ICS Calendar

ICS Calendar
  • Features
    • ICS Calendar Pro
    • Feature Comparison
    • Sample Calendars
    • Preview Your Calendar
    • More WordPress Plugins
  • Help
    • User Guide
      • Getting Started
      • General WordPress Settings
      • ICS Calendar Settings
      • Shortcode Overview
      • Shortcode Reference
      • FAQs and Tips
      • CSS Guide
      • Developer Resources
      • GDPR
    • Pro Documentation
      • Calendar Builder
      • ICS Events
      • Manual Calendar Setup
      • Admin Utilities and Settings
      • Customizer
      • Block Editor
      • Parameters Reference
    • Shortcode Builder
    • Support Request Form
    • Translation Suggestions
  • Blog
  • Download
  • Buy Now
  • Cart
  • My Account
Search
More...

Enhancements to Widget Availability and Year Availability views in ICS Calendar Pro 4.6.0

March 20, 2023

User feedback is the primary driver for new and improved features in ICS Calendar, and here’s an example of that.

While ICS Calendar was never envisioned as a tool for holiday rental vacancy calendars, it has definitely been taken up for that purpose, and I’ve been working steadily on improvements to that user experience.

ICS Calendar Pro version 4.6.0, out today, introduces some enhancements to the Widget Availability and Year Availability views that should make a big difference for users of these views.

First, the new Combined Availability option finally makes these views suitable for presenting vacancy dates for multiple properties/units at once. If you put multiple ICS feeds into the calendar with this option, a date will show as “available” if any of the units are available. (The default behavior of the calendar is to show “booked” dates rather than “available” dates… so if you had multiple feeds, if any of the units are booked, the date would appear as “booked.”)

Relating to this is the option for No Angled Backgrounds. The default handling of these views is to show check-in/check-out dates with an angled background, an intuitive way for users to see the dates when a unit is becoming available or booked. This is especially helpful in situations where a unit is available for one night: with the angled backgrounds, users can see that night of availability, whereas with regular backgrounds, the unit would appear to be booked solid. However, if your calendar is displaying multiple units, the angles can be misleading or confusing, so this option allows you to turn them off.

Moving over to the Advanced tab of Calendar Builder, there is now a Booked Day Background Color color picker field, to accompany the existing Empty Day Background Color. For calendars including multiple feeds, you’ll want to use this option to customize the appearance of booked dates. (You can also give each feed its own color, but the results of that can be counterintuitive… plus it’s just more work!)

In addition to these new options, there are a couple of “under the hood” changes to Widget Availability and Year Availability as well. First, they now force a Past Days value of 0. (Note that this is not currently reflected in the behavior of the Past Days field; I’m working on that for a future update.) This prevents users from clicking back to past months. Along with this, the calendar does not show any availability status for past dates in the current month. This provides a cleaner interface for users who are looking for vacancies, by not cluttering up the view with details about dates that are in the past.

As always, feedback and suggestions for improvements are welcomed! Please submit them in the forums or via the support form. Thanks!

—Scott

Category: New Features

Categories

  • Uncategorized
  • New Features
  • Bug Squashing
  • Just for Fun
  • Web Design & Development
  • Translation
  • Deep Dives

Recent Posts

  • ICS Calendar Pro 5.10.0 and ICS Calendar 11.5.9 updates April 24, 2025
  • Big improvements to ICS Events in versions 5.9.0 and 5.9.1 February 26, 2025
  • Happy Holidays from Room 34! December 8, 2024
  • Update to version 5.6.1.1 ASAP to resolve possible database performance issues introduced in 5.6.0 November 14, 2024
  • ICS Calendar Block is officially deprecated in version 5.6, will be removed in version 6.0 November 7, 2024

Related Links

  • Room 34 Creative Services
    Developer of ICS Calendar
  • Underdog of Perfection
    Room 34’s general blog
  • More Plugins by Room 34
    Available in the WordPress Plugin Directory

Room 34 Creative Services, LLC

  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Bandcamp
  • Room 34 Creative Services, LLC
  • Minneapolis, Minnesota 55406 USA
  • info@icscalendar.com
  • More WordPress Plugins
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Copyright © 2025 Room 34 Creative Services, LLC. All rights reserved.
"ICS Calendar", "ICS Calendar Pro", "ICS Events", the ICS Calendar logo and ICS icon are trademarks of Room 34 Creative Services, LLC.

https://icscalendar.com/enhancements-to-widget-availability-and-year-availability-views-in-ics-calendar-pro-4-6-0

This website uses cookies solely for necessary functions, such as accessing your account orders and license details. Accept to continue or find out more in our Privacy Policy.

Accept & Continue