Cannot add viewers or editors BY NAME under the "Manager Calendars" menu

I am trying to give specific access to a specific group of people to a private stake calendar.

I am not sure why, but it appears that we (Stake Calendar Administrators) can no longer add viewers or editors BY NAME under the "Manager Calendars" menu. Is this true?

Additionally, it appears that the only viewers or editors we can add are those with "standard" stake callings. So, as a stake calendar admin, I cannot even add anyone VIA CALLING using a Ward Calling? For example, if I wanted to add all Bishops to a private calendar managed by the stake - I can neither add them (under Manage Calendars) by name for each Bishop, nor by calling to just add all bishops.

Please clarify how I should accomplish this change in viewership to the stake private calendar, when I cannot add ward calling group nor by name of individuals?

Thanks!

It appears removing "by name" was intentional.

That's going to put you in a bind. All I can suggest is making the calendar public. You'd have to be careful not to put any details that the general membership shouldn't know about.

When you say "it appears" are you referring to any documentation or communication; or just general observation like me that the button option is gone?

Second question from my original post, seems Ward callings are not included in the by calling list?

bpredd wrote: Wed Aug 21, 2024 1:54 pm When you say "it appears" are you referring to any documentation or communication; or just general observation like me that the button option is gone?

Communication with the product manager. I did ask for consideration for your "business case".

bpredd wrote: Wed Aug 21, 2024 1:54 pm Second question from my original post, seems Ward callings are not included in the by calling list?

Ward callings have never been available at the stake level. That's not new.

If ward callings could be added to the stake calendar, that would be ideal. Then it would be low maintenance. If adding individuals by name, someone would have to keep updating the list with changing callings. That process is going to have a high rate of failure.

But since I don't believe in waiting/planning for any future features, I think your only choice is "Public". Of course you can give feedback, but I wouldn't make plans that count on it.

@russelhltn I appreciate your response and information. Please do lean on the product manager, kindly, in hopes there may be more traction on this ... as right now, there's a gap in being able to either by name or by ward calling - add people "without a stake calling" to a privately managed calendar.

I don't see anything about this in the 4.0 calendar release update section? Is the somewhere else to find this info?

casper684 wrote: Sat Oct 05, 2024 7:04 pm I don't see anything about this in the 4.0 calendar release update section? Is the somewhere else to find this info?

The Calendar Help found in the Calendar gear menu links to the Getting Started with Calendar article. The first line of that article has a link titled Please refer to this article for the latest changes to Calendar. That link is to the Step by Step Calendar 4.0 Release article. Note that release 4.0 was done suddenly before many of the features from the previous version could be programmed into version 4.0. The feature ability to add editors by name that was in the previous version has not yet been programmed into the current version (4.0+). There is no information from the development team whether it will ever be reinstated.

Calendar release updates is the Step by step one and nothing about this topic. Last Updated On 29 Aug 2024

In the Calendar 4.0 Release article, under the date, July 12, 2023, it says this:

Calendar administrators can now add other calendar administrators by name.

But I can't see how to do that. "Search Callings" is the only option available.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/too ... e?lang=eng

Please see posts #2 and #4. It's about viewers, but I'm sure the same applies to administrators.

bpredd wrote: Wed Aug 21, 2024 10:42 am it appears that the only viewers or editors we can add are those with "standard" stake callings. So, as a stake calendar admin, I cannot even add anyone VIA CALLING using a Ward Calling? For example, if I wanted to add all Bishops to a private calendar managed by the stake - I can neither add them (under Manage Calendars) by name for each Bishop, nor by calling to just add all bishops.

I just noticed that you can add ward and branch callings as viewers to private calendars.

russellhltn wrote: Wed May 14, 2025 1:27 am Please see posts #2 and #4. It's about viewers, but I'm sure the same applies to administrators.

Post #2 expressed an opinion about adding by name, not whether it definitely is or is not possible. And it's talking about making a calendar private, not relevant for my issue.

Post #4 is about accessing ward callings at the stake level, again, not relevant to what I'm asking about.

I'm asking about adding administrators by name, especially when the Calendar 4.0 Release document said that feature was made available back in July 2023.

According to that release document, we should be able to add administrators by name. But I can't see how to do it.

We used to be able to add by name but now is not possible. Currently only allowed by standard calling. I suggested that they review their "standard" calling list. I began working on this again in February 2025 and received this from Feedback:
On 2-18-25 "There is not the ability currently to add members with custom callings. There are some technical limitations behind that, but I will submit this over to the development team."

When providing "feedback" (per feedback department) the best help is providing your MRN (membership record number) and/or unit name/number. Also any screenshots of the issue help as well.

Sorry can't be of more help.

casper684 wrote: Wed May 14, 2025 12:22 pm We used to be able to add by name but now is not possible. Currently only allowed by standard calling. I suggested that they review their "standard" calling list. I began working on this again in February 2025 and received this from Feedback:
On 2-18-25 "There is not the ability currently to add members with custom callings. There are some technical limitations behind that, but I will submit this over to the development team."

When providing "feedback" (per feedback department) the best help is providing your MRN (membership record number) and/or unit name/number. Also any screenshots of the issue help as well.

Sorry can't be of more help.

Another idea might be to suggest (when talking with GSD) they update the documentation. If there's no foreseeable solution on the horizon from the GSD pov, it would of course be helpful if at least any Church docs were updated.

That said, keeping documentation and functionality aligned is a challenge even for the best companies, tracking everywhere that something is documented often is not well understood for those making functionality changes. But always worth asking for.

According to Ward Calendar Administrators, you can add someone as an administrator by making them a "email communication specialist". It also says "Do not add ward administrators so they can edit all ward calendars; instead, give them editor rights to individual ward calendars."

Admin rights are only needed to create or manage the editors and viewers of calendars. But once set up by calling, the changes would be few and far between. Editor rights of the appropriate calendar(s) is all that's needed to manage events.

The situation with the stake admin is similar. Once everything is set up, about the only regular need for a stake admin is to add/remove building schedulers. (Most likely because LCR lacks the ability to designate what building a building scheduler manages) But since default admins include the clerks and executive secretary, that would seem (to me) to be enough admins who would be "in the know".

I was told back in August that the removal of "by name" from the calendar was for "added privacy/security". I suspect the issue is that people were being added by name, but then callings changed and they were never removed. (Such as viewers of private calendars.) The list of callings is out in public view and gets updated. Calendar permissions requires remembering to check and update. By making all assignments by calling, they will update as callings change without manually going into the system.

Here's how we solved this problem. I was released after doing this for several years. I was added by name, not by calling. And we were trying to add my replacement. Our calling is "Stake Calendar Specialist" which is a custom calling. We could not add that custom calling to be a calendar administrator. But in looking at the list of standard callings, we discovered Stake Scheduler -- Building 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. So the stake clerk made him Stake Scheduler -- Building 1, and then I could add that calling to the list of stake calendar administrators. Once he had administrator access, then he went in and added himself as building scheduler for all four buildings. Our stake could probably just use the standard "Stake Scheduler" calling instead of the custom "Stake Calendar Specialist" calling.

Yes, the instructions say to not make the calendar person an administrator but to give them editor access to all the stake calendars. However, I had occasionally needed to doing things as an administrator so our stake was comfortable giving that access to my replacement. For example, I discovered about three months ago that all the custom rooms for all four of our buildings had been deleted. I suspect some update in the software corrupted the database or something. So I had to visit all four buildings, take notes of all the rooms, their room numbers, which room could connect with which, etc., and re-add all those custom rooms in the Locations and Rooms section, which requires administrator access.