Preparing iCalendar calendar for use and connecting it with Joan

iCalendar users can prepare Joan for use in 4 easy steps, by:

  1. Preparing iCalendar for use
  2. Connecting Joan to iCalendar
  3. Connecting Joan to the Wi-Fi network
  4. Confirming your settings and connecting a room

Preparing iCalendar for use

Before using Joan with iCalendar, you will need to make sure that you have an iCalendar (.ical) URL for each room you want to connect.

These URLs must be publicly accessible. Look for the .ical URLs in your calendar settings or sharing settings. 

iCalendar allows users to send meeting requests via email or sharing files with an extension of .ics. It is a great generic calendar alternative, supported by a large number of products, including Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, IBM Lotus Notes, Yahoo! Calendar and others.

* Please note: As iCalendar is read-onlyit does not support booking meetings on the spot. Also that the limited functionality of the iCalendar (.ics) only supports partial integration with Joan. 

Connecting Joan to iCalendar

There are 2 ways of connecting your room to Joan with the iCalendar format:

1. Use your existing calendar account

Use your existing account that saw you connect Joan to either the G Suite (Google Apps), Office 365 or Microsoft Exchange calendar 2016, 2013 or 2010. Add a new room resource to any of these calendars by adding a room manually, entering the iCalendar URL as the room resource email:

Because your calendar is already connected to Joan, you don’t need to do anything else. Joan will now display all the meeting information for your room using the .ical format without the need to repeat the onboarding process in the Joan Portal.

2. Create a new user account in the Joan Portal

Create a new account in the Joan Portal that will see you connect Joan to the iCalendar format.

Enter your contact details and credit card details before proceeding to the next step. At the "Calendar" step, select iCalendar and click on the button Next.

 

step1

 

In case you need authentication to access the room resources you will be adding, click on Edit login information and enter the credentials. Otherwise, click on the button Next to continue with the setup.

step2

 

In the next step, click on Add a room and enter the URLs of your room resources in the.ical format and connect your room calendars. Click "Save" and you’re done – your room is now connected to your Joan Portal account.

step3

Connecting Joan to the Wi-Fi network

Next, the Joan Portal will lead you through the steps necessary to connect your Joan device to the wireless network you want to use for Joan to communicate.

Please note that the quality of your Wi-Fi network will significantly influence the performance of Joan, with poor or unstable connections resulting in diminished functionality and poor battery life.

If you’re having issues with your wireless connection, please contact support support@getjoan.com and we’ll help you diagnose the issue.

The Wi-Fi is configured with the help of the Joan Configuratoran app available in the Joan Portal (see the upper right to download) which syncs your wireless network settings with an individual Joan device.

Connecting Joan to your Wi-Fi takes place in 3 easy steps: 

Confirming your settings and connecting a room

Once you have successfully connected your Joan device to the Wi-Fi network, unplug Joan from the USB cable and your Joan device will display a unique PIN number in approximately 1 minute. Enter this number into the Joan Portal and Joan will connect to the calendar account you have just set up.

 

pin_pairing

If the PIN entered is correct, you will then be able to connect your Joan device to an individual room. Select the room you want Joan to manage from a dropdown list of rooms available, set the room’s time zone and click "Save."

 

Joan is now ready to show the room’s events. Repeat this step for every device you want to pair.

You can always edit your rooms by logging into the Joan Portal, where you will be presented with a list of all of your paired Joan devices and the rooms they manage. To change or connect a room, select the desired room from the drop-down menu beside the chosen device and click "Save" at the bottom of the page.

joan_devices-2

edit_device_correct

To edit the list of rooms that appear in the drop-down menu, go to "Manage" > "Resources/Rooms" to add/remove them from the Joan Portal.

 

If you need any assistance, please contact support@getjoan.com.