Sharepoint 2007 : Create an Event with a Website

Scenario/Problem: You want to create a site for an event. Events in calendar lists can have an associated subsite that is used to store more information about the event and help the people managing the event to get ready for it. For example, when planning a meeting, you might want to collaborate with other people on the agenda of the meeting. You also might ask several people who are scheduled to speak in the meeting to upload their presentations and supporting documents before the meeting so that the other attendees can read them on time. The attendee list for the meeting can also be managed on the site; it can list not just who was invited, but who actually came to the meeting.

This capability is not exclusive for meetings but can also be used to track information about an event—for example, a conference that requires some people to prepare to and collaborate their efforts for that.

Solution: To create an event site, you can use the regular method of creating a site,and choose one of the event meeting templates available under the Meetings tab (see Figure 1). This option creates an event site but does not link it to the calendar event item itself; that can be done later.

Figure 1. Choosing an event site template.

However, you can create the site directly from the calendar event item itself. Simply open the calendar event item for which you want to create a site, or create a new calendar event item (see Figure 2) and select the Workspace option before clicking OK.

Figure 2. Creating a new calendar event item with the option to create a subsite for the event.

When you click OK, the following screen enables you to either create a new site for the calendar event item or link the calendar event item with an existing event site that you created earlier under the current site (see Figure 3).

Figure 3. Creating an event site from a calendar event item.

If you choose to create a new site with the option Create a New Meeting Workspace, the option of choosing the site template appears after you click OK (see Figure 4).

Figure 4. Choosing an event site template.

After you select a template and create the site, a new site is created from that template. Different templates offer different lists in the site, but the most common one is the basic meeting workspace, offering management of objectives, agenda, attendees, and a document library to hold documents related to the event (see Figure 5).

Figure 5. A new basic event workspace.

Create an Agenda

In a basic event workspace, you create an agenda by adding items to the Agenda list. A web part with the agenda usually appears on the home page, so to add an item, simply click the Add New Item link under that web part. The page for adding an agenda item then opens (see Figure 6). Here, you can specify the subject of the agenda item, who owns it, the time spot allocated to it, and any notes required.

Figure 6. Creating a new agenda item.

You manage the agenda as you would in any other list.

Invite Attendees

If you are the owner of the event workspace site, you can manage the attendees list of the event by clicking Manage Attendees under the Attendees web part on the home page. Selecting this option opens a special list to which you can add people as attendees, specifying whether each person replied to the invitation and if he or she is required to attend (see Figure 7).

Figure 7. Adding a new attendee.