Context: Resources are central to most Calpendo systems.  A resource is a bookable item in Calpendo so this could be an instrument, a room or even a person. In this article you will be shown how to add a resource and make sure it is visible for others to book through a bookmark as well as adding it to a location.


For a more detailed explanation of some of the other aspects of resource configuration please refer to this page on our documentation site.


Suitable for: Admins who are just starting out with Calpendo


Steps:


1. Create the resource

  1. Click on the Admin menu and select Resource Editor
  2. Select Resource from the tree editor on the left
  3. Click create in the editing window to the right
  4. Add at least the following information for a basic setup.  For help on more advanced options please go to the documentation page linked above
    1. Name
    2. Location: This will need to be set up prior to creating the resource.  Location editing is found above Resource in the tree view to the left
    3. Type: Resource Type is an editable list (find it under Admin > Types and Groups) for classifying your resources.  This classification can be as detailed as you like but in general it can be very useful to classify resources with general types such as 'microscopes' or 'staff' or 'meeting rooms'.  This can help greatly when producing reports on your resource usage if you have large numbers of resources.
    4. Project required: when a booking is placed against this resource do you want the booker to select a project or not, or have them select an authorised project where that resource is listed in the settings for that project.
    5. Require reason for cancellations: when a booking for this resource is cancelled a reason must be supplied.


2. Add the resource to a bookmark

Once a resource has been created it can be selected from the resources panel to the left of the main calendar view.  If you wish to prevent this resource being viewed by other users this will require further permissions to be set.


For most Calpendo systems a resource is generally accessed through the bookmark (a collection of resources) to which it belongs.  These could be personal bookmarks accessed from the resources panel to the left or systems bookmarks accessible by anyone both from the same panel or as a drop down menu option linking to that bookmark.  This menu for choosing which resources and bookmarks to view is shown in the screenshot below.



Some Calpendo systems will utilise just one 'default' bookmark which shows the resources where as others may have multiple bookmarks to manage where resources are located.  These instructions use the default bookmark as the destination for adding the resource.

  1. Click on Admin > Bookmark manager
  2. From the tree viewer on the left select a bookmark to edit (whether it be personal for yourself, or system for everyone to see) such as default
  3. Alternatively click create to add your own bookmark.  When creating a bookmark you have the choice to make it a system wide bookmark for everyone to see or a personal bookmark.
  4. Click edit and then select choose resources and add the resource which you have just created

The screenshot shows a bookmark which is in the process of being setup


3. Understanding the use of Location


When setting up the resource, as described above in step 1, it is possible to define a location for that resource.  This obviously helps with reporting if you wish to understand usage of your resources broken down by separate physical locations.


In addition to this Calpendo includes a menu option to display Calendars by location.  This creates automatic groupings based on the locations and can even create hierarchies if each location has child locations defined.  This also has the added benefit of updating if a resource's location is changed.


The screenshot is taken from the menu editor accessed from the Admin menu.