Updated parameter defaults coming in ICS Calendar 10.6

ICS Calendar has grown and changed significantly since its inception nearly 6 years ago. The number of sites using it continues to grow, and the ways they commonly use it are quite different from what it was even capable of doing when it first launched.

As new parameters have been added, the default has always been to have them turned off, to prevent unexpected disruptions to existing calendars. This is the “safe” approach, but it doesn’t always make the most sense, given that some of the new features would be more logical as default values.

ICS Calendar version 10.6 will introduce changes to 11 of the default parameters, to better reflect the way the plugin is most typically being used in 2023. This version also introduces a mechanism for view-specific defaults, since in some cases a parameter that makes sense as the default for one view does not for another. For example, it is helpful to set pastdays="90" in month view, to allow users to flip back up to 3 months on the calendar. But that parameter in list view would cause the list to, potentially, show only a set of events that happened 3 months ago, depending on the count parameter.

But what about “preventing unexpected disruptions to existing calendars”? These changes are coded in such a way that they will only become the default for new installations of ICS Calendar. Existing users will get a new setting on the ICS Calendar admin page that will allow them to choose whether to use the new defaults or keep the old ones. And, of course, any parameters that are explicitly defined in your shortcode will override the defaults either way.

Here is a rundown of the parameters whose defaults will be changing, their new default values, and the rationale for the changes.

Parameter New Default Explanation

count 5 Applies only to list view. When set to 0, all events within the date range are displayed, which often results in an absurdly long list. Most sites will want to set a count to limit the number of events displayed, and 5 is the most commonly used value.

description false This setting is for displaying the ICS feed’s calendar description, not individual event descriptions. In many cases the calendar does not have a description, or it is not desirable to display on the page; the result is nonsensical for calendars that are displaying multiple feeds.

eventdesc true Most sites want to display the event descriptions.

hiderecurrence true Most sites do not want to display the recurrence information (e.g. “Recurs monthly”).

limitdays List: 365
Week: 21
Month: 455 This is not fundamentally changing, but the values are now view-specific to be more relevant. The default for month view is being increased to accommodate a corresponding change to the default value for pastdays. Week view is being reduced to the range that is relevant to that view, which may improve parsing speed.

location true Corresponds to the change to the default value for eventdesc.

organizer true Corresponds to the change to the default value for eventdesc.

pastdays List: 0
Week: 7
Month: 90 Most sites using month view want to display a range of past events; 3 months is the most common range. List view is not changing, as its format necessarily should start with the current date in most cases. Week view is set to 7 since it can only show at most 7 past days.

showendtimes true Most sites prefer to show both the start and end times of events by default, rather than showing the end times only on hover.

stickymonths true Applies only to month view. This parameter does not change the calendar display in any way; it simply modifies the browser address bar URL when the user changes the month, allowing for sharing a URL for the page with a specific month (instead of the current month) displayed on load.

title false This setting is for displaying the ICS feed’s calendar title, not individual event titles. In many cases the calendar does not have a title, or it is not desirable to display on the page; the result is nonsensical for calendars that are displaying multiple feeds.

Parameter	New Default	Explanation
`count`	`5`	Applies only to list view. When set to 0, all events within the date range are displayed, which often results in an absurdly long list. Most sites will want to set a count to limit the number of events displayed, and 5 is the most commonly used value.
`description`	`false`	This setting is for displaying the ICS feed’s calendar description, not individual event descriptions. In many cases the calendar does not have a description, or it is not desirable to display on the page; the result is nonsensical for calendars that are displaying multiple feeds.
`eventdesc`	`true`	Most sites want to display the event descriptions.
`hiderecurrence`	`true`	Most sites do not want to display the recurrence information (e.g. “Recurs monthly”).
`limitdays`	List: `365` Week: `21` Month: `455`	This is not fundamentally changing, but the values are now view-specific to be more relevant. The default for month view is being increased to accommodate a corresponding change to the default value for `pastdays`. Week view is being reduced to the range that is relevant to that view, which may improve parsing speed.
`location`	`true`	Corresponds to the change to the default value for `eventdesc`.
`organizer`	`true`	Corresponds to the change to the default value for `eventdesc`.
`pastdays`	List: `0` Week: `7` Month: `90`	Most sites using month view want to display a range of past events; 3 months is the most common range. List view is not changing, as its format necessarily should start with the current date in most cases. Week view is set to 7 since it can only show at most 7 past days.
`showendtimes`	`true`	Most sites prefer to show both the start and end times of events by default, rather than showing the end times only on hover.
`stickymonths`	`true`	Applies only to month view. This parameter does not change the calendar display in any way; it simply modifies the browser address bar URL when the user changes the month, allowing for sharing a URL for the page with a specific month (instead of the current month) displayed on load.
`title`	`false`	This setting is for displaying the ICS feed’s calendar title, not individual event titles. In many cases the calendar does not have a title, or it is not desirable to display on the page; the result is nonsensical for calendars that are displaying multiple feeds.

These changes are not 100% final at the time of this post. As always, feedback is welcomed in the forums.

—Scott