XenAtendo User Guide & FAQ

[Ryan Kent]

XenAtendo Users Guide​

This FAQ will hopefully provide answers to some of the most commonly asked questions.
It has been written in such a way to make it easy for everyone to understand and be as search friendly as possible.

It has been divided into sections to make it easier to find the answers you're looking for.
Click on the links below to go to each section.

1. What is XenAtendo? How do I Install / Upgrade?
2. Configuration Options
3. Permissions
4. Creating Events
5. General Questions
6. Troubleshooting
7. Coding / Customizations

NOTE:I am not proficient at writing guides. I have used many add-ons for months and I see the same questions being asked which cause threads to grow unmanageably long. I have decided to step up and help. I'll try to offer other guides once per week as time permits. The format as this guide has been shamelessly stolen from Brogan's FAQ

This thread will be updated periodically. To suggest additions, please post in this thread.

 

[Ryan Kent]

What is XenAtendo? Installation / Upgrading

What is XenAtendo?
XenAtendo is add-on software developed specifically for XenForo forum administrators.

What does XenAtendo do?
This mod adds an Event Schedule and RSVP system to XenForo. Whenever a user submits an event, a thread can optionally be created in a forum, and tie the event into that thread. From there, users can RSVP for the event, as well as find additional information such as google map integration and live streams. This mod will also add an "Upcoming events for this week" module to the top of the defined event forum. If XenPorta is installed, then an Upcoming Events block will be available for the portal page as well.

What version of XF do I need?
The add-on has been is frequently updated. The most frequent updates occurred after XF 1.0.1. Use of this add-on on earlier version is at your risk.

Is there a demo available?
http://www.8wayrun.com/events/

Who developed this add-on?
Jaxel from 8wayrun.com developed and updates XenAtendo.

Is this mod free?
You can use the mod for free, but the developer would appreciate your support. If you use this add-on and you find it useful, you can donate an amount of your choosing.

Can I remove the copyright?
A donation of $50 (or more) earns you the right to remove the copyright for this mod from a single install.

Where can I download this add-on? Where can I obtain the latest update?
The official XenAtendo thread offers the latest version at the bottom of the first post.

How do I update my existing installation?
- upload the entire contents of the attached zip to your XenForo root overwriting any existing files
- upgrade from file on server: "library/EWRatendo/addon-EWRatendo.xml"
- set options for the event system in the ACP > Home > Options > XenAtendo
- set usergroup permissions for administration and user rights

 

[Ryan Kent]

Configuration Options



Many configuration options are straight-forward. I will review the ones which users have asked questions about.

How does Calendar Cutoff work?
This option involves events which continue past midnight. Admins need to determine how far an event needs to go into the following day to be considered as taken place on that day. As an example, let's assume you have scheduled a New Year's Eve party on Dec. 31st. The party begins at 8pm and ends at 4am. If your calendar cutoff is set for 6, then the event will only show on Dec 31st. If you calendar cutoff is set for 3, then the event will show on Dec 31st and Jan 1st.

How do Event Forums work?
When an event is created, the user has the option to create a linked thread in a pre-selected Event Forum. The forum selection options are determined in the ACP. Multiple forums can be selected by holding CTRL or SHIFT keys while using your mouse.

How does Override Thread Creation work?
If checked, the selected forum becomes locked down to where new threads cannot be created except by creating a new event.

How does Minimum Event Hours work?
This is the shortest time an event can last. If this option is set to 4, then the shortest event must be scheduled for at least 4 hours.

How does LiveStream URL work?
If your site has a dedicated LiveStream channel, it makes sense to set this option in the ACP. Otherwise, this option can be set during the creation of each event.

 

[Ryan Kent]

Permissions



XenAtendo's permissions are pretty straight forward. It is highly recommended to not use the "Never" permission setting. If you decide to ignore this advice, be certain that your admins are not a member of any group which uses the Never permission, or you will be restricted from using or administrating XenAtendo.

Is your permissions are properly set, your administrator will see the "Administrate Streams" option under the Events navigation tab.

 

[Ryan Kent]

Event Creation



As long as your forum account permissions are set, you should see the Post New Event button on the right side of your breadcrumb. Pushing that button naturally causes the Create Event screen to appear. The top of the screen includes the event title along with a comment field which is basically a forum post you can use to provide a detailed description. Most questions arise when completing the lower portion of the Create Event Form.



Venue: a title of the location for the event

City, State, Zip: the Google map will update based on this information. The map is very good and will work world-wide. Of course, the spelling needs to be accurate. If you are unsure, press the Refresh Map button and it should update.

Stream URL: if there is a stream associated with the event, enter the URL, otherwise leave the field blank.

Enable RSVP System: this allows users to confirm their attendance at the event.

Create Event Thread: this option creates a linked thread in the selected forum. While the Event and it's Thread are linked, they are still separate entities. If an event is deleted, the linked thread will automatically be closed with a notice. However, if a thread is deleted, the linked event and all RSVPs with it will be deleted as well.

Google Map Tricks: You can actually put ANYTHING you want in it... as long as google maps can find it. You can even completely ignore the "address, city/state/zip" requirement and instead input "latitude, longitude" and it will work just the same.

You can even choose to ignore that and input any defined location that google has in the system. For instance, just input the address as "Chrysler Building" and leave the city/state/zip blank. Google will find it without any issues.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Chrysler Building

 

[Ryan Kent]

General Questions

What streaming services are supported?
JustinTV, LiveStream, uStream and Own3d

Where can I find the stream I set up in the ACP?
add /stream to your site URL. So for my site it is www.TeraPVP.com/stream

Can you upload an image to the event?
You can create a post which is linked to the event, then edit the first post to upload the image in the thread.

How do the thumbnail images on events work?
If the event has a stream associated with it, the stream's avatar will appear. Otherwise the event creator's avatar will appear.

How can I RSVP for the next several instances of a recurring event?
Recurring events only can be RSVP'd for the next occurrence. If today is Monday and you have a weekly Saturday event, you can RSVP for this Saturday's event, but not past that point.

How can I turn off the Google Map?
Remove any address information.

How can I change the default Google Map location?
The default map location can be changed by modifying the below code in templates EWRatendo_EventsCreate and EWRatendo_EventsEdit. When you go to maps.google.com you will see the default USA map. If you modify that part of the URL to google for your country, you will see your default map.

Using England as an example, try replacing maps.google.com with maps.google.co.uk and you will see the map centered on England.

<dl class="ctrlUnit fullWidth">
<dt></dt>
<dd><iframe width="100%" height="350" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" id="ctrl_googlemap"
src="[URL]http://maps.google.com/maps?q={$input.event_address},{$input.event_citystate}&output=embed[/URL]"></iframe></dd>
</dl>

What do all the colors on the Event Calendar mean?



- Days from the prior and following month show as medium blue in the first and last row.
- Weekends show as light blue.
- The current week shows as a peach color.
- The current day shows as a gold color.

 

[Ryan Kent]

Troubleshooting

Why am I sometimes taken to a forum thread, and other times taken to the event page when I click on the event in the Upcoming Events block on the portal page?
If an event has a forum thread linked to it, you will be taken to that thread.

Why didn't my event stop re-occurring after 3 months? I have my recurrence setting at 3 months.

Recurring events technically recur TILL THE END OF TIME; this is a setting to calculate how many recurrences to show in the calendar; and its recalculated with the cronjob at the end of each night. So a 6 month recurrence from TODAY, is not the same as a 6 month recurrence from TOMORROW. Allowing users to edit this could also create an abuse issue. In order to set an event for a specific number of weeks, the tournament organizer must cancel the last instance of the event manually.

Why is my calendar date/time wrong?
The calendar shows based on the TIMEZONE set on your account. If you are not logged into the forums, then the forum timezone is used.

Why is my stream not appearing?

- Some streams have permissions which restrict viewing to either the main stream site or a specified location.
- Check your URL to ensure it is the real URL of the stream and not an alias. The method of checking varies by vendor. For uStream, view the source of the page and search for the text "channelUrl".

Why isn't my Upcoming Events block is not appearing on my portal page?
If you have "Streamed Events Only?" option checked in your module settings, the upcoming events block will ONLY show events that have linked Live Streams through uStream.TV, Justin.TV or Livestream.com. Uncheck this option if you don't want to require these streaming settings.

 

[Ryan Kent]

Coding / Customizations

How do I change some of the text which appears in XenAtendo?
Most text is contained in phrases.ACP > Appearance > Phrases

How can I set event times that do not start exactly on the hour? (i.e. @ :00)
Modify template EWRatendo_EventsScript, replace

var rangeFormat = "%b %e, %Y %h:00 %p";[/cpde]
with
[Code]var rangeFormat = "%b %e, %Y %h:%i %p";

How can I remove the avatar from the Upcoming Events block on the portal page?
Add the following to EXTRA.css

.EWRporta_Portal #eventsUpcoming.eventList li { width: 100%; }
.EWRporta_Portal #eventsUpcoming.eventList li .avatar { display: none; }
.EWRporta_Portal #eventsUpcoming.eventList li .eventInfo { margin-left: 0px; }