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The department’s main public calendar is accessible on the web at the department’s Events page.  In addition, there is a collection of departmental Google calendars accessible at the Department’s Google Calendar Page, including the following groups of calendars: department calendar, talks, other events, visitors schedules, research meetings, graduate deadlines, class schedules, UNC holidays, academic calendars, committees, staff calendars, conference rooms, classrooms, other rooms, doors open, faculty meetings, and parking permits.

Each of these groups of calendars can be viewed directly on the web, though some require a department password. In addition, members of the department can subscribe to any of these calendars, so that you can optionally see them along with your personal calendar when you log into your departmental Google account. For example, you might want to add the calendar for the Triangle Computer Science Distinguished Lecturer Series to your calendar.

To subscribe to one of these calendars, go to the Department’s Google Calendar Page and click on the group of calendars you are interested in, for example, Talks. Then click on the “+ Google Calendar” button on the lower right corner of the page. You’ll be presented with a list of calendars to which you can subscribe, or you can choose to subscribe to all of them. Once you have subscribed, the calendars will appear in the list of calendars on the left side of your Google Calendar page. You can click on the name of the calendar to hide its contents if you don’t want to look at it right now.

The calendars at the Department’s Google Calendar Page are functional. That is, you can page through the default monthly view, or you can click on “Week” in the upper right corner to see the weekly versions of the calendars. In addition, if you click the arrow in the upper right corner, you’ll get a drop-down menu with a list of calendars, and you can choose which calendars to display. You can also click on any event, then click “more details”, and you can see the full description of the event or add a reminder in your own calendar.

Your Google Apps account name is the same as your department account name, with @cs.unc.edu appended, and it uses the same password. Go to http://calendar.cs-old.sites.unc.edu to access your calendar.

For help using Google calendars, see the Google calendar help page or the CS Department’s Google calendar FAQ below. If you have questions or problems, please send mail to help@cs.unc.edu.

Talks and Visitors’ Schedules Calendars

The Computer Science Department has three Google calendars, for talks, called “Distinguished Lectures”, “Defenses”, and “Colloquia.”  In addition, we use the “Visitors’ Schedules” calendar for scheduling meetings with visitors.  “Distinugished Lectures” and “Defenses” are writable by the “Room Czars” group, while “Colloquia” and “Visitors’ Schedules” are writable by all Computer Science faculty.  This article tells how to subscribe to these calendars, how to set up these calendars for a visitor, and how to schedule meetings and talks with a visitor.

The three talks calendars are the ones more people will be interested in displaying on their calendar on a regular basis.  The “Visitors’ Schedules” calendar, on the other hand, is for scheduling meetings during the day for a visitor.  The talk itself should be included on both calendars, as well as on the room where the talk is taking place.

To subscribe to the Colloquia, Distinguished Lectures, Defenses calendars:

Before you can make changes to the Colloquia calendar, you need to subscribe to it, as follows:

  1. Log in to Google Calendar.
  2. Go to Talks and click the “+ Google Calendar” button on the lower right.
  3. Click “Add” next to the specific calendars you want, or click “Add all”.

This adds the calendars you chose to one of the lists of calendars on the left side of the Google calendar display.  You can choose to display the calendar or not by clicking on it.

To schedule a talk:

Room Czars can schedule any of the types of talks, while department faculty (who are not Czars) can only write to the Colloquia calendar.  However, the Colloquia calendar is what we use for faculty candidate talks and all other talks except distinguished lectures and defenses.  Students can schedule their defenses using the instructions here.  Distinguished Lectures will need to be scheduled by Room Czars or the faculty member coordinating all the talks.

All faculty members can write to the Colloquia calendar.  As a general rule, though, it is best to involve RSAC in the scheduling process for a visitor’s talk.  In particular, note that if you are scheduling a talk in SN011 during the standard times for colloquia or defenses (3:30pm – 5:30pm on Mondays or Wednesdays), you’ll need to involve RSAC or other Room Czars, because we have place holders on the SN011 calendar at those times, and the place holder will need to be removed.

To set up a talk on the Colloquia calendar, do the following:

  1. Subscribe to the Colloquia calendar as shown above if you have not done so already.
  2. Log in to Google Calendar.
  3. In the list of calendars on the left side of your calendar window, if the Colloquia calendar is not shown in color, click on it, so that that calendar is displayed on your calendar.
  4. Navigate on your calendar to the day and time when the visitor will be here.
  5. Set up a new event, putting the your name in the “What” text box.
  6. In the “Calendar:” dropdown box, select “Visitors Talks”.
  7. Click the “Create event” button.
  8. Click “Rooms, etc.”
  9. Click the room you want.  If it does not appear, it may already be scheduled.  Uncheck “Show only available” and then check the room.  You can click “Find a time” to see what is on the room calendar.
  10. NOTE:  You may also want to check the main department calendar, which combines the calendars for colloquia, defenses, distinguished lectures, research meetings, corporate events, and other events.  Click on the “Week” view button in the upper right corner of the calendar.  If there are other events happening at the same time as your talk, they will be listed side by side on the main department calendar.  Depending on the nature of the concurrent event and the talk you are scheduling, you may want to choose a different time.

To subscribe to the Visitors’ Schedules calendar:

Before you can make changes to the Visitors’ Schedules calendar, you need to subscribe to it, as follows:

  1. Log in to Google Calendar.
  2. Go to Visitors and click the “+ Google Calendar” button on the lower right.
  3. Click the “Yes, add this calendar” button.

This adds the Visitors’ Schedules calendar to one of the lists of calendars on the left side of the Google calendar display.  You can choose to display the calendar or not by clicking on it.

Setting up the calendar for a visitor:

To set up the Visitors’ Schedules calendar for a visitor, you’ll first need to subscribe to the calendar, as described above. Then you’ll need to create an all day event with the visitor’s name on the day when he or she will be here, as follows:

  1. Subscribe to the Visitors’ Schedules calendar as shown above if you have not done so already.
  2. Set up a new event, putting the visitor’s name in the “What” text box.
  3. In the “Calendar:” dropdown box, select “Visitors’ Schedules”.
  4. Click “Edit event details”.
  5. Click the “All day” checkbox.
  6. Make sure the bullet next to “Available” below is checked.

To schedule a meeting with a visitor:

To set up a meeting with a visitor on the Visitors’ Schedules calendar, do the following:

  1. Subscribe to the Visitors’ Schedules calendar as shown above if you have not done so already.
  2. Log in to Google Calendar.
  3. In the list of calendars on the left side of your calendar window, if the Visitors’ Schedules calendar is not shown in color, click on it, so that calendar is displayed on your calendar.
  4. Navigate on your calendar to the day when the visitor will be here. There will be an all-day event at the top of that day with the visitor’s name.  The times he or she is busy will be shown.  (Note that there may be more than one visitor listed on a given day.)
  5. Set up a new event, putting the the visitor’s initials and then your name in the “What” text box.  For example, if the visitor was Joe Smith and your name is John Jones, you could say “JS: John Jones”.  This will help if there are multiple visitors on the same day, which occasionally happens.  You may want to give more information, e.g., JS: Lunch – Jones, Quigg”.
  6. In the “Calendar:” dropdown box, select “Visitors’ Schedules”.
  7. Click the “Create event” button.

Google Calendars FAQ

How do I get my password for the department Google calendar? Your Google account password and your department password are the same.  Both are changed when you change your department password at the Department Password Change Page.

How do I change my password for the department Google calendar? The only way to change your Google password is by changing your CS department password.  Go to the Department Password Change Page and change your password there.  From then on the password on your Google calendar (and Google mail) will be the same as your CS department password.

What is my Google calendar login name? Your Google calendar login name is yourcslogin@cs-old.sites.unc.edu, i.e., your Computer Science Department login name with “@cs-old.sites.unc.edu” appended.

Who can get a department Google calendar account? Computer Science faculty, staff, graduate students, undergraduate majors, and alumni (graduates with a PhD or MS, plus graduates with Bachelor’s degrees who worked two semesters for the department) are eligible for accounts.

How do I log in to the department’s Google calendar?

  1. In the browser of your choice, go to your Department Calendar Home Page.  In the “Username” box, put your Computer Science login.  Do not add “@cs-old.sites.unc.edu” to your login name. Use your CS password.
  2. Alternatively, go to your Gmail Page.  In the “Username” box, put yourcslogin@cs-old.sites.unc.edu, i.e., your Computer Science Department login name with “@cs-old.sites.unc.edu” appended.  Use your CS password. Then, select Calendar from the icon beside your userid.

How do I see all the scheduled department events in one place? Go to
the main Department Calendar Page, which is the main department calendar and combines the calendars for colloquia, defenses, distinguished lectures, research meetings, corporate events, and other events.  You’ll probably want to click on the “Week” view button in the upper right corner of the calendar, because the calendar is pretty busy in month view.  This calendar, along with calendars for specific rooms, is the best place to look to see if something you are planning will conflict with an event already planned.

How do I schedule a visitor talk or a faculty candidate talk? Detailed instructions for this are here.

How do I set up a meeting calendar for a visitor or a faculty candidate? Detailed instructions for this are here.

Where do I find the schedule for a visitor talk or a faculty candidate talk? Talks are broken down into three separate calendars: Distinguished Lectures, Defenses, and Colloquia.  The calendars for all three are combined at the Department Talks Calendar.  They are also available on the main department calendar.

How do I print out a visitor’s schedule or a faculty candidate’s schedule? Subscribe to the “Visitors Schedules” calendar, click your other calendars so that only the visitors calendar is highlighted, click the “Agenda” tab at the upper right, use your mouse to select the section of the agenda you want, cut and paste it into Word, edit out any lines you don’t want, and print that.  This works pretty well, preserving the formatting.

Where can I find comprehensive help pages for Google calendar? Log in to Google calendar, click the “gear” or “flower” icon underneath your login name near the upper right corner of the page.  Then click “Calendar help”.

Where can I find general information on the department’s Google calendars? General information on the calendars is at Calendar Information.

How can I subscribe to one of the department’s Google calendars? Go to Computer Science Department Calendars, click on the group of calendars you are interested in, e.g., ”

“, click the “+ Google Calendar” button on the lower right, and then click “Add” to the right of the calendar you want to add.

How can I subscribe to department Google calendars? First, log in.  Then go to Computer Science Department Calendars and click on the set of calendars you are interested in.  Click the “+ Google Calendar” button in the lower right corner.  If you have not already subscribed to all the calendars on that page, you will be presented with a list of calendars to which you can subscribe.  Click on any you want to add to your calendars.  For rooms and other resources, you can alternatively click “Add” under “Other calendars”, click “Browse Interesting Calendars”, click “More”, click “Resources for cs-old.sites.unc.edu”, and then click on the resource you want to add.

How can I get a reminder of an event on a departmental calendar? First, subscribe to the calendar as described above.  Then click on the event for which you want a reminder, click “Add a reminder”, select Email or Pop-up in the first drop-down menu, select the units (minutes, hours, days, weeks) in the second drop-down menu, and enter the number of units in the box between the two drop-down menus.  For example, you might decide to get an Email reminder 30 minutes before an event you want to attend.  You can set up to five reminders for a given event.

How do I invite someone to a meeting? First, log in to Google calendar.  Click on the time you want to add the meeting.  Enter the name of the meeting in the “What” field, and then click “Edit event details”.  On the right side of the page, under “Add”, type the name of the person you want to invite, or type their email address.

How do I reserve a room? First, log in to Google calendar.  Click on the time you want to add the meeting.  Enter the name of the meeting in the “What” field, and then click “Edit event details”.  On the right side of the page, beside “Add”, click “Rooms, etc.”, and then click name of the room you want.  You can invite a room that is already reserved, in the hopes that someone can rearrange, by first unchecking the “Show only available” box.  Note, however, that reservations of any rooms, especially classrooms, are subject to approval by a member of the Room Czars group (room-czars@cs-old.sites.unc.edu), and your invitation of that room to a meeting may be overridden by a member of that group, which includes various administrative and RSAC staff plus the Chair and the two Associate Chairs.  Besides the classrooms, the Chair’s Conference room, FB141, is just that, and the Chair may override your reservation.  In addition, Mike Reiter controls use of the security conference room, FB331.

How do I reserve a room for a PhD defense? First, log in to Google calendar.  Click on the time you want to have your defense.  In the “What” field, enter your name followed by “Defense” (e.g., “John Doe Defense”) and then click “Edit event details”.  On the right side of the page, beside “Add”, click “Rooms, etc.”.  Click “Add” next to “Defenses”, and then click “Add” next to the room where you want to have your defense.  The standard rooms for defenses are SN011 and FB141.  Click “Guests” and enter the names of the faculty members who must be at your defense.  For Computer Science faculty, a matching name should appear as you start to spell out his or her name; click on the matching name and email address.  Enter also the email addresses of any of your committee members who are not Computer Science faculty, so they will receive an invitation as well.  To search for available times, you can follow this procedure:  First, click on “Rooms, etc.”, and uncheck the “Show only available” box above the list of rooms.  Then invite both of the possible rooms, SN011 and FB141, and click “Find a time” to see the schedules of the rooms and everyone who is in your list of guests at the time you want to have your defense.  You can see when everyone is available, and you can click and drag the defense time to an available time.  If there are no times on the day you chose, you can use the blue arrows above the combined calendars to check availability on other days.  Once you have found an appropriate time, in the list of guests on the lower right, click the “X” beside the room you are not using, so it will not be reserved.  Then click “Save” to schedule your dissertation, or click “Dismiss” if you want to think about it some more.

How do I find a time and a place for a meeting? First, log in to Google calendar.  Click on the time you want to have your meeting.  In the “What” field, enter the name of your meeting and then click “Edit event details”.  On the right side of the page, beside “Add”, click “Rooms, etc.”.  Click “Add” next to the room where you want to have your meeting.  Click “Guests” and enter the names of the people you want to be at your meeting.  For Computer Science faculty, staff, or graduate students, a matching name should appear as you start to spell out his or her name; click on the matching name and email address.  Enter also the email addresses of any of your attendees who are not in Computer Science, so they will receive an invitation as well.  To search for available times and rooms, you can follow this procedure:  First, click on “Rooms, etc.”, and uncheck the “Show only available” box above the list of rooms.  Then invite whatever rooms you might want to have your meeting in, and click “Find a time” to see the schedules of the rooms and everyone who is in your list of guests at the time you want to have your defense.  You can see when everyone is available, and you can click and drag the meeting time to an available time.  If there are no times on the day you chose, you can use the blue arrows above the combined calendars to check availability on other days.  Once you have found an appropriate time, in the list of guests on the lower right, click the “X” beside the rooms you are not using, so they will not be reserved.  Then click “Save” to schedule your meeting, or click “Dismiss” if you have changed your mind.

How do I get an event to show up on the digital signs around Sitterson and Brooks? When you schedule your event, click “Edit event details”.  On the right side of the page, beside “Add”, click “Rooms, etc.”.  Click “Add” next “Digital Signs”, and then click “Save”.

How can I view the calendar of someone else in the Computer Science Google apps domain? To view the calendar of any department faculty, staff, graduate student, or undergraduate CS major, first log in to your Google calendar.  Then, at the bottom left corner of your calendar window, enter the email address of the person whose calendar you want to see in the box that says “Add a coworker’s calendar”.  This adds their calendar to your list of calendars, and if they have populated their calendar, you can see their schedule.

How do I set a reminder for myself? First, log in to Google calendar.  Then click on the time you want to your activity.  In the “What” field, enter the name of your activity and then click “Edit event details”.  You will be presented with a different page, where you can adjust the time, add guests, add reminders, and control what others see about your activity.  A bit more than half the way down the left side of the page, you will see the label “Reminders”, with three pull-down menus.  Use the menus to select the type of reminder (email or pop-up) and the time before the event when you want to receive the reminders.  You can add up to five reminders for a given event.  Note that pop-ups are not as reliable as email messages.  Note also that you may want to set up a separate calendar just for your personal reminders, so that others with whom you share your calendar don’t see these your reminders.

Where can I get help with Google calendars? help@cs-old.sites.unc.edu is a good place to start for issues specific to the department.  There is also a help Forum within Google.  click the “gear” or “flower” icon underneath your login name near the upper right corner of the page.  Then click “Calendar help”.  Click “Calendar Help Center” near the middle of the page, and then “Google Calendar Product Forum” near the upper right corner.

UNIX Calendar

This service is deprecated and support cannot be guaranteed. Please use Google Calendar or Live 365 Calendar!

The UNC Computer Science department has a special reminder program installed on all of its UNIX systems. The program is called “calendar”, and its main use is to have email reminders sent to you, based on a file listing events about which you wish to be reminded. This article describes how to get set up to use the calendar file, what the reminder program does, and what to put in the calendar file.

Getting set up

For the reminder service to work, you need to make a file called “calendar” in the “public” subdirectory of your home directory. In addition, the directory containing the calendar file must be readable by the computer that is checking for calendar files.

Everyone’s AFS home directory was initially set up with a “public” subdirectory with the proper permissions for the calendar program to work. If you have changed things around, you can execute this command:

/usr/local/bin/fs setacl ~/public cs-machines rl

What the reminder program does

The reminder program runs at 4:00 a.m. every day. It looks in your public/calendar file and sends you email with all the lines from your public/calendar file that match either today’s or tomorrow’s date. On Fridays and Saturdays, it also sends you lines that match the following Sunday and Monday, since you might not read mail over the weekend.

What to put in the calendar file

The calendar program recognizes dates in several different formats:

2/15 matches February 15 of any year
tuesdays matches Tuesday of any week
2/15/05 matches February 15 of any year (year is ignored)
* 15 matches the 15th of any month

Examples of the kinds of things you might want to put in the calendar file:

2/16 Meet with Joe Smith
tuesdays staff meeting at 10:00 in SN155
2/17/15 announce plans to run for president
* 15 run monthly report
4/25 get car inspected by 4/30
6/30 get fireworks for 7/4
7/26 Mick’s birthday
1/15 4/15 7/15 10/15 turn in quarterly report

The date can be anywhere in the lines, but for organizing your calendar file it helps to keep the dates on the left.

Note that the ability to recognize days of the week is a local modification of the standard UNIX calendar program.