription applies to one master calendar only, which includes an allowance of 50 sub-calendars. If you need over 50 sub-calendars, you would need an additional Premium subscription for a separate master calendar, or an Enterprise solution.)

All you need to do is make use of the folder organization possible with Teamup.

You can nest sub-calendars inside of folders. In this scenario, simply create a folder called “Staff Scheduling” or something similar. Then create the sub-calendars you need, such as Staff Schedule, Time-Off Requests, Scheduled Vacations, etc.. Put these sub-calendars inside the Staff Scheduling folder when you create them.

If you do the same type of folder organization with your other sub-calendars, you have effectively divided your single master calendar into two main areas, separated by folder organization. When you create calendar links, you can customize them to access one group of sub-calendars only. When the individuals use those links, they would be unaware of the other sub-calendars that belong to the rest of the calendar. It would seem like separate calendars. Read here for how to set links up in this way.

Note that the calendar administrator can always see all sub calendars. And that you can can filter your view at any stage and show and hide sub calendars as needed. This is an effective way of de-cluttering your view when you want to work with only one folder, or set of sub-calendars, at a time.

Can I share only certain events on an embedded calendar?

We want to be able to add all types of events to our master calendar, then share embedded calendars on different websites. We want those embedded calendars to include only certain events, not all events. Is this possible?

Yes, you can customize what each embedded calendar shows by showing only certain sub-calendars.

Sharing a Teamup Calendar with others is by means of calendar links. The calendar administrator sets these links up by going to Settings > Sharing. These links can be one per person or for a group of people. You can choose to include only certain sub-calendars in each link. You can also customize the permissions for each sub-calendar included in the link.

You’ll use a calendar link to embed a calendar onto a webpage.

So to share only certain events on an embedded calendar, first create a link that includes only the sub-calendars which contain the events you want to share. Then you’ll use that link when embedding the calendar into a web page.

If your website is WordPress powered, we even have a small plugin to embed the calendar with more visual controls.

Can I customize calendar access and views for multiple team members?

We have a team of about 10 to 15 individuals who need to access the calendars. However, they are not all involved in the same events. Can I customize how each individual sees the calendar?

Yes, with Teamup’s customized calendar links you can create variations on calendar views and access for each individual who needs access.

The calendar administrator creates these calendar links up by going to Settings > Sharing. You can create a link for each individual or for a group of people. The links can also be customized to have varying access to just certain sub-calendars as explained here. So, if one team member needs to see all the calendars but only modify certain ones, you can include some sub-calendars with read-only permission, and others with modify permission.

Can we share a list of events with individuals who do not have calendar access?

We often work with event coordinators who need an agenda for the day or weekend, but don’t necessarily need to have access to our calendar (even temporarily). Is there an easy way to share a list of selected events?

Yes, you can easily share a list of events. First, you would toggle the sub-calendars so only the ones with events you want to share are in the current calendar view. Then to go to the Agenda view, which will show all events as a list with their scheduled times. You can opt to include details or not, depending on what you want to share. Adjust the date range for the events you want to share. Once your view is correct, click the menu bar in the top right and choose Print and Export PDF.

An options window will open: you can turn the sidebar off, print in color or black-and-white, and choose the paper orientation. Then simply print to share on paper, or download as a PDF to share via email.

Can I customize the event editor to collect the specific information we need?

Do we have to use the generic information (who, where, etc.) in the fields on the event editor? We need specific details for each event on our calendar, and it would be much easier if we can collect those via event fields.

You can create custom fields for the event editor so that your calendar reflects the information needs specific to your use. The Premium plan allows for ten custom fields.

To create customized event fields, simply go to Settings > Event Fields. You can choose each event field to require single-line text or to have choices. For choices, you can set it to single choice or multiple choice. (The basic Free and Plus plan allow at most eight active options per choices field. The Premium plan includes up to twenty active options per field.)

You can also opt to make each event field required or optional. You can also choose to have an event field show in the calendar view, if desired.

Note that custom event fields are now stable and the beta status will soon be removed. However, it may still some time to be fully supported on our mobile apps. (We are working on it but can’t give a specific date of availability yet.)

Do you have other questions about how to handle a complex schedule with Teamup? Check out our user feedback for some inspiration and ideas.

Header photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash.