The Global Event icon
looks like the iCal program icon.
No, not yet.
It seems Andreas Calvo is working on iCal export. Export to Outlook has been discussed in a separate thread.
Just thinking about the iCalendar export option for a Moodle site and courses. We have done this for the VITTA organisation events page (click on the LHS iCal link). With my copy of Mozilla Sunbird or Thunderbird Calendar extension, I
only need to click on a once link to the above page to create an
ongoing and dynamic series of entries in my calendar. As events change
on the remotcalendar, they would automatically be reflected and updated
on my local calendar. An ics file can support multiple events and looks like in part ..
The ability to synchronise to an external calendar has interesting functions in common to the use of a remote RSS reader to browse Moodle forums. A good thing about this approach is that it can work with the existing Moodle calendar module. As I envisage it, Moodle could generate the iCal calendar output for the site and each course. The link to the ics file could be located at the base of the current monthly calendar view. If a user navigates down to the level of an event, an iCal link could provide informtion for just a single event.
If there is sufficient interest, I could ask Peter if he is interested in adapting the output code we developed above for VITTA.
BEGIN:VCALENDAR
PRODID
/PHP 4.3.10-16 iCalendar//vitta.org.au//EN
METHOD:PUBLISH
VERSION:2.0
X-WR-CALNAME;VALUE=TEXT:VITTA Events
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART:20050905T090000
DTSTAMP:20050904T172525
UID:20f07591c6fcb220ffe637cda29bb3f6@vitta.org.au
SUMMARY;ENCODING=QUOTED-PRINTABLE:Preston: Digital content and creation for Essential Learning
LOCATION:Darebin Arts Centre\, Preston
(etc...)
PRODID
METHOD:PUBLISH
VERSION:2.0
X-WR-CALNAME;VALUE=TEXT:VITTA Events
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART:20050905T090000
DTSTAMP:20050904T172525
UID:20f07591c6fcb220ffe637cda29bb3f6@vitta.org.au
SUMMARY;ENCODING=QUOTED-PRINTABLE:Preston: Digital content and creation for Essential Learning
LOCATION:Darebin Arts Centre\, Preston
(etc...)
The ability to synchronise to an external calendar has interesting functions in common to the use of a remote RSS reader to browse Moodle forums. A good thing about this approach is that it can work with the existing Moodle calendar module. As I envisage it, Moodle could generate the iCal calendar output for the site and each course. The link to the ics file could be located at the base of the current monthly calendar view. If a user navigates down to the level of an event, an iCal link could provide informtion for just a single event.
If there is sufficient interest, I could ask Peter if he is interested in adapting the output code we developed above for VITTA.
Roland,
I think it would be a great addition to Jon's work. The features as you described could be very useful indeed.
I think it would be a great addition to Jon's work. The features as you described could be very useful indeed.
A little patience, "soon enough" I will have a demo of the export screen which will be able to export different types of events (per course, per group etc) and for any time period the user wants. In broad terms I 've envisioned it like what Roland describes.
Roland, if you would like to help with the export code (I mean the code that does the actual work, not the user interface) please take a look at my Bennu project which was started specifically to include iCalendar support in Moodle, but is nevertheless designed to be reusable in other applications as well. All of the writing and parsing iCalendar files will be done through Bennu, so if you have a willing developer we can collaborate on that without administrative trouble since I can grant you access to the Bennu code repository.
Roland, if you would like to help with the export code (I mean the code that does the actual work, not the user interface) please take a look at my Bennu project which was started specifically to include iCalendar support in Moodle, but is nevertheless designed to be reusable in other applications as well. All of the writing and parsing iCalendar files will be done through Bennu, so if you have a willing developer we can collaborate on that without administrative trouble since I can grant you access to the Bennu code repository.
Thanks heaps Jon, I will check with Peter and see if some collaboration can be organised. 
Hi Jon & Co.
Is there a status update on this development?
What do you need to finish this feature measured in time and other resources and how much of these resources do you need?
Thanks,
BR
Jens
I 'm aiming to include at least export to iCalendar format in 1.6, so it's scheduled to be added in the short term.
Outlook should probably import .ical, right? iCal is as close to a one-stop solution to working with different scheduler applications as there can be.
Andreas and his teammate Guillermo have finished their project work for some time now, and they may decide to contribute to the project in the future. Right now they are presumably at some sunny beach (I 'd be there as well if I could
).
Outlook should probably import .ical, right? iCal is as close to a one-stop solution to working with different scheduler applications as there can be.
Andreas and his teammate Guillermo have finished their project work for some time now, and they may decide to contribute to the project in the future. Right now they are presumably at some sunny beach (I 'd be there as well if I could
).