Upon registration, a dynamic Internet Calendar Subscription (ICS) feed is created for each member.
This feed allows members to have their session/class bookings appear in their favourite calendar, without having to add them individually each time. Whats more, if a session is cancelled, it is removed from their calendar without them needing to do anything.
Encouraging your members to use their calendar feed is a good way of helping maximise attendance, and avoiding late cancellations. If members can see their bookings in their own calendar, it’s less likely that they will double-book themselves – or, if they do, chances are they will cancel their session earlier (thus letting other members get a chance to attend).
The Internet Calendar Subscription URL for each member is unique, and takes the form:
https://my.quoox.com/calendars/xxxxxx-xxxxxx/sessions.ics
The easiest way to share a calendar feed URL with a member is to send them an email, and use the [[MEMBER.SESSIONWEBCALURL]] fill-in field for the URL. The Quoox mail system will then insert the correct URL instead of the placeholder.
Internet Calendar Subscriptions are also, sometimes, known as WebCals. Most modern calendar applications such as Outlook, Google Calendar, and Apple’s iCalendar can parse ICS feeds. Once setup, the feed will then work in the background without any further user interaction being required.
In all instances the member should subscribe to the feed, rather than import it. Importing a feed would bring the current bookings into the system, but the calendar would not update with future bookings or amendments.
Links are provided below to 3rd party guidance on how to import a WebCal into different calendar applications:
- Microsoft Outlook (Office 365 or online version)
- iCloud or iOS
- Google Calendar (web or Android)
- Microsoft Outlook (Desktop version)
- Open the calendar view in Outlook
- In the left hand bar, right click on “My Calendars”
- Select “Add Calendar”
- Select “From Internet”
- Enter the unique member ICS URL, as outlined above
- If prompted, give the calendar a name (E.g. “Gym bookings”), and elect to subscribe to the feed
