Creating and Managing Calendars in Salesforce

Salesforce has a built-in calendar.  It is based on views of data (called "List Views") that you or other create.  Any Salesforce data that includes dates can be turned into a calendar, but this document will focus on the Outreach Activities calendar.  The same data that is used to create Salesforce calendars can be formatted in such a way as to export to Outlook as well.  Here are two links with Powerpoint files that provide comprehensive information for using calendaring for the Outreach Activity Form data.  Below that is a quick walkthrough of viewing the Outreach Activity Form calendar.

• Click here for the PowerPoint that includes a walkthrough of configuring the Salesforce calendar.
• Click here for the knowledgebase article on exporting Salesforce date-based data to Outlook.

If you have already viewed the first PowerPoint above, and just need a refresher, here are step-by-step instructions for viewing the Outreach Activity Form calendar.  Remember that the Outreach Activity Form calendar is based on Activity Sessions.  If an activity has no sessions it will not appear on the calendar.

1. Click the "Calendar" tab on the Nav Bar.  If you do not see the Calendar tab, click the pencil icon at the right-hand end of the Nav Bar to add it.  Click here for a quick walk-through of adding tabs to the Nav Bar.
2. Click the gear icon next to "My Calendars" at the right-hand side of the screen
3. Click "New Calendar"

4. Select "Activities Session" in the first screen and click "Next"

5. Enter a "Calendar Name".  This can be anything you'd like that is representative of the calendar.
6. Select a field to use for the start of each event.  For the Outreach Calendar, this MUST be "Start".  Do not use any other fields.
7. Select a field to use for the end of each event.  For the Outreach Calendar, this MUST be "End".  Do not use any other fields.
8. Select the desired list view to use as a filter.  There are many existing list views for the Outreach calendar.  Select one that applies.  You can also make your own list view.  To learn how to create list views for the calendar, click here for the PowerPoint that includes a comprehensive walkthrough of configuring the Salesforce calendar.
9. Select the field you wish to use for the event names as they will appear on the calendar.  For the Outreach form it is recommended that you use "Name for Calendar", which includes the event name, location, and other information all combined together.  If you want to use a different field though, such as the event name alone, that works too.
10. Here is an example of a calendar configuration:

11. Click Save.
12. Events are color-coded by each calendar.  Each calendar has its own color.  This way you can show multiple departments' events, each in their own color.  To change a calendar's color, click the down-arrow next to the calendar and select the desired color.
13. To hide a calendar's events, click the colored block to the left of its name at lower right.
14. To unhide a calendar's events, click the block to the left of its name at lower right.

If you have difficulty accessing the information contained in this document or any document in this knowledgebase, please contact us at access-ilr@cornell.edu and we will assist you.