Comet Calendar/Localist User Training

Welcome to Localist training for the Comet Calendar! The Comet Calendar, powered by the Localist platform, is the University’s go-to resource for discovering and keeping track of campus events. Whether you’re a student worker, faculty member or staff, this training guide will walk you through the platform so you can navigate the Comet Calendar. 

Accessing the Comet Calendar

If you do not already have access to the Comet Calendar, you or your supervisor/manager can request access by emailing webdeveloper@utdallas.edu with your name, NetID and department/group for which you wish to submit events. Access is limited to student workers, faculty and staff. Student organizations that want to submit an event can email Megan Moser in the Student Union.

For student workers, faculty and staff, there are two access levels: contributors and approvers.

  • Contributors are able to submit and edit events.
  • Approvers are able to submit and edit events. They also can approve events for their assigned departments, including their own.

Once you have access to the Comet Calendar, you will log on using the “Log In” link on the calendar home page.

Comet Calendar home page.

Through the Office of Information Technology (OIT), Web Services has set up a single sign-on (SSO) for users. So you will use your usual NetID credentials to log in to the platform. 

Single sign-on page

And you’re in!

Submitting an Event

The Comet Calendar is for promoting events that are organized, hosted, sponsored or cosponsored by University departments, schools, centers, institutes, alumni organizations, and official, registered student organizations.

The primary way to submit an event is using the “Submit an Event” button on the homepage. It will take you to a submission form with important information. You must be logged in to use the button. 

Comet Calendar page

On the submission form, the required fields are marked with a grey bubble. However, Web Services highly recommends that you fill in as much information as possible for your event. The form is divided into sections:

Comet Calendar submission page
  • First Fields
    • Event Name: Required. Use a descriptive name for your event. If the event is a seminar or conference, use the topic name.
    • Description: This is where the event details can be listed. A portion of the first paragraph will be used as teaser text in some listings, so be concise.
  • Schedule: This is where you will include the date and time.
    • Start Date: Required.
    • Start Time: An all-day event is assumed if no time is entered.
    • End Time: If a Start Time is entered, an end time should also be entered.
    • To submit a reoccurring event, enter the date and time for each date and press “Include Above in Schedule.” This will create a list of each upcoming instance of the event under Confirmed Dates.
  • Location: This is where you will include the location. The first designation that you will choose is whether the event is “In-Person” or online via “Hybrid” and “Virtual.”
    • If you are submitting an in-person or hybrid event, be sure to enter the correct location in Place. It will auto-populate as you type the name of the building, auditorium, hall or campus landmark. If applicable, list the room number in the box below it.
    • If you are submitting a virtual event, you can enter the meeting instructions or URL in the following boxes.
  • Additional Details: This section contains secondary information that can provide more information for users and increase your visibility including, Hashtags, Event Website, Contact Information and tags.
    • HashtagIf you are using a hashtag to connect with your social media plan for this event, please put it here.
    • Event Website: If the event has a dedicated website or page, list it here. You also can link to your school, department or group page if applicable.
  • Photo: While not marked as required, this section is required. Web Services highly recommends including an image for your event. There are two options: upload your own or choose one from our curated photo library.
    • Photo Best Practices: It should be in a square shape, without any text and the preferred size is 200 px x 200 px.
  • Filters: This section is important for event filtering. Of the various dropdowns in this section, the Department and Group filters are the most important. You have to assign the department/group that your user account is assigned to in order to make edits and approve the event later. Also, this will factor into the event feeds that are featured on some department websites. Example: If you submit a JSOM event without assigning the event to “Naveen Jindal School of Management” in the Comet Calendar, that event will not appear on the JSOM website calendar feed.
  • Ticketing: This section is not as frequently used. However, it is useful if you are hosting an event that requires a ticket. Just please list the cost here and a link to where tickets can be purchased.

Once the form is complete, you can submit the event for approval!

A secondary way to submit events is in the “Calendar Admin” dashboard. This is an option for Approvers. To get to the dashboard, click the down-facing arrow next to your profile picture. In the dropdown menu, select “Calendar Admin.”

Comet Calendar approver menu

Once you are in the dashboard, there will be a blue button that says “Add Event.”

This will take you to the dashboard submission form, which looks different, but has all of the same fields. The form fields are separated into five tabs: Basic Information, Details, Tickets & Registration, Attendee Engagement and Publish. Fill in the important information and submit for approval! 

Approving an Event

The final step in this process is approving the event. Each department and group has approvers that will approve their submitted events. Approvers can not approve events for different departments/groups.

Events are approved on the Dashboard or the Calendar Admin webpage. To get to both options, click the down-facing arrow next to your profile picture. In the dropdown menu, select either the “Dashboard” or “Calendar Admin.”

Calendar Admin Option

Once in the Calendar Admin page, you will see a few blocks at the top. Select the block titled “Pending Events.”

Localist dashboard for pending events

The number in the box shows how many pending events are in your department/group. You will find your desire event on the Pending Events page. You then have two options: you can press the Approve link in that event’s table row; or, if you need to review any of the submitted information, you can click the event title, look over everything and select “Published” from the dropdown at the top of the form. 

Localist dashboard for approver

Dashboard Option

Once on the Dashboard page, you will see a section under Activity Feed called “Pending Submitted Events.”

Select the event that you are looking for and you will be directed to the event webpage with a banner that reads “This event is currently waiting for admin approval.” In the bottom right-side column, you will click the green button that says “Admin Event Editor.”

On the Edit Event page, review the content and select “Published” from the dropdown at the top of the form when ready to approve.

Canceling an Event

If you are no longer going to hold an event or if the date of the event has been changed, update the event title and the descriptive text. DO NOT DELETE THE EVENT. That way, users who have expressed interest in the event will receive a notification that the event is canceled or changed. Users are not notified of deleted events.

Login

You must first log in to the Comet Calendar using your UT Dallas Net ID and password to make any changes to an event already submitted.

Only approved calendar administrators can make changes to events for their department or group.

If you have question about accessing the calendar or updating events, please email webdeveloper@utdallas.edu.

Find the Event

1. Go to the Comet Calendar Admin Dashboard.

To edit events, go to Calendar Admin in the administration drop down menu.

Go to Search Localist to search events by content or title, user (name or Net ID of event administrator) or group.

For more search options, click on the Upcoming Events section to pull up a menu to refine search results by date, target audience, tag and keyword.

2. Select the event you would like to edit from the search result list.

Canceling the Event

1. Put “Canceled” in the event title. DO NOT DELETE THE EVENT.

2. Add the sentence; “This event has been canceled.” at the beginning of the event description. If the date has been changed or the event is now virtual, add the word UPDATE: then explain the changes. For example: “UPDATE: This event is now scheduled for May 1, 2020.”

3. SAVE YOUR CHANGES.

Two buttons - one that reads Delete Event, which is crossed out, and one that reads Save Changes, which is highlighted.

Example of Canceled Event

Canceling an Event That is Part of a Series

If you need assistance canceling events that are part of a series, please contact webdeveloper@utdallas.edu.

Comet Calendar Best Practices

Access

  • If anyone needs access for themselves or their team, they can email webdeveloper@utdallas.edu with their name, NetID and department/group for which they wish to submit events.
  • Users only can assign events to their specified department/group. If you want to assign secondary departments/groups, email Web Services at webdeveloper@utdallas.edu. If you are routinely assigning the same secondary department/group, Web Services also can add additional assignments to your user profile.
  • Students and outside organizations are not allowed to submit events to the Comet Calendar.
  • Student organizations that want to submit an event can email Megan Moser in the Student Union.

Events

  • Always assign your department to the event. This will allow you to approve and edit in the future.
  • In describing an event, be descriptive, conversational, professional and reader-friendly. About half of Comet Calendar users are on mobile devices so keep that in mind when composing text. Keep it short and to the point. You can list the following in bullet points:
    • Contact – List contact name, number and the word “Email” (if available) linked to an email address with the message title reflective of the event title and date. Click on the link icon at the top of the form to add an email link.
    • Logistics – List any logistical information pertaining to the event such as parking, rendezvous points, etc.
  • When linking an email for a contact within an event, include the event title as the Message Subject. See the example.
  • Similar to the format you notice on social media sites, hashtags must be one string of alphanumeric characters not separated by characters such as !, $, %, ^, &, *, +, . Additionally, don’t separate words by spaces. Underscores, letters and numbers are the only supported characters across the most popular social media channels.
  • Keywords provide a more comprehensive search experience for our users. When adding an event, be sure to include an accurate, robust range of keywords relevant to the event. If the event is related to Commencement or Homecoming, please use those keywords so the event will be listed in a curated calendar page for those major campus events.
When linking an email for a contact within an event, include the event title as the Message Subject.

Troubleshooting/Additional Notes

  • All events have to be approved. If your event is not live on the calendar, you or your department approver will need to approve your event.
  • If you are trying to approve an event but it is not visible in the “Pending Event” section, the event is probably not assigned to your department. You can contact Web Services by emailing webdeveloper@utdallas.edu and they will update the assigned department/group on the event.
  • While you can submit reoccurring events, there is not an option to bulk add or create events in the Comet Calendar.
  • Avoid using images that contain text, which may appear illegible or be cropped. Comet Calendar includes a first-phase assortment of stock photos based on event types.
  • If you would like to submit events for a department/group that is not already available in the Comet Calendar, you can email Web Services at webdeveloper@utdallas.edu to have it added.

Comments or Questions

Can’t find what you need? Is a location missing from the calendar? Can’t find your department or group? Please email webdeveloper@utdallas.edu.