Select the SharePoint list type.

You can add any SharePoint lists and external calendar lists (such as Exchange Calendar, Google Calendar, Salesforce Calendar, SQL Tables, XML files, etc.). In this example, we will use a SharePoint calendar list. Select the required site from the site collection dropdown, then choose the list.

You can add lists from any number of sites within the SharePoint site collection.

Select the title column and the start and end time columns of the list.

Choose the list fields that will be displayed in the new (create) form of the new event. All SharePoint field types (except Currency) are supported.

Select the color that will be used for color-coding events of this data source. Now click “Save” to create the data source. It will be displayed in the list of data sources.

To modify or delete a data source, use the corresponding “Edit” and “Delete” buttons opposite the required source:

Additional data source settings

Tooltip options

Expand “Tooltip Options” in the “Data source settings” block. If you want to be redirected to the default SharePoint edit/view form after clicking on a calendar item, check the box labeled “Disable tooltip.” You can also hide the event details link from anonymous users by checking the corresponding box.

Now select the fields that will be displayed on the calendar item tooltip and move them to "Display Columns" window with arrows.

You can allow the display of attachments for items in this data source, and it is possible to adjust the preview of the attached pictures in the tooltip.

If you check the box labeled “Only Pictures,” the tooltip will not contain links to other attachments (.doc, .pdf, etc.).

If you check the box labeled “Picture Preview Enabled,” the tooltip for this source will contain a preview of the attached pictures.

Filters options

If you select the “List View” filter, you will need to define a list view according to which the items will be displayed (for example, only active tasks will be shown). The view predefined in the SharePoint list will be used.

If you select the “Advanced” filter, you will be able to define special conditions for displaying items from this list. For example, you can create user filters or add any other custom conditions.

Moreover, you can show events only if the current user belongs to the user(s)/group(s) from a chosen column.

Simply select the required option from the dropdown. This option is available only for a SharePoint list data source and can be used for columns of the “Person or Group” type.

Don’t forget to click “Save” after making adjustments.

Advanced options

Percents of completion and color-coding options are included in the “Advanced Options” block for a data source.

You can display a percent completion for your events. This is usually applied to lists of the Tasks type. The completion status will be displayed in the Tasks view (Days or Hours). To adjust the percent completion view, select a field from which the percent value will be taken. At this step, you can also define the height of the percent completion bar and select an appropriate color.

You can also display items of different categories from the list with different colors. In this case, you have to define a field of categorization (for example, priority or status) and select colors for each of the values.

Click “Save” when you finish. Click “OK” or “Apply,” and you will see that events from the added SharePoint list (if there are any) appear in the calendar according to the defined settings.

To modify or delete a data source, use the corresponding “Edit” and “Delete” buttons opposite the required source.

You can use any XML file as a data source in your SharePoint calendar. Create a new data source in the calendar settings, select the “XML File” data source type, and check the box “Show in Calendar.”

All the XML information is defined with XPath strings. The following strings are required to enter: the path to the XML file, the XPath string for calendar events, and the XPath string for the calendar event start date. Other fields are not required: the XPath string for the calendar event title, the XPath string for the calendar event end date, the XPath string for the calendar event IsAllDay flag, and the XPath string for the calendar event tooltip. Please see XPath examples to define event information.

Define namespaces to extend the formats of processed XML files. You need to define the prefix and value (separated by a space). Namespaces are separated by “Enter.”

Click “Save” to save the new data source.

Since RSS is an XML file, you can add any RSS feed to your Virto Calendar, such as a news feed. In this case, you have to enter the URL generated for the XML feed into the “Path to XML File” field. You can find an example in the following part:

How to add RSS items to Virto Calendar

If you have the Virto Calendar Web Part installed and view the list of available data sources, you will not see the RSS data source in the list. However, RSS uses a special XML format for news feeds, blogs, and article announcements, and the Virto Calendar Web Part supports XML data sources. With this method, RSS can be added as a data source to the Virto Calendar.

First, you need to add the Virto Calendar Web Part to a SharePoint site page and open the settings menu. Then, expand the “Data Source Settings” menu and click “Create New Source.”

Define the following parameters in the new block displayed:

Source Name: Google News 
Data Source: Xml file
Path to xml file: http://news.google.com/news?cf=all&ned=us&hl=en&topic= h&num=10&output=rss 
XPath string for calendar events: //rss/channel/item 
XPath string for calendar event title: title 
XPath string for calendar event start date: pubDate 
XPath strings for calendar event tooltips: description

The “pubDate” parameter is used as the event start date in this example, and the event will have no end date. The result should be as follows:

The basic parameters are set. You can also define the legend color in addition. Click “Save” to save the new data source and use “OK” to save the web part settings.

The new data source is ready. RSS feed items will now be added to your Virto Calendar.

We have now described how, by using XML data sources, you can add RSS feeds to your Virto Calendar in just a few steps. All you need to do is change the URL in the “Path to XML File” field, and you’re all set!

You can use not only SharePoint lists as data sources but also data from SQL databases. To add an SQL list as a data source, browse to the “Data Source Settings” block and use “Create New Source.”

Type the SQL server name, enter a username and password, and then click “Browse” to choose the required database from the list.

The list of available databases will be displayed. Select the required one.

Then, select a table from which you will import items. If you want to move and edit events imported from the SQL list later, check the box “Primary Key Field” and define it. Otherwise, you will only be able to view the imported items.

You can sort events in the SQL table using the “ORDER BY” option.

Next, define other settings as described for SharePoint list data sources and click “Save.”

The SQL list will appear in the list of data sources. Click “OK” to return to your calendar. Events from your SQL database will be displayed on the calendar.

You can create new events in the selected database using the Virto SharePoint calendar. If you delete the SQL list data source, items will disappear from the calendar but will be saved in the database on the SQL server.

How to find the calendar settings menu on classic pages

The calendar configuration can be adjusted in the settings menu.

Click "Edit" in the upper right corner.

Select "Edit Web Part" from the dropdown in the upper right corner.

The settings panel will appear on the right side of the page.

To add a new data source to the calendar, use the “Create New Source” button.

Type the name of the new data source and check the box labeled “Show in calendar.”

The Virto Calendar allows users to add data source icons and display them in the data source legend. You must enter an icon URL (a size of 32x32 px is recommended).

You can also make this data source read-only by checking the box or define the list of users (user groups) with read-only permissions for this data source. It is possible to disable the option to open event details or delete an event from the tooltip.

Select the list type and proceed to the next chapters to read about the corresponding source settings.

You can set the default view that will be displayed when you open the calendar page by selecting the desired view from the dropdown menu (Day, Week, Month, Year, Work Week, Task (Days), Task (Hours)).

If you need to view a specific day from the Month view, simply click on the desired day (the number). Similarly, you can navigate to any month from the Year view by clicking on it.

To enable this feature, select "Enabled" in the "Drill Down" field.

You can select the desired language for the calendar from the following localizations: English, German, Czech, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, and Swedish.

Select a localization from the list and apply the changes.

To see which colors correspond to different data sources, you can display a color legend in your calendar. It is possible to show or hide all events from a specific data source by clicking on its corresponding icon in the data source legend.

Check the box "Show Data Source legend" in the "General Settings" section. If you need to adjust the width of the legend elements, enter the desired size in pixels and click "OK" to save the settings.

You can also enable or disable the option to save the last selected view of your calendar. If this option is checked, users will see the view they last selected when reopening the calendar.

The next option enables filtering, allowing you to show or hide events from a chosen data source in the calendar.

Additionally, you can set a custom time and date format if needed. You can use custom date and time format strings and enter them in the general settings section.

You can also use different themes for the calendar by applying a custom CSS file to the web part.

It is possible to adjust the tooltip width, which is useful when the text of an item description is too large. The default and minimum size of a tooltip is 300 pixels.

If a description is too lengthy, the tooltip may have a long scroll:

Assigning a tooltip width of 600 pixels can make it look much better:

Views and tabs order

You can hide some views in the calendar. To do this, uncheck the boxes next to the views you want to hide.

You can also change the titles and positions of the views. Use the “Edit” button next to the title you want to change. Type in a new title or select the desired position, then click “Save” icon.

Click on the arrows if you want to change the position of the views. Don’t forget to scroll to the bottom and "Apply" your changes!

Security Settings for Calendar Properties

The Virto SharePoint Calendar allows users to select SharePoint groups and/or users who will have permission to edit web part settings.

Open the web part settings and scroll down to the security settings block.

You can select “All users who have access to web part settings” to allow all SharePoint users to edit the web part. Alternatively, select “Only selected users and/or users from selected groups” and choose the groups with access to the web part settings.

You can also grant access rights to selected users by typing their Name and Surname and clicking “Check Names” or by using the “Browse” button to add a user.

Google Calendar data source (only Pro and Pro Exchange Edition)

Virto Calendar allows users to add a Google Calendar data source and adjust the view of Google Calendar events in the Virto Calendar.

Click “Edit Web Part” and scroll down to the data source settings block. Click “Create New Source” and select “Google Calendar” as the data source.

Then, enter the username (Google account name) of the user whose calendar will be added as a data source. Click “Get Google Tokens” (you must be signed in to your account) and copy the token from the pop-up window.

Click “Test Connection.” If the test connection is successful, you will see the following message.

The list of available calendars will appear. Select one calendar to display events from it in the Virto Calendar.

Select a color for Google events displayed in the Virto Calendar. (Even if the color is defined automatically in Google Calendar settings, it is required to set it again in the Virto Calendar.)

Now you can add fields to display details in the tooltip. Expand the “Tooltip Options” block and add the “Location”field to the right column using the arrows.

Click “Save” to save the new data source.

Now you can view events from Google Calendar in the Virto Calendar alongside other data sources.

Virto Calendar allows users to add an external content type as a data source. An external content type is a reusable collection of metadata that contains connectivity information, data definitions, and the behaviors you want to apply to a certain category of external data.

Go to the Virto Calendar settings and click “Create New Source.” Enter a source name, choose “External Content Source Type,” then select the external content type (click “Select External Content Type”) and test connection.

Next, select the primary key for the editing data source, define the displayed column, select date fields, and choose the item color. Click “Save” to save the settings.

The external content type data source will appear in the list of data sources. Items from the external content type data source will be displayed in the Virto Calendar.

Virto Calendar can take items directly from an external content type (it is not required to add external lists in SharePoint).

Check or uncheck the boxes “Show Header” and “Show Event Bar.” Then check the box “Event Bar Only” to display only the event bar.

Check the box “Show :00 in Time String” to display the time of the event in 9:00 p.m. or 9 p.m. format.

Check the box “Show Time for Calendar Item” to display the time of events in your calendar.

You can adjust the header date format according to custom date and time format strings. Click “Show Header” and enter the required format. For example, use the “ddd” format to display the abbreviated name of the day of the week.

Virto Calendar allows users to select “SharePoint List Web Service” as a data source. The data source is read-only and is used to view events from other SharePoint farms.

Go to the data source settings and create a new data source. You need to define the data as follows:

• Site URL

• Authentication type

• Login data (if the “Authenticate as currently logged on user” checkbox is not selected)

Click “Test connection.” If the data is correct and the connection is set, select the required list from the dropdown menu and define the displayed column and date/time fields. Click “Save” to save the new data source.

The multiday view settings can be applied to the Day, Week, and Work Week views. Select the day on which the calendar week will start (Monday or Sunday).

Virto SharePoint Calendar enables the use of Microsoft Exchange calendar as a data source and allows you to overlay the Virto Calendar with user or group Exchange calendars, as well as Exchange shared calendars. You can overlay the Virto Calendar with Exchange 2013, 2016, and Online.

Go to the Virto Calendar settings and expand the “Data Source settings” block. Then use the “Create new source” button to add a new data source to your calendar.

Now you need to fill out all required fields. Enter the source name and select “Exchange Calendar” as the data source type.

If Microsoft Exchange is on the same domain as the SharePoint site, you can enable authentication. In this case, when a user goes to a page with the Virto SharePoint Calendar, they will see the items from their Exchange calendar. Check the box “Authenticate as logged-on user.”

Select the required Exchange version and the URL of the installed Exchange Server (see the example). Click “Test Connection” to verify the information in the fields.

If the Microsoft Exchange Server is installed on another domain, you should enter the login and password (which can be the login and password of a user whose Exchange calendar you need to display) to connect to the Exchange Server. Click “Test Connection” to verify the settings.

Now, when a user goes to a page with the Virto Calendar on their SharePoint site, they will see the items from the Exchange calendar of the user whose login and password were entered in the settings block.

The “Allow to accept/decline appointment from balloon” feature allows you to manage an Exchange appointment from your SharePoint calendar. You can apply or cancel the appointment from the tooltip, and all changes will be applied to Exchange as well.

The “Show appointment attachments in tooltip” option allows you to display any attached files on the calendar’s event tooltip. Select a color for items from the Exchange Server or use an RGB code to define the required one. Specify Tooltip and Advanced options as described in previous sections, and click “Save” to add a new data source.

Color-coding for Exchange categories in Virto Calendar

Virto Calendar allows you to color-code Exchange calendar events according to their categories from Exchange.

For example, if you need to add the category named “Blue Category” to the Virto Calendar, open “Advanced Settings”of the Exchange data source, select the “Category” field, and click “Add New Field Value and Color.”

Then, type the name of the required category from Exchange (the names must be identical).

Select a color for this category; it may match exactly the color from Exchange.

You can add other categories with custom colors in the same way.

Exchange appointments in Virto Calendar

Virto Calendar allows users to accept or decline Exchange appointments that request a response to the invitation.

When an administrator creates an appointment in Exchange and assigns it to a user, they can check the box “Request responses.” In this case, the assigned user will receive an email with the invitation that they will have to accept or decline.

To make this feature work in the Virto Calendar, you need to take several actions: click “Edit” icon next to your Exchange calendar. Then scroll down and check the box “Allow to accept/decline appointment from balloon.” Click “Save” to save the settings, and then click “OK” or “Apply.”

Now, when a user clicks the event from Exchange in the Virto Calendar, they will see the balloon with “Accept,” “Maybe,” and “No” buttons. If a user accepts the appointment, the “Accepted” line will appear in the balloon.

Private events in Microsoft Exchange

In some cases, users may need to show or hide private events from an Exchange Calendar. The “Private” checkbox can be checked in the details of private events.

You can adjust how to show private events from the Exchange data source in the Virto Calendar. Click “Edit” opposite the Exchange calendar data source and scroll down to the “Private events processing” block.

There are three options for showing private events:

• “Do not show private events” (private events will be hidden in the Virto Calendar)

• “Show private events as empty rectangles” (private events will be shown as rectangles; no details except “Organizer” will be shown in the tooltip)

• “Show private events” (private events will be shown with details)

Select the required option and click “Save” to save the new data source settings.

Select colors for the background and header. Once you have made all the required modifications, click “Apply.”

You can adjust the left column time format according to custom date and time format strings. Just enter the required symbols and apply them to the calendar. For example, you can use the format as follows:

Year view settings are similar to month view settings. Pay attention to the “Show Dates in Title” checkbox. You can check it to show the dates of events in the year view.

Select the hour (from which each day will start) and the end hour. Select the number of rows and time labels displayed per hour. Enter the row height (20 px is recommended) and the overall calendar height. If you need to display more events in the calendar grid, you can assign a greater row height.

It is possible to adjust the calendar grid height in the Multiday View, Month View, and Year View settings. The default calendar height in the Multiday view is 800 px.

If you assign a new calendar height of 1200 px in the Virto Calendar settings, the grid will look as follows.

This way, you can display more events in your calendar view. The same changes can be applied to other views.

Month view settings are similar to multiday view settings.

In addition, you can edit the text displayed if there are more items in the cell or the number of weeks in a month (6 is recommended). For example, to display the text as shown below, you need to enter the following combination:

+ {0} more

In this case, the special token {0} is used. If it is not used, the number of items will be inserted at the end of the string.

In the Task View Settings block, you can define the day count for the Task (Hours) and Task (Days) views. Other options are similar to the features described in previous blocks.

Once you have made all the required modifications in the calendar configuration, click “Apply” or use “OK” to close the settings and return to the calendar.