Appointment recurrences

RocketRod

I use the appointment BO type quite a bit and now the two features of the separate records for the recurrences and the query appointment scheduler , it opens up a lot of possibilities for example project planning and production scheduling. However when I create an appointment record via a process (CREATE APPOINTMENT) how do I have the multiple records automatically created without a user having to go into the form and use the recurrence button?

aware_support

If you want to create recurrence from rules then you need to create an instance of the "ApptRecurr" object. This object defines recurrence options for your appointments. It is always present in any business space, but it is not visible to a configurator. It is also not documented, unfortunately. It is, however, available in rules. These are the attributes of this object:

1) "StartTime" (start time of the recurring appointment)
2) "EndTime" (end time of the recurring appointment)
3) "Prototype" (this one is very important. It represents a reference to an appointment object that serves as a "prototype" for all recurring appointments covered by this recurrence)
4) "Type" (type of the appointment object covered by this recurrence - can be name of a group or an object)
5) "Pattern" (recurrence pattern. Possible values "D" for daily, "M" for monthly, "W" for weekly and "Y" for yearly)
6) "DOption" (options for daily pattern. Possible values "d" for "day", "w" for weekdays
7) "DDay" (day number for daily pattern 1-31)
8-) "WWeek" (week number for weekly pattern)
9) "WDays" (days for weekly pattern. String delimited by ";", for example "1;3" represents Monday and Wednesday
10) "MOption" (options for monthly pattern. Possible values "d" for daily and "o" for other)
11) "MDay" (day number for monthly pattern 1-31)
12) "MMonth" (month number for monthly pattern 1-12)
13) "Per1" (first period. Possible values - "1" for "first", "2" for "second", "3" for "third", "4" for "fourth" and "5" for "last")
14) "Per2" (second period. Possible values "D" for "day", "W" for "weekday", "E" for weekendday)
15) "YOption" (options for yearly pattern. Possible values "d" for day and "o" for other
16) "YMonth" (month number for yearly pattern 1-12)
17) "YDay" (day number for yearly pattern 1-31)
18-) "StartDate" (start date of the recurrence)
19) "EndOpt" (end recurrence option. Possible values "n" - no end; "d" - ends on date)
20) "EndDate" (end date of the recurrence for "d" end option)

RocketRod

OK great! I have set it all up and have created the appointment record and its associated ApptRecurr instance via two create rules. However the multiple appointment records are not created only the one I create. I tried adding an UPDATE rule after my create rules but to no avail. Any suggestions?

Cheers Rod

RocketRod

In otherwords what triggers the creation of the multiple instances? Is it a process that runs in the background or IS NEW rule on the ApptRecurr BO or something else? Hope you can assist soon.

Cheers Rod

aware_support

Multiple instances of recurring appointments can be "physical" or "virtual". Physical instances are created "physically" and stored in the database just like any other instances of the objects. "Virtual" instances are created on the fly when a recurring appointment is shown in the calendar.

With "physical" recurrence you need to specify the end date of recurrence. With "virtual" recurrence the end date can be undefined.

If your recurrence is "virtual" creating the instance of the ApptRecurr object should be enough. You will see all your recurring appointments if you open the corresponding calendar.

"Physical" recurrence cannot be triggered by rules at the moment - the "physical" instances are created only when you save a form of the appointment object.

RocketRod

Thanks again.

Can you please add creation of physical instances to your list of things to do. Seems like the only issue is that I can't insert the ApptRecurr instance into the Appointment instance.

FYI, here is one way I am now using these multiple appointment instances. I have set up a project management system with a BO (header) with multiple stages BO (detail). Each project stage has a start and end date of course and therefore I have associated an appointment BO with it. On the appointment BO I have a color attribute which I set on or off. So lets say there are 20 days for the stage and it is 20% complete, a value entered by the user. I have a rule which counts the number of appointment instances (20) and sets the color on for 20% of the 20 or 4 instances. Then display the appointment using the query scheduler display. Its like a graphical gnatt chart. All very simple and neat except of course I have to have the user interact with the generation of the appointment instances by using the recurrence button.

Cheers Rod