A new version has been released recently, and a new one will be coming out soon. I think it’s time to share where this Dynamic Calendar is now and where it is going.

Some background

I started Dynamic Calendar mostly to see if it can be done, or maybe how hard it would be. I’ve had similar requirements from many different customers and CRM implementations, but there was no good product that was generic or modular enough and provided this specific functionality. I spent several weeks putting together a Proof of Concept which I released as the initial beta. I then focused on delivering a few different CRM projects and kind of neglected the product.

After about 6 months, I realised there were actually quite a few installations and users, as well as support and feature requests. Unfortunately, since the initial version was “cobbled together”, it was difficult to resolve some of the issues and adding requested features was very difficult. A short time later I also became aware that the beta version will stop working properly soon, as the serviceI integrated with to manage my installations and users was slowly dying as there was no support and an expired SSL certificate. Something had to be done, which was essentially a complete re-write of the product.

After looking at several options, and a lot of clarifications around what i’m trying to achieve, I decided on the development application stack and frameworks to use for the product. I may write up some details of the process, but in short I chose Aurelia as my client side / frontend framework, and .NET Core with NancyFx for the Backend API. So after months of effort, Dynamic Calendar has been fully re-written, with many bugs found and fixed.

New Features

As part of the re-write, I decided not to introduce new features into the product, so I can ensure the existing functionality remains. But I have collated and prioritized the list of feature requests, and here are the top 3 features requested chosen to be implemented:

1. Internationalization / Localization - I want to add support for local languages local format in all aspects of the app. This includes the calendar itself, as well as the Calendar View configuration screen.
2. Search - A quick way to search all the calendar entries currently displayed. The current thought is that this will be based on the Search Fields configured for each Entity being displayed.
3. Hover Preview - A way to quickly view more information for an entry by simply hovering over it.

There are a few more features that I want to add, but am waiting for some more feedback on how the app is used from users before I select the next set of features to implement.

Work on internationalization has already commenced and the Calendar fully supports 60 languages and dialects including Spanish, Portugese, Russian, and even Right-to-Left languages like Hebrew and Arabic among many others. We are currently in the process of adding these languages to the Calendar View configuration screen as well as doing more testing. The updated version with this feature will be released in the next month or so.

Support

I have reached an agreement with MSCRM Solutions who will be providing all support services moving forward for this product and my future products. This means it’s a lot easier for all users to get help and assistance for any issues. They will also track and manage all of the bugs and issues, which will remove quite a bit from my plate and allow me to focus on getting it all working properly. If you need help or assistance with Dynamic Calendar or my other solutions, just visit the support website and open a ticket. The wonderful team there will be able to assist you and get a hold of me if needed.

Next Steps

While in the past it sometimes felt like i’m not sure where this product is going, or what to do next, I now have some clear objectives and next steps:

• List the app on Microsoft App Source
• Release new version every quarter
• Enhance relationship with users to start getting feedback for future features and issue resolution

I’m very excited about the next few months and what will be achieved.