Intro
Prerequisites
You need a Google account
Example
Using a Google calendar you can show your availabilty by the day in an interactive calendar like the one below.
This can be embedded like above or you can share a link. For example https://dobu.uk/availability/richiejp or https://dobu.uk/availability/test
You can embed this in Wordpress using the plugin.
Instructions
Steps
Signup
Visit the login page and click the Google sign in button.
Currently we only support Google calendars and therefor Google login. If you would like to use something else, please let us know.
Configure
Availability
Once you have signed up you will be shown your account overview. At a minimum you need to set your nickname and choose an availability calendar.
Enquiries
You can choose to use our form to take enquiries, set a link somewhere else or disable the enquiry button.
By default the form is set and will work without further configuration. However you should check the E-mail address and other defaults are appropriate.
If using the form you can also select an enquiry calendar. When someone sends you an enquiry via DoBu.uk you will be given the option to create an event from this enquiry.
Share
Once everything is configured you can share your availability with anyone by sending them a link in the following form.
Note that the link is generated for you at the top of the account overview and nickname pages
dobu.uk/availability/nickname
Substitute nickname for the one you configured earlier.
You can also share links for a particular year and month
dobu.uk/availability/nickname/year-month
Details
Availability Algorithm
The way that your availability is calculated is simple. A day is available if there are no events covering it. A day is unavailable if any part of it intersects an event's start and finish time.
The length of an event does not matter unless it starts one day and finishes on another. If any part of a day is covered by an event then it is marked as unavailable.
Google allows you to have multiple calendars and to move or copy events between them. We only use one calendar to get your availability. So non-blocking events can be assigned to another calendar.
Enquiries
Vistors can select a date and click enquire. This will take them to a form where they can fill in some details. When they submit the form, you will both be E-mailed with the details.
You are given a link to a page where you can click a button to create a calendar event with these details. This can be in a different calendar so that you can tweak the dates before copying or moving the event to your availability calendar.
This means you can show your availablility without taking instant bookings. You can still take enquiries, but retain complete control of when your availability is updated.