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Getting started with Orbit Schedule

What this page is — the order to set a calendar up in, from nothing to a working booking page.

What it is for — getting the sequence right first time. Several settings only make sense once an earlier one exists.

The problem it solves — the create form asks for everything at once and gives no hint about what depends on what. The commonest frustration in this module is configuring a booking page before there is a resource for anyone to book.

Route: /org/orbits · Permission: Create Orbit Calendars

1. The order​

  1. Pick the project. Calendars belong to a project — set the project chip first.
  2. Choose a template. This decides the event form, and it cannot be changed afterwards. See calendar templates.
  3. Name the calendar and set its timezone, default duration and working days.
  4. Allocate resources — the people or AI agents events can be assigned to. See calendar resources.
  5. Add events, or let people book them.
  6. Optional: publish a booking page — see share and embed.
  7. Optional: connect email or WhatsApp so invitations go out — see event notifications.

Steps 4 and 6 are the ones that catch people out: a booking page with no resources has nothing to offer, so it shows no available times at all.

2. What you need before you start​

A projectCalendars cannot exist outside one
Permission to createCreate Orbit Calendars, and Allows adding, removing, and managing calendar resources to allocate resources
A connection, if you want invitations sentSet up in Comm Channels before it can be chosen here

3. Choosing a timezone​

Set the calendar's timezone to the timezone the work happens in, not your own.

Times appear in different timezones on different screens

A calendar's timezone controls the event form. Some other surfaces — the availability grid on a public booking page, and the list of a resource's other events beside an event — are shown in the timezone of whoever is looking, and carry no timezone label.

Where the two differ, the same appointment can appear at two different clock times. Until this is consistent:

  • Treat the event form as authoritative. It is the surface that uses the calendar's timezone.
  • Confirm times in writing with anyone you invite across timezones.
  • Consider setting the calendar's timezone to the one most of its users are in, which removes the discrepancy for them.

4. Don't confuse this with…​

Creating a calendar does not create a booking page. Sharing is a separate switch, off by default — see share and embed.

5. Troubleshooting​

See troubleshooting.