Cards: Schedule Board (Multi-Rooms) with Custom Calendar Provider

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This article provides the instructions to create a Schedule Board card in the Appspace console, and configure it with custom provider settings. The Schedule Board card has two primary calendar providers that you can configure with: Google Calendar and Microsoft Office 365.

To accommodate users using other email providers, we have introduced the Custom Provider option, which is simple and easy to configure; users only need to enter the calendar provider URL and API key. However, it is important to note that calendar scheduling should already be configured and working in the user’s environment. 

The Schedule Board card is designed for viewing the schedule of multiple meeting spaces on larger displays placed in common areas. When the Schedule Board card is configured and displayed on a TV at a huddle space or lobby area, the following features will be available to you:

  • Multiple Room information: room name and status indicating if the room is available, offline, or occupied is displayed.
  • Meeting information: details of current meeting and upcoming meetings for the day.
  • Booking functions:
    • Book now – ability to book 30 minutes, 1 hour, or 1.5 hours from the current time, based on room availability.
    • Book in advance – book future time slots (on the same day only) or up to 3 days in advance, based on room availability.
    • Check in – option to check in to a meeting from 10 minutes before until 10 minutes after the start of the meeting.
    • Extend meeting – extend current meeting by 30 minutes, 1 hour, or 1.5 hours.
    • End meeting – end current meeting, and make the room available.
Note
If you are an end-user looking for information on booking a scheduled meeting via our App or your calendar, please refer to Booking Multiple Meeting Rooms.

In order to use the room booking and scheduling service with our Schedule Board card, you must do the following:

  1. Create Schedule Board card in the Appspace console.
  2. Create a playlist channel and add the Schedule Board card.
  3. Assign the playlist channel to a registered device installed with the Appspace App.
  4. Book a room directly on the Appspace App or via your email calendar.
Important

The Schedule Board card is an Appspace supported card, which is officially created and periodically updated by Appspace with new templates and features. What’s in this article:

Prerequisites

  • Ensure your device is compatible. Refer to the Supported Appspace Cards article.  
  • Account Owner, Publisher, or Editor (author) role in Appspace to create and configure the Schedule Board card.
  • Preconfigured booking account and resources with the custom provider.
  • It is recommended that the device clock is set to automatically retrieve time from a Network Time Protocol (NTP) server with the correct time zone, in order for it to sync correctly with the calendar provider.
    Appspace Cloud servers retrieve time from a NTP server by default. If an Appspace on-prem server is used, configure the on-prem server to retrieve time from an NTP server with the correct time zone.

  • If using an Appspace on-prem deployment, configure the on-prem server and network to allow constant access to https://*.cloud.appspace.com and its subdomains, to ensure each device is able to attain new authorization tokens from the calendar provider on a regular basis via Appspace API services.

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Create Schedule Board Card

To create and configure the Schedule Board card, please follow the instructions below:

  1. Log in to your Appspace console.
  2. To create this card, select one of the following options:
    • Click +Quick Action from the Appspace menu bar on the top right, and select Create Card.
    • Click Library from the ☰ Appspace menu, and select a library or folder you wish to create the content in. Click +CREATE, and select Card. 
    • To create and add the card directly to an existing channel, refer to Add Content to Playlist Channels.
  3. Select Workplace from the All Templates side panel, and click Schedule Board.
     
    Important
    If you are unable to locate the content, try using either the Search bar, the Order by, or Filter icon to narrow down the content that you are looking for.
  4. You may authenticate the card now by clicking the Connect button for Custom Provider, and proceed to step 2 below.

    If you would like to authenticate later, click the Preview card in demo mode link in the preview window, and proceed to step 5 to configure the booking options and styling of the Schedule Board card. 
     

    Note
    The demo mode on cards, allows users to experience the design and functionality of the card, prior to configuring the calendar provider. This includes displaying various booking statuses, and performing bookings on the card itself.
  5. Enter in the Provider URL and API Key of the custom provider, and click Configure.

    Note
    Optionally, you may enter in the HTTP(S) headers of the custom provider, such as the provider authorization credentials.
  6. Once authentication is successful, select the rooms to be displayed on the board, and click Verify.
  7. Once the rooms have been verified, click Finish.
  8. In the Edit tab:
    • Enter the Header title with the preferred messaging text. Use the Text Editor to customize the text font and style.
    • Select a Layout option from the drop-down menu to display the room information, and events available to the users:
      • Map
        Note
        If Map is selected, please refer to the Configure Schedule Board with Maps article on how to configure Maps to be used with the schedule board card.
      • Map & Listing
      • Schedule
      • Current events
    • In the Design section: click the arrow to expand.
      • Customize the Schedule Board card with the following options:
        • Logo
        • Logo position
        • Header background color or image
        • Header mask color
        • Available color
        • Occupied color
        • Check in color
        • Table text color
        • Table color
        • Table border color
        • Level button color
        • Level button text color
        • Background color or media
        • Background mask color
    • In the Configuration section: click the arrow to expand.
      • Select the Display options for the schedule board.
        • Map enabled
        • Interactivity enabled
        • Logo enabled
        • Header enabled
        • 24-hour clock
        • Check in enabled
        • Show meeting name
        • Show organizer’s name
        • Show clock
        • Show in 15 minutes time block
          Important
          If the Schedule Board card detects that the service provider has restricted viewing access to a meeting room/resource, it will automatically disable the interactivity and booking functions for that room on the board (Appspace App). However, meeting information will still be displayed.
      • Select the Block size to determine each column size on the schedule board table:
        • 1x – Default
        • 2x – Double the default size
      • Check Enable meeting check-in checkbox to enable the check-in function.
      • Check Enable auto scrolling checkbox to enable scrolling on a page.
        Note
        If Interactivity is disabled, auto scrolling will be enabled by default.
      • Configure the Room mapping for Simple Wayfinding (refer to the Configure Simple Wayfinding section below)
  9. In the Article tab: This section may be skipped.
    • Include an Article or Caption to accompany the content item when being displayed on mobile apps, tablets, and other social collaboration apps.
    • Enter a Referral Link to link more information to the content.
  10. In the Schedule tab: This section may be skipped.
  11. In the Settings tab: This section may be skipped.
    • The Name field will be auto-populated to match the Title of the content which will also act as the filename for the content. This is a mandatory field.
    • Enter any relevant Tags for the content. (Optional)
    • Select a folder for the content in the Library Location drop-down menu to change the default folder location.
    • Upload an image to be used as the Thumbnail for the content.
      Important
      Do not set an expiry date for the Schedule Board card.
  12. The preview pane displays the card. Click the Card Gear icon to change the displayed rooms, or to log out from the card.

    Note
    The booking status of the meeting room is only a preview, and is not indicative of the real status in this preview. If the card is in demo mode, clicking the Gear icon will display the Authenticate Account option, which will allow you to authenticate the card with your desired calendar provider.
  13. Once done, click SAVE.

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Configure Simple Wayfinding

  1. In the Schedule Board card, click the Edit tab.
  2. In the Configuration section, click the Add Data button for Room mapping.
  3. The table will be auto-populated with the Room IDs and Room Names of the selected resources (meeting room in Microsoft Office 365) displayed on the schedule board, in the first and second columns respectively, starting from the second row onwards.
    Note
    The Room ID (Resource id) is the email alias obtained from the custom calendar provider resources page for each physical meeting room configured.
    If the Rooms IDs and Room Names are not auto-populated, please use or update your Schedule Board card to v 1.11 and above
  4. You may populate the table using one of the following methods:
    • Manually enter the data.
    • Copy and paste data from an external table.
    • Import data from an spreadsheet (.xlsx).
      Note
      If you’re pasting data from an external table, or importing data from a spreadsheet, please ensure that the Room IDs, Room Names, and Headers are exactly as displayed in the Room mapping table. We recommend copying the data from the Room mapping table to your external table or spreadsheet first, before pasting or importing it back.
       
  5. Enter the schedule board device(s) locations in the first row, starting from the third column onwards of the table.
  6. Finally, enter the directions of the schedule board device in relative to the resource (meeting rooms) in the third column (and onwards).
    The following directions are supported:
    • left
    • right
    • forward
    • forward-left
    • forward-right
    • backward
    • backward-left
    • backward-right
    • escalator-up
    • escalator-down
    • stairs-up
    • stairs-down
  7. Once complete, click SAVE.
  8. On the device displaying the Schedule Board card, ensure the following device property is added:

    Device Property Value
    card.schedule.location device location
    WordPress Tables Plugin
    Example: card.schedule.location : lobby
    Click here for instructions to Add a device property. You will need Location Admin or Account Owner privileges to add a property.

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Create Playlist Channel and Add Schedule Board Card

Important
You will need Account Owner, or Publisher privileges to perform the steps below.
  1. Click the Quick Actions menu, and select Create Channel to create a playlist channel. Enter in the Playlist channel name.
  2. Click ADD CONTENT, and select the Schedule Board card from the Library. Click Add once done.
  3. Click the Apply button to save the settings.

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Assign Playlist Channel to a Registered Device

Important
You will need Location Admin or Account Owner privileges to perform the steps below.
  1. Register your device (tablet) as per the Register a device article.
  2. Go to the Appspace menu, and select Devices.
  3. Select the name link of the device that will be used for the meeting room.
  4. In the Device Information page, click the Settings tab, and select Admin assigns a single channel option from the Channel selection mode drop-down menu.
  5. Navigate back to the Overview tab, and click the Select channel button, and select the playlist channel with the Schedule Board card, created earlier.
  6. Click Save. The meeting room booking service can now be viewed on the app.

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Book Meeting Room via a Calendar or the Appspace App

For booking instructions, please see Booking Multiple Meeting Rooms.

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Edit Schedule Board Card

The instructions below show you how to edit a Schedule Board card.

  1. Log in to the Appspace console.
  2. Click Library from the ☰ Appspace menu, and select a library or folder containing the content you wish to edit.
  3. Select and click the Schedule Board card to edit, and select the desired tab to edit or view.
    • In the Edit, Article, and Settings tabs:
      • You may edit the content the same way as it was configured. For detailed instructions on how to do this, please refer to the Create Schedule Board Card section above.
    • In the Preview tab:
      • Preview how the content is displayed on your device.
    • In the Channels tab:
    • In the Analytics tab:
      • View the individual content analytics in this tab. For more information, please refer to the Individual Content Analytics section of the Analytics article.
  4. Once done, click SAVE.