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Guides > Calendars and Appointments

Calendars and Appointments

In this guide we will cover:

- Using the Calendar

- Viewing Entries in the calendar

- Creating Appointments

- Appointment creation Screen



The calendar module in Halo can be used to view, track and manage agent appointments, holidays, tasks, change requests, projects and scheduled tickets. Agents will each have their own calendar, but can also be given access to other agents' calendars for visibility/management purposes. 



Associated Administrator Guide:



Using the Calendar

Fig 1. Calendar area


Access the calendar through the calendar module in the navigation pane. The buttons at the top of the page here give you control over your view of the calendar. You can view specified intervals, or you can click on the timeline view which is a horizontal display of events per hour over a chosen day.

Fig 2. Calendar timeline 


Hovering over an entry in the calendar will show more information about it. Clicking the appointment will show more information still, such as the ticket that is associated with the entry.


Viewing Entries in the calendar

The calendar module provides you with various ways in which to view appointments. 


The buttons at the top of the page here will control the time period to view calendar entries for, whether to see appointments for the coming day, week or month. Agenda will show a list view of all upcoming entries. Timeline will display upcoming entries using a horizonal timeline, with a marker denoting the current time. Selecting the time period prior to selecting the timeline button will determine for what time period the timeline will show entries for. 

Fig 3. Timeline view of appointments


You can also filter what calendar entries show using the left hand pane on the calendar screen. Entries can be filtered by:

  • Entry types
  • Appointment type
  • Assigned agent
  • Assigned customer/top level of this customer

You can filter what type of entries show in the calendar, that is whether appointments, holidays, tasks, change requests, projects and scheduled tickets show. To control this, hover over the cog icon in the calendar filter pane and select the entities you would like to see entries for in the calendar. 

Fig 4. Filter entry types in the calendar


Only the entries for the entities ticked in this list will show in the calendar. 


Show only recurring master appointments - When this entity is selected, no other entry types will show in the calendar, only recurring master appointments. Recurring master appointments are used when creating recurring appointments.


When viewing appointments in the calendar, you can filter what appointment types show in the calendar using the 'appointment types' section in the calendar filter pane. 

Fig 5. Appointment type filter


Simply select the appointment types that you would like to be visible. Use the checkbox to check all appointment types. 


To filter entries based on the assigned agent, use the 'Agent Calendars' filter in the calendar filter pane. 

Fig 6. Filter by assigned agent


This will control which agent's calendar you will see. You will only be able to select the agents whose calendar you can access (determined by agent permissions). Simply select the agents you would like to see the calendar of. Agents are organised by team, so use the team dropdown to navigate through agents. 


From v2.228.1+, you can filter your calendars by Agents with specific qualifications. To enable this, head to Configuration > Calendars and Appointments > General Settings, and select "Show the Qualification filter within the calendar". When this is enabled an additional dropdown will show allowing you to select a qualification to filter by.  


Fig 7. Filter by qualifications 


By default, when opening the calendar you will see the calendars of all the agents you have access to. You can change this behaviour so that the calendar will show the logged in agent's calendar by default. To do this head to configuration > calendars and appointments > general settings > general settings > enable 'Always default calendar selection to the logged in Agent'. 

Fig 8. Default calendar selection to the logged in Agent


To filter by the customer or top level that is assigned to the calendar entry (this will be the customer of the ticket associated with the calendar entry) use the 'filters' section of the calendar filer pane. 

Fig 9. Filter calendar entries based on customer/top level


Creating Appointments/Tasks 

Appointments and tasks can be created from either the calendar module, within a ticket, or from an integration. 


To create an appointment/task in the calendar module you can click and drag on the calendar page on the day/time you would like to log an appointment for. Then choose whether the entry is for an appointment or a task. (If you are using Shifts and Holidays these will also be event type options).


From v2.216+ you can remove agents' ability to log 'Task' entries in the calendar. This is enabled under Configuration > Calendars and Appointments > General Settings > "Hide Task from Event Types". 


Appointments can be imported from third party applications that we integrate with, such as Exchange Calendars. When integrated, each time an appointment is created in the third party application this will sync across to Halo. 


Appointments can also be created within a ticket. 


Create Appointments from tickets

 The "Create Appointment" action can be used on a ticket to create an appointment, this action is available out of the box.

Fig 10. Create Appointment button 


Clicking create will bring up the "Create Appointment/Task" screen. Some of the fields on this screen will be auto-filled using the ticket details, these can be overwritten however. When there are appointments linked to the ticket, these will show under the "Appointments" tab on the ticket screen, similarly with "Tasks". 


When these are created within a ticket, the appointment will be linked to the ticket and this is reflected in the appointment details. #


As of v2.206.1+, if another Agent creates an Appointment on the Ticket and assigns themselves to the Appointment, they can be added as an Additional Agent on the Ticket. To do so, enable "When creating an appointment on a ticket, add Agent to 'Additional Agents' list" on the Settings tab of the Ticket Type. This will not occur if another Agent creates an Appointment for the currently Assigned Agent.


Appointment creation Screen

When creating an appointment in Halo, either within the calendar or ticket, you will need to complete the appointment creation screen. 


Fig 11. Create appointment window


This is the creation window, you should fill in all the relevant details here:

  • Subject - Enter the subject of the appointment. This appears on the appointment view and describes the content.
  • Start/End - The start/end time of the appointment. The duration of the appointment will be calculated based on this.
  • All Day - The appointment will be added as an 'all day' appointment. Blocking out the agent's calendar for the whole day. 
  • Private - When checked, the appointment will be marked as 'private', other agents who can see this agent's appointments will not be able to see the summary and details of the appointment. Only that he agent has an appointment at this time. 
  • Other Attendees - Use this field to invite additional agents or users to the appointment. 
  • Is recurring? - Allows you to create a recurring series of appointments based on a set schedule. Useful for recurring meetings. 
  • Agent - The agent attending the appointment. The appointment will appear in this agent's calendar. 
    • Appointment Type - Sets the 'type' of appointment this is. useful for categorisation of appointments. The type will also control what fields are available in the appointment details, what colour the appointment is on the calendar and the status the agent has when this appointment begins. 
  • Appointment types can be created/edited under Configuration > Calendars and Appointments > Appointment Types. For a breakdown of the options available when configuring an appointment type checkout the guide here.
  • Alert - Choose how many minutes before the appointment the agent is alerted about the appointment. 
  • Agent Status - Choose the status the agent should have when this appointment begins. They will automatically be given this status at the appointment start time.
  • Notes - Add any notes about the appointment here. These will be visible to any agents who have access to your calendar. 


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