2.5.1. Item-Level Viewing

Item-level viewing for appointments was introduced in Section 2.3.1.5. This section covers further details of appointment viewing, as well as item views for meetings, tasks, and events. Independent of item type, the user views an item by selecting its time or title in any larger-grain view, and then executing the `View Item' menu command. This series of interactions is illustrated in Figures 25 and 26 A short cut to view an item is to double click on the item time or title. Complete details of target item selection are covered in Section 2.11.5.

Common to all item views are change, delete, and clear buttons at the bottom of the display. In the initial viewing state, the change and clear buttons are disabled, and the delete button is enabled. If the user edits one or more data fields, the button states are reversed, with change and clear enabled, delete disabled. The scenarios of this section focus on viewing scheduled items prior to any editing by the user. Hence all item-level displays are shown in the initial change-disabled state. Complete details of changing and deleting items are covered in Section 2.5.2

2.5.1.1. Viewing Appointment Items

Figure 129 shows the result of the user viewing the item for 8 AM September 25.

Figure 129: Item-level appointment view.

The item-level appointment display has the same data fields as the appointment scheduling dialog shown in Figure 6. The item display differs from the scheduling dialog as follows:

there is a time and date header in the item display, just below the window banner;
the command buttons at the bottom of the item display are `Change', `Delete', and `Clear' instead of `OK', `Clear', and `Cancel'.

At the far left of the time/date header are the Previous/Today/Next buttons that appear in all calendar views. These buttons are used to navigate among scheduled items, as described in Section 2.3.2. The `Change', `Delete', and `Clear' commands are covered in Section 2.5.2.1.

Figure 130 shows the item-level view of a recurring appointment.

Figure 130: Item-level view of a recurring appointment.

The view shows the October 8 instance of the racket ball appointment scheduled in Figure 13.

The primary difference in a recurring versus non-recurring display is the addition of the three radio buttons above the command buttons. The radio button setting indicates how many recurring instances the `Change' and `Delete' commands apply to. For viewing purposes, the setting of these radio buttons affects the format of the display.

When `this instance' is selected, the first date field is labeled `Instance Date'. This indicates that a change or delete affects this one instance only. The value for the `End Date' field is shown in the display, but typing in the text field is disabled, as indicated by the greyed and dashed border. This is the case because changing the end date is not meaningful when only a single instance is in view. The values for the recurring information are shown, but the data edit fields are disabled. Again, this is because changing the recurring information is not meaningful when only a single instance is in view.

Figure 131 shows the October 8 item display when the user selects the `all instances' radio button.

Figure 131: Item-level view of a recurring appointment, all instances setting.

In this case, the first date field is labeled `Start Date', as in the appointment scheduling dialog ( Figure 13 ). The value in the start date field is that entered when the appointment was scheduled, which is September 1 in this case. The `End Date' field is enabled for editing, as is all of the recurring information except for the recurring checkbox. The disabled recurring checkbox means that a recurring appointment cannot be changed to non-recurring. This is the case because changing from recurring to non-recurring could potentially create a large number of "unbundled" appointment instances that could be cumbersome to change or delete.

Figure 132 shows the October 8 item display when the user selects the `future instances' radio button.

Figure 132: Item-level view of a recurring appointment, future instances setting.

Here the dialog state above the radio buttons is the same as for the `this instance' selection. Namely, the first date field is labeled `Instance Date', the end date is shown but uneditable, and the recurring information is shown but uneditable. Changes apply to all instances starting from the instance date through to the end date.

Prior to any changes in a recurring appointment, the same data values appear for all instances, except for the differences between instance date versus start date described above. When the `all instances' radio button is selected, the data values for each and every unchanged instance are identical. The only display distinction between two different instances is the time and date header. For example, Figure 133 shows the racket ball racket instance for December 15.

Figure 133: Item-level view of another recurring instance..

The only difference between this display and Figure 131 is the December 15 versus October 8 date header.

Of note for recurring items is that the `Next' and `Previous' commands do not specifically lead to the next and previous recurring instances. Rather, `Next' and `Previous' move consistently among all scheduled items, including not-yet-accepted meetings, in the order described in Section 2.3.2.1.

2.5.1.2. Viewing Meeting Items

Figure 134 shows the result of the user viewing the item for 8 AM September 23.

Figure 134: Item-level meeting view.

This is a view of the staff meeting scheduled in the scenario of Section 2.4.1.1. In particular, it is the view of the meeting after it has been accepted by the user in the notification dialog of Figure 110. The meeting view contains mostly the same information as in the notification dialog, with the following specific differences:

There is a time and date summary in the viewing display, just below the window banner.
There is a `View' button to the right the `Minutes' field in the viewing display.
There is no checkbox for sending an email notification in the viewing display.
The command buttons at the bottom of the viewing display are `Change', `Delete, and Clear'.

At the far left of the time/date header are the Previous/Today/Next buttons, as described above for the appointment item. The `Change', `Delete', and `Clear' buttons provide editing functionality, as covered in Sections 2.5.2.2 and 2.5.2.5.

As introduced in Section 2.4.1.1, the value entered in the `Minutes' text field is a WWW URL. If the minutes text field is non-empty, then the `View' button is enabled. If the minutes field is empty, then there are no available meeting minutes and the `View' button is disabled. When the user presses an enabled `View' button, the system displays the minutes using an external WWW browser, open on the given URL. The name and location of the external browser program are set as a user option, as described in Section 2.7.3.4. The Calendar Tool system performs no validation of the URL entered in the minutes field. If the URL is invalid in any way, the error condition is handled entirely by the external browser, as discussed in Section 2.12.5.

The scheduler may initially enter the URL in the form of a file directory, and subsequently edit the minutes field to specify an individual file. If the scheduler does not change a directory URL to an individual file, the system opens the external browser on the entire directory. If the server on which the URL resides does not support directory browsing, then the WWW browser may signal an error, as discussed in Section 2.12.5. In any case, it is the responsibility of the meeting scheduler to specify a valid URL for the meeting minutes. If the scheduler leaves the minutes field as a directory, it is also the scheduler's responsibility to name the files in the directory such that users can understand which files correspond to which meeting occurrences. The Calendar Tool does not enforce any constraints on the naming or structure of meeting minutes directories or files.

By definition, meeting minutes contain meaningful information after a meeting has taken place. If the scheduler specifies a meeting minutes file in advance of a meeting being held, it is the scheduler's responsibility to define appropriate pre-meeting content for the file, such as an indication that the minutes are to appear. The Calendar Tool does not enforce any constraints on the content of meeting minutes files.

When the user views a not-yet-accepted meeting at the item level, the command buttons at the bottom of the display are different. Specifically, the `Change', and `Delete buttons are replaced with `Accept' and `Decline' buttons. For example, Figure 135 shows the item-level view of the staff meeting of Figure 134, before it has been accepted by the viewing user.

Figure 135: Item-level view of a not-yet-accepted meeting.

This is the view of the not-yet-accepted meeting as it appears in the initial notification dialog of Figure 109. The `Accept' and `Decline' buttons in the item-level view have the same affect as in the notification dialog. If the user presses `Accept', the meeting becomes a regular scheduled item, and the buttons in the item-level display become `Change', `Delete, and Clear'. If the user presses `Decline', the meeting is not scheduled and the item-level display is removed from the screen. The `Clear' button is used to clear any edits made in the dialog after it is initially displayed.

As noted in Section 2.4.1.5, the user cannot delay the accept/decline decision beyond the start date and time of a meeting. If the user fails to accept or decline within this time, the system automatically executes decline on the user's behalf, thereby deleting the meeting for the user.

Unless the user selects the option to hide penciled-in (i.e., not-yet-accepted) meetings, such meetings appear at all viewing levels, including the item level. This means that not-yet-accepted meetings appear at the appropriate points in the next/previous item traversals described in Section 2.3.2.1.

Of note in this scenario is how the state of Figure 135 reflects the unedited state of the initial notification dialog in Figure 109. In contrast, the state of Figure 134 reflects the state of the edited notification dialog in Figure 110. The figure pairings represent two different phases of a scheduled meeting. Figures 109 and 135 represent an earlier phase, before the meeting has been accepted. Figures 110 and 134 represent a later phase, after the meeting has been accepted.

Figure 136 shows the item-level display of the recurring meeting scheduled in Section 2.4.1.1.

Figure 136: Item-level view of a recurring meeting.

The view shows a particular instance of the recurring meeting, for the date of October 1. The change/delete radio buttons have exactly the same functionality as in the appointment view, including the same effects on the display format.

2.5.1.3. Viewing Task Items

When the user selects `View Item' for a task, the system displays a view of the form shown in Figure 137.

Figure 137: Item-level task view.

This view shows the first occurrence of the recurring task scheduled in Figure 123. The item-level view of a task contains mostly the same information as the task scheduling dialog ( Section 2.4.2 ), with the following differences:

there is a time and date summary in the item display, just below the window banner;
there are two additional data fields in the item display: the `Completed?' checkbox and the `Completion Date' text field.
the command buttons at the bottom of the item display are `Change', `Delete, and Clear' instead of `OK', `Clear', and Cancel';
if the task is recurring, there are instance-selection radio buttons above the command buttons.

The `Completed?' and `Completion Date' data fields indicate the completion status of a task or task instance. Details of how these fields are set are presented in Section 2.5.2.6. The change/delete radio buttons have exactly the same functionality as in the appointment view, including the same effects on the display format.

2.5.1.4. Viewing Event Items

Figure 138 shows the result of the user executing `View Item' for the event scheduled in Figure 125.

Figure 138: Item-level event view.

The item-level view of a event contains mostly the same information as the event scheduling dialog ( Section 2.4.3 ), with the following differences:

there is a time and date summary in the item display, just below the window banner;
the command buttons at the bottom of the item display are `Change', `Delete, and Clear' instead of `OK', `Clear', and Cancel'.

The event item display has no additional data fields than those in the event scheduling dialog. Details of event change and deletion are covered in Section 2.5.2.7.

2.5.1.5. Item-Level Viewing in Other Users' Calendars

Figure 139 shows the user viewing another user's calendar at the item level.

Figure 139: Item-level view of another user's calendar.

This is the view of the faculty meeting on the calendar of James L. Brandon, prior to the meeting having been accepted by that user. Access to other users' items is gained through the `View Other User' command, detailed in Section 2.3.5.1. When viewing other users at the item level, none of the data fields is editable. Hence, all data fields are disabled. Also, the command buttons at the bottom of the display are absent, as are the associated radio buttons in a recurring item.

In a user's own calendar, the item view of not-yet-accepted meetings has `Accept' and `Decline' command buttons instead of `Change' and `Delete'. This distinction in buttons indicates that an item is not yet accepted. Since the command buttons are missing in the view of another user's items, the title text is shown in light-grey italics.

Prev: [none] | Next: changing-and-deleting | Up: finer-points | Top: index