Calendar Planner - Get Started

for Microsoft 365 & SharePoint Online

Introduction

Calendar Planner is a SharePoint Framework (SPFx) web part designed for Microsoft 365 tenants. It provides year, month, week, and grid timeline views. All for event management using SharePoint list data. This guide walks you through the installation, configuration, licensing activation, and initial setup process.

Before installing Calendar Planner, ensure:

Prerequisites Required

  • Microsoft 365 tenant ✔
  • SharePoint Online ✔
  • Permission to upload apps to the SharePoint App Catalog ✔
  • Permission to add web parts to modern site pages ✔
  • An active Calendar Planner licence via your JFDI SaaS subscription ✔

Optional (recommended)

  • Site Collection Administrator rights
  • A modern communication or team site for deployment
  • SharePoint List(s) for managing events and appointments

Installation Steps

Step 1

Activate the SPFx App Package

Calendar Planner in the Microsoft Marketplace

Download and activate the latest Calendar Planner application from the provided distribution in the Microsoft Marketplace.

Step 2

Upload to the App Catalog / Alternative manual method

  1. On request, JFDI can provide a .sppkg file (delivered via email) for you to upload directly into the app catalogue, should the marketplace distribution not work for you
  2. When prompted, check: "Make this solution available to all sites in the organisation" (recommended)
  3. Go to: SharePoint Admin Center → More Features → Apps → App Catalog
    • https://[yourdomain].sharepoint.com/sites/appcatalog/_layouts/15/tenantAppCatalog.aspx/manageApps
  4. Select Apps for SharePoint
  5. Upload the .sppkg file
  6. After the upload is processed, you will see a new entry similar to this:
Calendar Planner added to the SharePoint App Catalog

The App Catalog will display the Calendar Planner entry once the package has been uploaded and processed.

Step 3

Approve API Permissions

When prompted, approve the API permissions in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.

API Access pending request for Calendar Planner

The entry for Calendar Planner will be listed in the 'pending' section as 'JFDI Consulting Ltd Licensing' and will be requesting 'access as user' permissions.

Step 4

Add to a SharePoint Site

  1. Navigate to the SharePoint site where Calendar Planner will be used
  2. Go to Site Contents → New → App
  3. Find Calendar Planner and add it to the site
  4. If the App is not listed, it may have been set by the global administrator to be organisation-wide when added to the app catalog
  5. Create a New Page for the web part to be placed (recommended for the first deployment to a new site)

Adding Calendar Planner to a Page

Go to the SharePoint page where you want the calendar

  • Select Edit
  • Click the "+" to add a web part
  • Search for Calendar Planner
  • Insert the web part and publish the page
Search for Calendar Planner in the available web parts list on a SharePoint page

Search for Calendar Planner in the web parts gallery and insert it onto your page.

Initial Configuration

Step 1

Once the Calendar Planner web part has been added to the page:

Calendar Planner added to a SharePoint page that still requires configuration
  1. Press the 'Configure Web Part' button

Step 2

Select a compatible List

Calendar Planner web part properties pane - selecting a Calendar List
  1. Calendar Planner can be configured to use any SharePoint Calendar list or standard lists that include a start and end date site column.
  2. This list stores all event items to be viewed on the Calendar Planner web part.

Step 3

Configure Categories (optional)

The selected Calendar List may already have a category field/column, which can be selected in the web part property pane:

Calendar Planner web part properties pane - selecting a category field

Select an existing category field from the dropdown in the web part property pane.

If an existing category field does not exist -- Under List Settings, configure:

  1. Category names
  2. Optional descriptions

These categories drive colour-coding in calendar views, which can also be defined in the web part properties:

Calendar Planner web part properties pane - defining the category colours

Define colour assignments for each category to enable visual coding across all calendar views.

Step 4

Select Default View

Choose the default display mode:

  1. Grid View
  2. Month View
  3. Timeline View (Months)
  4. Timeline View (Weeks)
  5. Gantt Chart
Calendar Planner web part properties pane - selecting the default view

Select your preferred default view from the web part properties pane.

Licensing Activation

Calendar Planner validates your subscription using a secure SaaS licensing check.

Activation process:

  1. The web part automatically detects your Microsoft 365 tenant ID
  2. It securely transmits:
    • Tenant ID
    • App ID
  3. No personal or event data is transmitted
  4. Valid licences activate the app immediately

If your licence cannot be validated, you'll see an in-app message with steps to resolve the issue.

Calendar Planner web part properties pane - Manage License Key

You can manage your Licence at the bottom of the web part property pane. Click the 'Manage License Key' button to open the activation pane.

Calendar Planner web part properties pane - Activate License Key

Clicking on the 'Manage License Key' button will open the 'Activate License Key' pane.

Calendar Planner web part properties pane - Validated License Tier

When your licence is validated, you will see the corresponding licence tier displayed at the top of the web part property pane.

Using Calendar Planner

Create Events

Calendar Planner web part method:

Calendar Planner web part - Add Event
  1. Select any date to view the events listed for that date in a side panel
  2. Click on 'Add Event' located in the top right corner of the panel
Calendar Planner web part - SharePoint New List Item form
  1. Enter at least Title, Start and End dates
  2. Select a Category if configured
  3. Complete the 'New Item' form and hit 'Save'

Native SharePoint List method:

Calendar Planner web part - SharePoint New Item button
  1. Navigate to the SharePoint List(s) the web part was previously configured
  2. Click on 'Add new item' button

Edit Events

Calendar Planner web part - View Details of Event
  1. Select an event from any view or when within a side panel, select 'View Details'
Calendar Planner web part - Edit Event
  1. The side panel will open for you to modify, save or cancel

Switch between Views

Calendar Planner web part - Switching Views

Use the view selector to switch between visual layouts.

Filter by Category

Calendar Planner web part - Filter by Category

Select one or more categories to simplify the visualisation of workloads or event types.

Switch List Views

Calendar Planner also fully supports SharePoint List Views.

Calendar Planner web part - Selecting SharePoint List Views

Once defined, they are available in the dropdown below the normal web part view selector. Here is an example that restricts the view to 'Just November' using standard SharePoint List view filtering techniques.

Print Current View

Calendar Planner web part - Print any View

When on any view, you can select the 'Print' icon to generate a printable version.

Calendar Planner web part - View Print Layouts and PDF

This allows you to send that view to a printer or create a PDF.

Permissions & Security

Calendar Planner respects SharePoint permissions. No data leaves your Microsoft 365 tenant.

Troubleshooting

Web part not visible?

  • Ensure the Calendar Planner app is installed on the site
  • Confirm that the .sppkg was approved and deployed tenant-wide

List not created?

  • User may lack permission to create lists
  • Create manually using template provided in documentation

Licensing error?

  • Ensure your SaaS subscription is active
  • Contact support if tenant ID mismatch occurs

Helpful Resources

Product Support

Get help with installation, configuration, and troubleshooting.

Calendar Planner

Learn more about Calendar Planner features and capabilities.

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