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Oracle Calendar for Nebula

Oracle Calendar On-Line Help
Archiving data
The Basics
Access / Permission levels
Creating and using groups
Deleting multiple events
The In-tray
Meetings
Messages
Name change
Notes and Events
On-line calendar access
Printing
Resources
Scheduling
Search
Synchronizing a handheld
Oracle Calendar, a calendaring software, is installed on all Nebula Gold PCs. The current version is 9.0.4. It is developed and sold by Oracle. Some of the most popular features are:

If you are a Nebula user and you are interested in exploring this software for the first time, you should begin by verifying with your Nebula support person that you have an account on Oracle Calendar (OC). Then, you can check with the UW Computing Training course catalog to see if there is an Oracle Calendar class available.

The Nebula support team is here to answer any questions. For further information, please contact your Nebula support person.

Tips and Troubleshooting

The Basics:
Change the view: switch from day to week to month view by clicking on the calendar representation that shows the desired view in gold squares. Change what days and hours are displayed with Tools - Options - Agenda. Check out the other configuration options here as well.
Add an appointment: drag to select the desired time slot, then type. Or click the clock-like icon to open the full appointment window.
Edit an appointment: double-click to open it.
Appointment options: in the full appointment window, you can add a location, give yourself a reminder, change the time or day, or invite people.
Repeating appointments: in the full appointment window, click the Repeating button, and choose your Frequency first: day, week or month. Then choose the pattern of repetition and click OK; you can now add people, and check for conflicts.
Inviting people or resources: in the full appointment window, on the People/Resources tab, click in the Add: box and type the name and hit Enter. To search for people or resources, click the magnifying glass Search icon:
  • People: on the People tab, type a few letters of the last name into the Surname: box and hit Enter.
  • Resources: On the Resources tab, type e for a list of equipment, c for one of conference rooms, or s for one of schedules.
  • If you're always inviting the same people/resources, look below for helping in creating and using groups.
View other calendars: File - Agenda - Open. Type in the name, or use the above tips on Inviting people to perform a search.
Using Notes or Day Events: A yellow flag (Note) or purple pushpin (Day Event) can be set by clicking on the appropriate icon and choosing the date. This information will appear at the bottom of those whose calendars you have included in the Add: box.
Tasks: The New Task icon is fifth from the right and looks like a pad of paper. Tasks will be displayed on the right in the Task Pane when you are in View Day mode (not in View Week or View Month mode). To set your Task options, use the Open Task icon (7th from left), then View - Show.

Access: How do I control who has access to my calendar items?
There are 2 levels of access in Oracle Calendar:
  • Entry Access, controlled thru the Tools -> Options -> Entry Defaults; this has 4 levels of access: Personal, Confidential, Normal, Public. The default is Normal.
  • Access rights, controlled through the Tools -> Access Rights panel. There you can assign viewing, scheduling and designate options. In most cases, all folks should need is "view normal entries" and "can invite you to meetings".

Archiving: How do I save information from my calendar?
To export data:
  1. Choose File-Export Data from the Oracle Calendar menu.
  2. Choose your preferred data type. We recommend iCalendar for compatibility and flexibility in importing.
  3. Click Continue.
  4. Choose the data types and date ranges for the data you wish to export.
  5. In the 'File Name' input box, choose a name for your exported data. You may use the 'Browse' button to choose a local or networked file location for export.
  6. Click OK to complete the export. iCalendar data may be imported into Oracle Calendar, as well as a range of other calendaring products, including Microsoft Outlook, Apple iCal, Mozilla Calendar/Sunbird, Google Calendar, KOrganizer, GNOME Calendar, and Windows Calendar.
It is important to note that Oracle Calendar is an online service for personal and group calendaring. It is not an official university record. Staff interested in preserving calendaring information as an official university record should review the Records Management web site.

Groups: I have one or more groups of people whose calendars I need to see regularly.
  • Create the group:
    • Click on Tools, then Manage Groups, then click the New button.
    • Type in a name for your group.
    • Click in the Add Members window, and then type in the names, hitting Enter after each one.
    • When done, click OK twice.
  • Display the calendars of the group's members:
    • Click on File -> Group View -> Open.
    • Click on the icon with two tiny people, off to the right.
    • Click the group name, and click OK twice.
    • To de-activate a member for this particular instance, click the checked box at the top of that column. To re-activate, click the box again. In this way, you can choose the exact combination of people you wish to schedule for any item.
  • Scheduling in a group display: once you have the desired calendars active:
    • In the left column, "Combined", highlight the time and type in the description. The scheduled item will appear in the calendars of all the active members.
    • Or let Oracle Calendar determine the day/time: click the New Meeting icon (purple clock) and click Tools - Suggest Date/Time.

In-tray:
How do I keep it from opening?
Tools - Options - Click the + in front of General - click Startup. Under Intray Startup section, click on "Do not open Intray."
It's the only thing that opens; how do I open my calendar?
Use File - Agenda - Open to open your own agenda. Oracle Calendar opens in the same state that it was closed, so close your Intray before closing your calendar (e.g. closing OC).

Meetings:
I want to remove a meeting from my calendar.
Refuse the meeting (double-click to open, click Refuse button). Then set your Agenda so that refused meetings are not displayed:
  • Tools -> Options
  • Click on the + (plus) sign in front of Agenda.
  • Click Display. On the right side, uncheck Refused Meetings, and Click OK.
Delete multiple meetings or events
Open the In-tray (File - Open In-tray, and display the events you want to cancel. Use Ctrl-click to select the events, then right-click on one of the highlighted lines. Choose Delete and then Delete all.
Where is the "suggest dates and times" option?
In the meeting window, use Tools - Suggest Date and Time.
Creating repeating meetings:
  • Create the new meeting entry, then double-click on it to get the Edit Meeting window.
  • Click on the Repeating button. Choose your desired Frequency from the pull down list, and fill in the rest of the Frequency options.
  • In the "Start and end dates" section, either choose an "Until" date, or fill in the number of cycles (days, weeks, months).
  • Click OK.

Messages: error and otherwise:
Do you want an off-line agenda?
Answer yes; it should quit asking this question.
Current off-line agenda belongs to someone else.
Just pick a different local location for the off-line content, like c:\oc\your_initials. Normally this occurs when someone else has checked the calendar on the computer - the program is unable to find the correct off-line content.

Name change: I want to change my name in Oracle Calendar.
Send a request to nebula-support@cac.washington.edu and include both your current name and the name you wish to change to.

Notes and Events
Someone has sent me a number of Notes or Events; how do I set them all to "keep in agenda" without clicking each one?
Open one of the Notes. Scroll to the top of the list and click the first Note to select it, then scroll to the bottom of the list. Hold down the Shift key, and click the last Note. You can then click "Keep in agenda" and it will apply that status to all the notes. (If you have a lot of instances, you might want to do them in sections.)
How do I add someone to all instances of a repeating daily note?
Use the technique described above to select the desired Notes. Type the person's name in the Add field and hit Enter, and then click OK.

On-line calendar access
An on-line calendar is available at https://calendar.cac.washington.edu.
  • To send someone an email link to your calendar: Implement a "Global Agenda" by clicking the "Preferences" icon (it's the pointer with two boxes in the batch on the right side of the screen) and choosing the "Security" tab. Once you turn this on, a link appears called "Email your Agenda to a Friend".
  • View another's calendar: click View Agendas - it's the icon that looks like a calendar with a little human standing in front of it.
  • View a resource calendar: use https://calendar.cac.washington.edu/quickres/ and enter the following: conf for conference rooms; equip for equipment, and sched for schedules.
A text-based calendar suitable for most handheld devices is available at https://calendar.cac.washington.edu/quickcal/.

Printing:
How do I print the addresses in my addressbook?
Open your Addressbook, then click View - Open All Folders. Then go to File - Print, and click the "all fields" radio button.
How do I print my calendar?
With your calendar showing, click File - Print and then click Options and choose the types of information you want included and how it should be printed.

Resources: how do I use these effectively?
There are two types of calendars that people have in mind when they talk about resources:
  • One that does not allow double-booking. This is ideal for conference rooms and equipment, and is called a Resource.
  • One that does allow double-booking. If you require this type of calendar, please contact your Nebula support person.
To set up and use a Resource:
  • Email your request to Nebula Support, specifying the type of resource (conference room, equipment, or schedule) and the name of the resource.
  • For conference rooms, please include the building name as well as the room name (the resource name can have up to 24 characters).
  • Nebula Support will notify you that your resource has been set up. By default, anyone can schedule a resource. To change this, you'll want to:
    • Open the Oracle Calendar account by searching for the resource: type r: c in the initial User Name window for a conference room, and hit Enter, then select it from the list. For a piece of equipment, type r: e and for a schedule, type r: s.
    • There won't be a password until you set one. Use Options, Change Password to do so.
    • Click Tools - Access Rights, and add the names of those people who will be able to schedule this resource, also known as Designates. Set each of them as follows:
      • On the Designate tab, click the "Full designate rights" box.
      • On the Scheduling tab, de-select "same as default" and instead select "can invite you to entries". Also on the Scheduling tab, select the Default user and unclick "can invite you to entries".
    • To enable people to see (but not change) the entries you make, select the Viewing Tab, select "Default: any unlisted person." In the Normal Entries line, click the box under View Entries.
  • To be able to not only create entries, but to modify existing entries, use File - Agenda - Open As Designate.

Scheduling
How do I reschedule an existing meeting?
  • Only the person who originally scheduled the meeting can reschedule (or delete) it.
  • Double-click the meeting to open it, and then you can
    • Change to a specific time and/or date by using the boxes provided;
    • Use Advanced - Open Group View to open the calendars of all the participants; drag the meeting to a new time.
    • Use Tools - Suggest Date/Time to open a window that lets you set the parameters, and then generates a list of dates/times that your participants are available.

Search: How do I search for resources?
It depends on where you begin searching.
  • If you use File -> Agenda -> Open and type:
    • r: e for equipment
    • r: c for conference rooms
    • r: s for schedules
  • If you are inviting the resource to a meeting, you can type one of the above lines into the Add box.
  • If you use the magnifying glass at any point, click on the Resources tab, and in the Resource Name field, you need only type an e, c, or s and hit Enter to display the requested resources.

Synch: how do I synchronize with a handheld?

For Windows Mobile (aka Pocket PC, Windows CE):

 February 2006: Oracle Sync will not work with Active Sync v4.0 and above. Oracle is working to fix this problem.

  1. Start with the device out of the cradle.
  2. If Active Sync is already installed on the PC, you should uninstall it via the Add/Remove programs.*
  3. Now, with the device connected or in the cradle, install ActiveSynch from either the software that came with your device, or the Microsoft site. Do not establish a partnership when offered the chance. Click Cancel to exit the install at this point.
  4. Install Oracle Synch for Pocket PC from the "Windows - Pocket PC" link on the Calendaring Software Clients at the UW page.
  5. Disconnect and reconnect the device. You will see a message on the PC screen, "Do you want to establish a partnership?" Now you can answer Yes to establish the partnership. Calendar, Contacts, and Tasks will then be associated with Oracle Calendar. You can change the Tasks and Contacts associations, if you wish, from within Active Sync.
  6. The Oracle Calendar Sync software will automatically open up the "Sign In - Settings" window. Enter your  UW NetID in the "User" field and your Oracle Calendar password in the "Password" field.
  7. In the "Server Information" area, for "Server name" enter ctime.cac.washington.edu and for "Node" enter 1
  8. Go to "Date Book - Date Range". (This is where you will determine how far back and how far forward the synchronization will occur on your device) Enter your desired date range**.
 
For Palm:
 
  1. If "Palm Desktop" isn't already installed, install it before installing the Oracle Calendar Sync software.
  2. Install the sync software from the "Windows - Palm" link on the Calendaring Software Clients at the UW page.
  3. Choose Custom install. Select the components you wish to install. (If you only wish to sync Event data, leave the Date Book Conduit selected and then deselect the Address Book and To Do List Conduit) Continue with the install, and click Finish.
  4. The Oracle Calendar Sync software will automatically open up the "Sign In - Settings" window. Enter your UW NetID in the "User" field and your Oracle Calendar password in the "Password" field.
  5. In the "Server Information" area, for "Server name" enter ctime.cac.washington.edu and for "Node" enter 1
  6. Go to "Date Book - Date Range". (This is where you will determine how far back and how far forward the synchronization will occur on your device) Enter your desired date range**.
  7. *** Open up "Palm Desktop", select "HotSync" and then "Custom".  Select "Date Book" and click on "Change", then select "Do Nothing" and check the "Set as Default" box and then click OK. You will need to repeat this process for both "To Do List" and "Address Book" if you plan on using the Oracle version of these. If you chose not to install the Oracle versions of these conduits in step 3 above, then you only need to make these changes for the "Date Book".

 

*If you are familiar with the Active Sync program, you can avoid the uninstall/reinstall by deleting the partnership via the File menu.

**To make changes to the Date Range or any other synchronization changes in the future, use Programs - Oracle Calendar Sync - Settings

***This Step may only be necessary with the newest version of Palm Desktop