Frequently Asked Questions

Access Rights

Access rights are what governs how much other Sundial users can view in your agenda and also who can invite you to meetings. When you install Sundial (Oracle Calendar), the default settings are such that any Sundial user can view your busy times and can invite you to meetings. This means that other users can just see the times blocked off by events in your agenda but cannot see any details such as what the event is about or the list of attendees (if it is a meeting).

This setting, along with the "Can Invite Me" setting, is the most useful if you are involved with meetings. If you turn off these viewing rights and still let users invite you, then they will not be able to check for conflicts in your agenda when they invite you to a meeting. All your times will appear to be free (whether they are or not) because you have not allowed any viewing rights.

If you are concerned about all Sundial users having this default viewing and invite right then there is an alternative. You simply change the default settings for the "any unlisted person" to No viewing rights and uncheck the "Can Invite Me" box. Then build a list of those users who you want to be able to view your agenda and invite you to events. In this way other Sundial users who have no business viewing anything about your agenda can't; but those who involve you with meetings can.

See the FAQs "How do I set viewing rights for someone?" and How do I set a designate? for further information and instructions.

Also see our How To Videos on Access Rights.

How do I set viewing rights for someone?

There are many levels of viewing rights you can set for different users. Steps are as follows:

From "Tools" menu, choose "Access Rights" which brings up an "Access Rights" window.
In the "Access Rights" window, select "Viewing" tab, enter name of the person you want to give designate access rights to
Click on the green check button (if you don't know the person name, click on the magnifying glass to search for the person).
The person's name should show up highlighted in the box below.
You can then check "Same as default" which means the user gets the default viewing rights you set for "Default: Any unlisted person", or "Full viewing rights" which means the user gets to view details of all of your event entries, or "No viewing rights" which means the user can't see any of your entries.
You can also uncheck "Same as default", "Full viewing rights" and "No viewing rights" to configure your customized set of viewing rights.

How do I set up a designate?

In order for someone to act as your designate, you will have to give that person Designate access rights. Steps are as follows:

From "Tools" menu, choose "Access Rights".
In the "Designate" tab, enter name of the person you want to give designate access rights to
Click on the green check button (if you don't know the person name, click on the magnifying glass to search for the person).
The person's name should show up highlighted in the box below.
You can then check "Full designate rights", "No designate rights". You can also uncheck both "Full designate rights" and "No designate rights" to configure your customized set of designate rights.

Why can't people invite me to meetings?

It is because you didn't give the person scheduling rights. You can give a person scheduling access rights as follows:

In your desktop client, click on Tools -> "Access Rights" which brings up the "Access Rights" configuration window.
In the "Access Rights" configuration window, click on the "Scheduling" tab.
In the "Scheduling" tab, enter name of the person you want to give designate access rights to
Click on the green check button (if you don't know the person name, click on the magnifying glass to search for the person).
The person's name should show up highlighted in the box below.
Uncheck "Same as default" box and check "Can invite you to Entries" box.

How do I get a Sundial account?

You can register for a Sundial calendar account by clicking the "Register for a Sundial calendar account" link on the Getting Started page.

The Off-Line Agenda

The Off-Line Agenda is a copy of your agenda that is stored locally on your computer. This Off-Line agenda can be useful in the following situations:

a) If you are going to be taking the computer (usually a laptop) away somewhere with no network connection, you can still work with your agenda.

b) You can also consider this Off-Line agenda as a backup of your data that you can work with in the unlikely event that the server is not available.

To Log into your Off-Line Agenda:
When you start Sundial, in the Server Name area use the pull-down arrow to select Off-Line. Or, when you are running Sundial, you can go "Off/On-Line" by selecting "Work Off-Line" or "Work On-Line" from the File menu. When you re-connect to the server and you go back "On-line" you Off-line agenda will be synchronized to your On-line agenda on the server.

When you go back "On-line" you will want to see what is getting synchronized so make sure of the following settings under Tools/Options/Off-Line/Reconciliation:

Show Reconciliation Dialog Box should be selected in the first two sections.
Check for Conflicts on Upload should be selected in the Scheduling Conflicts section.

How do I work as a designate?

What does a designate do?

A designate is someone who has the right to work in the agenda of another user on that user's behalf.
For example: Alice is the manager of a department and she wants Ted and Bob to manage her meetings for her. Alice must grant Ted and Bob designate rights to her agenda. Ted and Bob will then both be able to book meetings on Alice's behalf and accept or turn down meetings that Alice has been invited to.
Ted and Bob still log into Sundial with their own user ID's and then open Alice's agenda "As a Designate".

Granting designate access rights

Select Options, then Access Rights
Click the Designate tab
Type in the name of the person who will be a designate and click the Green Checkmark button. When a person is added the "Same as Default" box is checked. Note: Make sure that Default: Any Unlisted Person is set to "No designate rights".
With the appropriate name(s) highlighted, (you can select several users if they are to have to same rights) check off the designate rights you wish to grant to that person.
The simplest and most common option is to select "Full designate rights".
If you do not want full designate rights granted for a designate, uncheck the "Full designate rights" box (none of the three boxes are checked) and place a checkmark in the appropriate column for each row using the descriptions below. If there is a row without any checkmarks at all, the designate will be unable to view any information at all. Therefore, it is suggested that the lowest level of access given to a designate is "View Times Only".
For agenda entries,there are three access levels to choose from:
Modify: Rights to create, edit or delete owner's entries
View/Reply: Rights to view details of the entry and reply to owner's entries but not modify or create
View Times Only: Rights to view only the busy time without details
You can assign different access levels to the different types of entries (Normal, Confidential, Personal or Public).

Working in another person's calendar as a designate

Click on File -> Agenda -> "Open as Designate" to open a person's agenda as a designate.
If there is more than one person listed, select the one you want and click OK.

How do I act as a designate for someone else?

In order to act as a designate for someone else, that person will have to give you designate rights (refer to FAQ "How do I set up a designate"). Then you can go click on File -> Agenda -> "Open as Designate" to open the person's agenda as a designate.

Why don't my searches show everyone?

Sundial will only display 100 names with a search. If you simply click the search button with no search criteria it pulls up 100 names more or less at random. What you need to do is give it some clue about who you are searching for. For example, if you enter a "Br" in the "Given Name" field Sundial will display all users whose first names start with "Br". Enter just an "H" in the Surname field and Sundial will display all users whose last names start with "H".

The other useful search field besides the obvious "Surname" and "Given Name" is "Organization". That field corresponds to the "Department" field in the Stanford Directory, so most department names are spelled rather than using just the initials (e.g., use Information Technology Systems and Services rather than ITSS). So if you enter "Inf", Sundial will display a list of all users in the Information Technology Systems and Services department. Again, if there are more than 100 users in that department, only 100 will listed. To narrow your search, you might enter the first few letters of the person's last name in the "Surname" field or first name in the "Given Name" field in addition to the first few letters of their department in the "Organization" field.

How can I let other users access my address book?

If you have the situation where a common address book is to be kept for the office, then whoever has created the address book can "Publish" it to the server. Other users, if they have been added to the access list for that "published" address book can retrieve it and use it.

From the File menu, select Address Book then Publish. You can now add users in the Publish For box to indicate who will be able to retrieve your published address book. Note: Whenever the published address book is updated, however, it will have to be republished and the other users would have to be notified so they can retrieve the newer version.

How do I manage Resources?

Resources are items such as meeting rooms that users can "invite" or book as part of creating a meeting. Who gets to "invite" the resource and who gets to see when the room is available depends on how the access to the resource is initially set up.

The following discussion assumes that the resource is a room. However, a resource can be any object that needs time tracking. The first decision you must make is whether just one person is going to control the room bookings or whether you will allow a group of users, who normally book the room, to book it themselves. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. If only one person is booking the room then that person will still have to field the phone and email requests for the room and deal with disputes over room bookings. In addition, the meeting that a user sets up involving the room will not be linked to the actual room's agenda it it was booked by the room's designate. This might be fine until the meeting time must be moved. The meeting creator would, in this case, have to contact the room booker to have the time changed on the room's agenda. It starts to sound like the old method of maintaining entries in a book. It would appear that it would be more efficient to allow the appropriate set of users to book the room themselves. Then, if the meeting time has to be adjusted, the room's agenda will get altered right along with all the attendees' agendas.

Can I hide information for just one meeting?

Yes! You must change the access rights for just the one meeting. These instructions assume that you have already scheduled the meeting.
Start Sundial. From the menu, click Tools/Access Rights.
From the Access Rights screen, click the Viewing tab.
Change the access rights to the way you want them. You have three choices. Normal, Confidential, Personal. If you want to hide the information, you should click confidential or personal. For more information about this feature, click on Help and look up Access Rights -- Viewing.
Click OK.
Double click on the meeting that you want to change the access rights to.
A window will pop up that says blah blah blah - Edit meeting.
Click the Details tab.
Select the Access level. You have four choices: Personal, Confidential, Normal, Public.

Can I make the details of a meeting available to just one person?

Follow the instructions for "Can I Hide Information for just one meeting?" above, only this time you can specify just one person who will have those access rights.

How do I reset my Off-Line password?

On Windows:

Double-click the My Computer icon on your Desktop
Check folder viewing options: Select "Folder Options" from the "Tools" menu, then click the "View" tab. In the "Advanced Settings" list box under Hidden Files and Folders, click the "Show hidden files and folders" radio button and click OK.
Double-click the Local Disk C: icon
Double-click Documents and Settings folder
Double-click the folder with your ID
Double-click the Application Data folder
Double-click the Oracle folder
Double-click the Calendar folder
Delete all the files in the Calendar folder that start with "XTM"

The next time you log in to Sundial, you will be prompted to create an Off-Line Agenda. If you click Yes, you will be asked to create an Off-Line password. Hint: Leave the password box blank if you don't want to be asked for your Off-Line password every time you sign on to your calendar.

On Mac OS X:

Go to your home directory in your Finder
Double-click on the Documents folder
Delete all the files that start with "Oracle Calendar"
Empty the Trash

Why can't I find someone in Sundial?

Users who have a Sunet ID don't necessarily have an account on Sundial. They will have to go to either http://sundial.stanford.edu or http://calendar.stanford.edu to have an account automatically created.

Why doesn't Sundial detect a conflict in one of attendees' agenda?

It is likely that you don't have viewing rights to the meeting that has a conflict. For example, the meeting that has a conflict could be a personal meeting and the attendee didn't give you any viewing rights ("View entries" or "View times only") to his/her personal meetings. In situations like this, Sundial will not be able to detect the conflict.

Why does Sundial keep asking for my (Off-Line) password?

Sundial uses Kerberos to authenticate the user. However, you will be prompted for an Off-Line password whenever you access your Off-Line agenda. The first time you sign-in to your calendar, you were asked if you want to create an off-line Agenda. If you clicked Yes, you were asked to create an off-line password. If you created a password, Sundial will ask for your password whenever you launch your calendar.

If you do not want to be asked for your password every time you launch your calendar, reset your Off-Line password following the instructions in the FAQ "How do I reset my Off-Line password?" and the next time you are asked to create an Off-Line password, leave the password box blank and click OK. When you are asked to confirm your password, leave the password box blank again and click OK.

If for any reason, you choose to enter an Off-Line password, you will be prompted for that every time you log in to the desktop client.

Why can't I import vCalendar/iCalendar data files?

There are some know problems with Sundial in importing vCalendar/iCalendar data files that contain all day events. On Mac, you will get a pop up window saying "There are no valid entries to import" and no event gets imported. On PC, you will get a pop up window saying "An error occurred while processing the Entries. Do you wish to keep the # valid Entries found?" If you click "Yes", it imports the non-all-day events.

How can I schedule a repeating meeting with no end date?

Oracle doesn't allow repeating meetings without an end date.

There is a maximum of 200 occurrences for all repeating meetings set on the server.
To work around that problem, when you create the repeating meeting, highlight the last occurrence of the meeting and change its title to include "last occurrence of the meeting)" to remind yourself.

Can I import data into Sundial from Outlook, Meeting Maker or Yahoo calendar?

No. Sundial only takes standard vCalendar (.vcsl) or iCalendar (.ics) calendar format, no other formats.

How do I change my email address in Sundial?

Go to Sundial web client at http://sundial.stanford.edu. Click on "Preferences" icon (the one next to wheelchair icon). In the "Edit Preferences" window, click on "E-mail Notification" tab and change your email address there.

Where can I find training on Sundial?

Online video tutorials are available at http://calendar/how-to-videos.html.
You may attend Tips and Tricks in Sundial Tech Briefings or Tech Express training (see http://techtraining.stanford.edu).
For customized, one-on-one training see Training By Appointment.

How do I access my Sundial agenda from the Web?

You have full access to your Sundial agenda through the Web. The interface looks somewhat different, but all the functionality is there with the exception of Palm sync capabilities and working as a designate in another user's agenda.

You can access your Sundial agenda at: http://sundial.stanford.edu.

What's the difference between the desktop and web clients?

Users can perform most of the tasks on the web client as they can on the desktop client. A few major differences:

Users won't be able to sync to a handheld device through the web client
Users won't be able to import or export in the web client

Why is my connectivity to Sundial being dropped?

The check box "Check for entries every" may NOT be checked. See steps below to ensure that it contains a check mark.

PC Users:

Click Tools — Options
In the Options window, expand Scheduling by clicking on the "+" sign next to "Scheduling," then click "Receive Notification"
Click "Check for new Entries every" box" and leave "minutes" text box with the default value.
Click on "OK" button.

Mac Users:

Click on "Oracle Calendar" then Preferences in the desktop client which brings up an "Oracle Calendar Preferences" window.
In the "Oracle Calendar Preference" window, click on "Scheduling" tab in the left panel.
Click on "Notification" tab, check "Check for new Entries every" and leave "minutes" text box with the default value.
Click on "OK"

What do I do if I can't connect to Sundial when I have VPN running?

Upgrade to the latest version of Kerberos for Windows or Kerberos Configuration Tool for Macintosh, available on the Essential Stanford Software web site.

How can I get "refused" (Red) meetings off of my calendar?

You can't delete meetings proposed by someone else but you can hide "refused" meetings as follows:

Sign-in to your Sundial calendar
Choose Tools, Options, Agenda, Display
On the Display screen, lower right corner you will see a checkbox for Refused Meetings below Display/Print...
Click to remove the checkmark, and all meetings you decline will no longer be displayed on your agenda.

Why doesn't Sundial remember my window layouts?

There are two ways you can make Sundial remember your window layouts:

1. Preserve the window layout from the previous session

PC Users:

Click on Tools then Options in the desktop client which brings up an "Options" window.
In the "Options" window, click on the "+" sign next to "General", then click on "Startup".
Select "Open new session with the exited state" radio button in the "Agenda Startup" section.
Click "OK".

Mac Users:

Click on "Oracle Calendar" then Preferences in the desktop client which brings up an "Oracle Calendar Preferences" window.
In the "Oracle Calendar Preference" window, scroll down in the left panel, click on "General" tab in the left panel.
Select "Open new session with the exited state" radio button in the "Agenda Startup" section.
Click on "OK".

2. Use saved window layouts

PC Users:

Configure window layouts to the way you prefer
Click on Tools then Options in the desktop client which brings up an "Options" window.
In the "Options" window, click on the "+" sign next to "General", then click on "Startup".
Select "Open new session with the saved state" radio button in the "Agenda Startup" section. Once you do that, the "Save State" button will be enabled.
Click on "Save State" button.
Click on "OK".

Mac Users:

Configure window layouts to the way you prefer
Click on "Oracle Calendar" then Preferences in the desktop client which brings up an "Oracle Calendar Preferences" window.
In the "Oracle Calendar Preference" window, scroll down in the left panel, click on "General" tab in the left panel.
Select "Open new session with the save state" radio button in the "Agenda Startup" section. Once you do that, the "Save State" button will be enabled.
Click on "OK".

How do I disable the In-Tray window?

PC Users:

Click on Tools → Options in the desktop client which brings up an "Options" window.
In the "Options" window, click on the "+" sign next to "General", then click on "Startup".
Select "Do not open In-Tray" radio button in the "In-Tray Startup" section
Click on "OK".

Mac Users:

Click on Oracle Calendar → Preferences in the desktop client which brings up an "Oracle Calendar Preferences" window.
In the "Oracle Calendar Preference" window, click on "General" tab in the left panel.
Click on "Startup" tab in the right Panel, select "Do not open In-Tray" radio button in the "Intray Startup" section.
Click on "OK".

Why don't I receive meeting notifications via email?

There is a setting in the desktop client to allow notification via email. Steps are as follows:

PC Users:

Click on Tools → Options in the desktop client which brings up an "Options" window.
In the "Options" window, click on the "+" sign next to "Scheduling", then click on "Receive Notification".
Check "Allow others to notify you of new Entries by e-mail" box.
Click on "OK".

Mac Users:

Click on Oracle Calendar → Preferences in the desktop client which brings up an "Oracle Calendar Preferences" window.
In the "Oracle Calendar Preference" window, click on "Scheduling" tab in the left panel.
Check "Allow others to notify you of new Entries by e-mail" box.
Click on "OK".

Why can't I access the file attached to my meeting?

Sundial on the web will let you attach any type of file to your meeting, but it only permits access to the following file formats:

.wav
.gif
.jpg
.jpeg
.htm
.html
.txt
.doc
.xls

If you attach any other file formats, you will not be able to download them via the web, but you can download them if you use the desktop client.

How is the "Date Range" used in Oracle sync date book conduit?

The Date Range settings affect how Oracle Calendar Sync for Palm treats changes to Events on the calendar server. That is, changes made on the server that fall outside the date range will not be synchronized with the mobile device. Changes made on the device, regardless of the date, will always be synchronized with the server.

Why can't I synch my palm to Palm Desktop or Meeting Maker any more?

Once you install Sundial Palm Synch client, it overwrites the original (Either Palm Desktop or Meeting Maker) Date Book, To Do List and Address conduits. You can only synch those three conduits with Sundial from that point on.

Why doesn't my Sundial address book synch to palm on Mac?

This is a known problem with Sundial. There is a temporary work around, but it is not very straightforward to have it set up. If you must synch your address book on Mac, please file a HelpSU request at http://helpsu.stanford.edu.

Why can't I sync my Palm using Oracle Calendar Sync (Windows)?

If the Oracle Calendar Sync software is unable to specify a Timezone, it will be unable to Sync to Sundial. This problem is caused by the misplacement of a file named "timezone.ini". The following steps explain how to fix the Timezone options in Oracle Calendar Sync.

Go into the Start Menu > Programs > Oracle Calendar Sync for Palm > Settings and in the settings to into the Time Zone category. If the Time Zone field is blank, you will be unable to Sync to Sundial.
The first step is to find out where the "timezone.ini" file is located. Open the Start Menu and go into Search. Search all files and folders for files named "timezone.ini".
The file will most likely be located in the "C:\Program Files\Oracle\Oracle Calendar Sync for Palm" folder. Copy this file to the following location:
- C:\Documents and Settings\*username*\Application Data\Oracle\Oracle Calendar Sync for Palm
After moving this file, you will be able to specify the Time Zone as PST8PDT and properly Sync to Sundial.

When other steps fail, a full uninstall and reinstall of the software can restore the ability to Sync. The following steps explain how to remove and install the programs related to Syncing.

Go into the Start Menu > Control Panels > Add or Remove Programs control panel, and uninstall Oracle Calendar Sync for Palm
Next, uninstall Palm Desktop
Restart your computer
To Sync your PocketPC to Sundial, follow the configuration guides at:
- http://services/calendar/getting-started-step2.html

How do I synch my palm to Sundial?

Synch instructions for Sundial can be found at http://calendar.stanford.edu. Go to "Sundial Accounts and Downloads for Stanford Faculty, Staff and Students" → Download Sundial Software

Why can't I choose which conduits get installed?

Some old installations of Oracle Calendar cause the conduit installer to skip the screen that gives you the option of doing a complete or custom installation of synchronization conduits on your machine. Work around this issue when uninstalling and re-installing Oracle Calendar. Then run the conduit installer again.

My name has recently changed; how do I have my new name reflected in Sundial?

Click on the following link to update your name information in Sundial: sundial.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/calendar-update-name.cgi. You may be asked to log in via Stanford WebAuth.

I begin working in a new department, how do I have my new department name-location reflected in my Sundial account?

Click on the following link to update your organization information in Sundial: sundial.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/calendar-update-org.cgi. You may be asked to log in via Stanford WebAuth.

What happens to the Sundial account of an employee who has left Stanford?

The manager of the person will need to initiate a HelpSU ticket to request to have that person's Sundial account removed. As an alternative, the manager can request to have access rights to that employee's account, or have designate rights assigned to another person. Note: that if an employee's account is deleted, all meetings owned by that employee will also be deleted.

What are Sundial's maintenance hours?

Sundial's nightly backup is scheduled at 2 a.m. and takes about one hour. The server is available, but may be extremely slow during that time. On a monthly basis, usually the 2nd or 3rd Saturday of the month, the Sundial server is shut down for maintenance from 12 a.m. to 8 a.m. Sundial will not be available during those hours.

Last modified Thursday, 10-Apr-2008 03:47:14 PM

STANFORD UNIVERSITY

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES

Frequently Asked Questions

Access Rights

Using Sundial

Connecting to and Accessing Sundial

Options and Preferences

Sundial on the Web

Synching and Palm Questions

Other Questions

Access Rights

How do I set viewing rights for someone?

How do I set up a designate?

Why can't people invite me to meetings?

How do I get a Sundial account?

The Off-Line Agenda

How do I work as a designate?

How do I act as a designate for someone else?

Why don't my searches show everyone?

How can I let other users access my address book?

How do I manage Resources?

Can I hide information for just one meeting?

Can I make the details of a meeting available to just one person?

How do I reset my Off-Line password?

Why can't I find someone in Sundial?

Why doesn't Sundial detect a conflict in one of attendees' agenda?

Why does Sundial keep asking for my (Off-Line) password?

Why can't I import vCalendar/iCalendar data files?

How can I schedule a repeating meeting with no end date?

Can I import data into Sundial from Outlook, Meeting Maker or Yahoo calendar?

How do I change my email address in Sundial?

Where can I find training on Sundial?

How do I access my Sundial agenda from the Web?

What's the difference between the desktop and web clients?

Why is my connectivity to Sundial being dropped?

What do I do if I can't connect to Sundial when I have VPN running?

How can I get "refused" (Red) meetings off of my calendar?

Why doesn't Sundial remember my window layouts?

How do I disable the In-Tray window?

Why don't I receive meeting notifications via email?

Why can't I access the file attached to my meeting?

How is the "Date Range" used in Oracle sync date book conduit?

Why can't I synch my palm to Palm Desktop or Meeting Maker any more?

Why doesn't my Sundial address book synch to palm on Mac?

Why can't I sync my Palm using Oracle Calendar Sync (Windows)?

How do I synch my palm to Sundial?

Why can't I choose which conduits get installed?

My name has recently changed; how do I have my new name reflected in Sundial?

I begin working in a new department, how do I have my new department name-location reflected in my Sundial account?

What happens to the Sundial account of an employee who has left Stanford?

What are Sundial's maintenance hours?