JCal Pro 
Version
3.1 (last update on Apr 17, 2012)
Rating
Compatibility
Votes
Favoured
211
License
GPLv2 or later
Commercial
Type
Views
864058
Date Added
23 November 2006
Editor's Note
- This extension requires registration to download.
- Access to this GNU GPL-licensed archive requires a subscription fee
Images
this is an amazinf free calender and events component..only thing paid is themes and flex module..and even without them its complete in itself
integration with jomsocial and cb is a plus..
only expectation is jomsocial user point becuase my site is point driven..
thanx a lot dev
integration with jomsocial and cb is a plus..
only expectation is jomsocial user point becuase my site is point driven..
thanx a lot dev
Great product, but not quite complete yet. What I really want is the functionality of the old calendar at eventkeeper.com. See the demos of how this is used at many libraries to list events with lengthy descriptions. Ideally, I would like to support about 6 venues with an easy ability to see each of them individually with events that have lengthy descriptions.
Was happy with the installation of the component, and working on adding events. Missing the possibility to create venues, and link the event to those, though. However, I am most disappointed in not being able to install the themes. Support responded that it is a permissions issue, but the service provider assured me it is not. So asked for additional support on installing the themes, but none is forthcoming. So basically I choose a subscription with 3 themes, but can only use the default. This is important for other potential customers to know.
Owner's reply
Thanks for the note. Unfortunately we cannot troubleshoot issues with hosts. I will say that on 99% of sites, this works fine.
If you PM 'vdrover' on our forum I can give you a tip on how to over-write the default theme with the premium theme of your choosing.
In JCal Pro 3, themes will become joomla plugins, and will be even more reliable.
JCalPro is an excellent calendar module.
I have installed installed JEvents and find it clumsy and laborious when entering events, not to mention the un-professional presentation.
JCalPro looks great and is much easier to use.
GCalendar doesn't allow a print option, and lacks a lot of features. If you want a basic calendar, then it will probably fit your needs.
The RSVP module that is bundled with JCalPro does not integrate with JCalPro, and is almost identical to Attend Events in functionality.
I have installed installed JEvents and find it clumsy and laborious when entering events, not to mention the un-professional presentation.
JCalPro looks great and is much easier to use.
GCalendar doesn't allow a print option, and lacks a lot of features. If you want a basic calendar, then it will probably fit your needs.
The RSVP module that is bundled with JCalPro does not integrate with JCalPro, and is almost identical to Attend Events in functionality.
I've been trying JCal for a bit now. It functions very well and does everything I need it to do.
I started using JCalPro with Joomla 1.0 and found it far superior to anything that was available. The price is totally reasonable, too, and I really want a SIMPLE calendar to display because even full width, it's hard to read events on the calendar in monthly view. So I didn't want it cluttered with template stuff.
But since switching to Joomla 1.5, the calendar has changed and now when you have a recurring event, it creates a separate event for each occurrence, which gets really messy in the admin side. Our area has a ton of weekly items and it's impossible to maintain a calendar with so many separate listings of events like that. It would be nice if the events would automatically delete x number of days after they expire, too, but I am sure that's hoping for too much. Still, it's the best calendar component I have found for Joomla.
But since switching to Joomla 1.5, the calendar has changed and now when you have a recurring event, it creates a separate event for each occurrence, which gets really messy in the admin side. Our area has a ton of weekly items and it's impossible to maintain a calendar with so many separate listings of events like that. It would be nice if the events would automatically delete x number of days after they expire, too, but I am sure that's hoping for too much. Still, it's the best calendar component I have found for Joomla.
Owner's reply
Thanks for the kind review. In the backnd events manager, you can filter the listed events as "upcoming only", meaning past events won't be displayed. Makes managing the events very easy.
The change in the way events were recorded was implemented so that you could easily modify one instance in a recurring seris, without affecting the rest.
We have been looking for a well featured calendar for our simracing site. We have a lot of events, and a lot of Event Managers needing to be able to announce their events. JCal makes it easy - and it looks good too.
I had a query about a small issue with the component (caused by our SEF component, not by JCal), and this was quickly looked into and solved via the JCal support site.
Can't ask for better than that really.
I had a query about a small issue with the component (caused by our SEF component, not by JCal), and this was quickly looked into and solved via the JCal support site.
Can't ask for better than that really.
Love JCAL - and Google seems to like it too.
Seems like a very stable and well-thought out extension. We have it in service now with six months plus of events on it. Good clear event entry screens.
One drawback is that the event descriptions can be formatted any way the user wishes, WYSIWYG, and if everyone does it differently we'll end up with a very sloppy looking calendar (especially the flat view which is our default, as we need the full information on each event to be visible initially). Maybe there could be a way to optionally force the use of a chosen font and color.
Thanks for a great extension!
One drawback is that the event descriptions can be formatted any way the user wishes, WYSIWYG, and if everyone does it differently we'll end up with a very sloppy looking calendar (especially the flat view which is our default, as we need the full information on each event to be visible initially). Maybe there could be a way to optionally force the use of a chosen font and color.
Thanks for a great extension!
I was a casualty of Thyme calendar closing down so I subscribed for my non profit school. Installation was very easy and features looked fine but I soon discovered that their is no feature to print a calendar. Many of my users like to print the current month for a physical hard copy. The only solution within jcal (despite many users asking for this feature in the forum) was a hack which did not work well with the latest version. In the end I am using Gcalendar (google calendar bridge).
This is easily the most user-friendly extension I have ever installed/configured for Joomla. The back-end is laid out simply and obviously, the settings and parameters were clearly described and easy to use. Had to upgrade to 1.5.10 for the modules/plugin to work correctly.
If only all extensions worked this well!
If only all extensions worked this well!
After fighting with jevent, since my upgrade to 1.5, I switched to jcal pro. I was up and runnning within 15 minutes. Simple easy and it works.
I would like to see more than 1 theme included but for $20 I am glad I have calendar that works right.
I would like to see more than 1 theme included but for $20 I am glad I have calendar that works right.
Owner's reply
keep it simple ... that's our mantra but it's tough sometimes with such a complicated, powerful application. Glad you had a smooth transition.
I've been a user of this component for almost a year. It's implemented seamlessly. I've had nothing but great support from developer. Very pleased with how much it can do, especially with ability to post multi colour events, so that just by looking at the monthly calendar you can see the types of events planned. I am looking forward to the new release (2.0).
From practical stand point, I find it very easy to use and install. It took me maybe 30 mins to set it up originally when I was still adjusting it to my site with all the features it has. And it took me less than 5 minutes to upgrade from version 1.6 beta version to current 1.5 stable version and will be upgrading to 2.0 when it's stable.
Great part of this upgrade was that I didn't lose any events. I simply uninstalled 1.6 beta, installed 1.5, enabled modules and was up and running.
How is that for a smooth backward upgrade compatibility!
Regards,
Dmitri Ivanenko
From practical stand point, I find it very easy to use and install. It took me maybe 30 mins to set it up originally when I was still adjusting it to my site with all the features it has. And it took me less than 5 minutes to upgrade from version 1.6 beta version to current 1.5 stable version and will be upgrading to 2.0 when it's stable.
Great part of this upgrade was that I didn't lose any events. I simply uninstalled 1.6 beta, installed 1.5, enabled modules and was up and running.
How is that for a smooth backward upgrade compatibility!
Regards,
Dmitri Ivanenko
Owner's reply
Glad it's going smooth. Satisfied subscribers don't always return to write a review...Cheers!
I REALLY love the JCal extension. It's everything I've been looking for. The only trouble I'm having is finding out how to use the Remote Calendar feature. The documentation hasn't helped me to understand what I'm doing wrong. I have 10 sites that I'm building and would love to test out this much needed feature.
Owner's reply
Thanks for the kind words. We are finalizing the new JCal Pro 2.x and then we will hopefully find time to get our event server sorted.
The product itself is decent, especially the full calendar view, and at face value it's worth the $20 for the sub.
However, if you run into trouble you are required to pay for support - or hope that someone on the forums can and is willing to help out. This might be a relatively small issue, but there is almost no documentation (the link provided by the developer in these comments returns a 404 error [http://dev.anything-digital.com/JCal-Client/Documentation.html]) and if you're not using it "out of the box" you can spend a *lot* of extra time trying to work it out.
Make sure you read all of the reviews and pay a visit to the forums at AnythingDigital before you commit to this product. When you're billing a client hourly for custom layout, the cost in time can quickly outweigh the benefits of a low initial subscription fee.
However, if you run into trouble you are required to pay for support - or hope that someone on the forums can and is willing to help out. This might be a relatively small issue, but there is almost no documentation (the link provided by the developer in these comments returns a 404 error [http://dev.anything-digital.com/JCal-Client/Documentation.html]) and if you're not using it "out of the box" you can spend a *lot* of extra time trying to work it out.
Make sure you read all of the reviews and pay a visit to the forums at AnythingDigital before you commit to this product. When you're billing a client hourly for custom layout, the cost in time can quickly outweigh the benefits of a low initial subscription fee.
Owner's reply
I have updated the links for documentation, I appreciate the heads up.
As for support, you get what you pay for, and $20 doesn't go very far given the average fee for programmers is USD $75/hour.
I tried a couple other calendars and finally settled with this one. Definitely worth the investment for the website. I look forward to seeing what version 2 has to offer. Events by Venue would be nice to see added to the Category features. I highly recommend this one. Save yourself the trouble of trying all the free ones and just pay the little bit of cash for this.
Owner's reply
Thnaks for the note. We are looking into a solution for venue management but have not settled on the best solution as yet.
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