Need help installing Zap Calendar? Click here for a tutorial on installing Zap Calendar, or find out how to add additional functionality to your Zap Calendar site with the dozens of add-ons available for Zap Calendar.

The RSVP Plugin

Plugin Name: rsvp

Availability: Zap Calendar Pro

Purpose: To allow site users to attend events.  Features include: display list other attendees within event listing, option for owner to send e-mails to RSVP list, option to automatically send reminder e-mail when event is approaching; an automatic e-mail sent to RSVP attendee when event is updated, moved or cancelled; customizable data like # of guests, food items to bring and comments; export RSVP list to either CSV or Excel formats(including export of customizable data)

Configuration:

After installing and enabling the plugin, go to the "Admin Tools" screen (accessible from Zap Calendar's administration panel) and complete the installation for the plugin (first time only).  Then modify the following settings:

Zap Calendar Global Settings:

Specify the name format to be used when displaying RSVP's: Full name or login name.

Plugin Settings:

Viewing RSVP's - All Users, Registered Users Only, Owner Only
Send e-mail Reminders - send an e-mail reminder prior to occurance of the event if user has requested it (requires cron job setup)
# Days for Reminder - how many days prior to the event should the reminder e-mail be sent?
E-mail updates - Enable if RSVP users are to receive automatic notification when an event date is changed, location is changed or event is deleted.
Allowed IP's for cron job
Maximum e-mails per job - Use to limit the # of e-mails sent per cron job.  Some hosting environments limit the # of outgoing e-mails that can be sent within a set time period.

View Settings:

RSVP plugin - Enable or disable the RSVP plugin for this view.  You can use this option to temporarily disable all RSVP editing within
the view.
Enable E-mail - Use this option to allow event owners to send e-mails to RSVP users
Allow RSVP's to events - Default value for RSVP's (see "Allow RSVP's to this event" in event settings). Used with imported iCal events and existing events where RSVP was not specifically set.
RSVP List Format - Options are: List of Names,  Profile Picture, and List of Names with Profile Picture. Profile picture options requires  a

Event Settings:

Allow RSVP's to this event - Enable this if you wish to allow RSVP's to this event. The default setting for this can be set in the view settings option "Allow RSVP's to events" for existing events or imported events
RSVP by - Choose a RSVP by date.  If blank, the RSVP by date will be the event date
Maximum RSVP's - Select a maximum # of RSVP's allowed for this event. If blank or zero, no limit is set.
More info - Select from list to request additional information from the RSVP user. Options are "attending", which allows users to list the number of guests they are bringing, and "food", which allows users to list what type of food they are bringing.  These options can be customized as detailed below.

 

The "more info" option allows users to provide additional information when they RSVP to an event.  This data can also be exported to either CSV or Excel format.  This feature uses XML files located in the "plugins/zapcalendar/rsvp" folder.  The two XML files included with the plugin, "rsvp_attending.xml" and "rsvp_food.xml" can be modiified if needed, or new XML files can be created.  Create a new XML file using the same format as used in the sample XML files.  Name the xml file "rsvp_*.xml", where "*" is the name you wish to have shown when the file is selected by the user.

A cron job is needed if the "E-mail updates" feature is enabled in the plugin settings. Use the "Maximum e-mails per job" option to limit how many e-mails to send per job.  For example, if your cron job runs hourly and your maximum e-mails per job is set to 100, then up to 2,400 e-mails will be sent per day using the cron job.   Some hosting companies may limit the amount of e-mail your host can send.  There is a security feature to allow only certain IP addresses to use the cron job feature. From the plugin settings, you can specify the allowable IP addresses. By default, "127.0.0.1" is enabled, which is the localhost. If you want to allow any host to refresh the subscription, use the IP address "*.*.*.*". (Note: only ip4 addresses are currently supported).

ZContent will also provide the cron job service to Pro customers who can not run it on their own servers at no additional charge. Contact Z Content for more details.

Example: A sample cron job listing for running hourly at 15 minutes past the hour (use the appropriate domain for your site):

15 * * * * wget -O /dev/null "http://www.yourdomain.com/index.php?option=com_zcalendar&plugin=rsvp&task=cron" >/dev/null

You can find the exact URL needed for your site by looking at the RSVP information in the admin tools section in the Zap Calendar panel.

 

Other Notes:

Users must be logged in order to RSVP to an event

RSVP's are closed once the event's start date and time or due date has passed.

Only the event owner or an administrator can send an e-mail to attendees or export the data to CSV or Excel.

This plugin is compatible with Zap Calendar's JomSocial and Community Builder plugins. If installed and enabled, RSVP lists will show the user's avatar and will post RSVP activity to the user's Wall if using the JomSocial plugin.