Populating a simple custom Event Web part that retrieves information from the OOTB calendar web part

Question

I have a requirement to build a Event web part that shows the 5 most upcoming events and a see all link (that links to the OOTB calendar view). Here is a graphical representation:

How exaclty do I go about retrieving these items (which list am I looking at) and what web part (Visual web part...etc.) would best fit this? Thanks

Here is the code I have:

protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e) {

        string siteUrl = "http://sharepointdev:2000/"; //your site url
        using (SPSite oSPSite = new SPSite(siteUrl))
        {
            using (SPWeb oSPWeb = oSPSite.OpenWeb())
            {
                oSPWeb.AllowUnsafeUpdates = true;
                SPList oSPList = oSPWeb.Lists["Calendar"];

                SPQuery oSPQuery = new SPQuery();
                oSPQuery.Query = "<Where><And><Geq><FieldRef Name='EventDate' /><Value IncludeTimeValue='TRUE' Type='DateTime'><now /></Value></Geq><IsNotNull><FieldRef Name='Title' /></IsNotNull></And></Where><OrderBy><FieldRef Name='EventDate' Ascending='True' /></OrderBy>";
                oSPQuery.RowLimit = 3;
                SPListItemCollection oSPListItemCollection = oSPList.GetItems(oSPQuery);

                System.Data.DataTable table = new System.Data.DataTable();
                table = oSPListItemCollection.GetDataTable();
                table.AcceptChanges();
                eventRepeater.DataSource = table;
                eventRepeater.DataBind();

                oSPWeb.Close();
                oSPSite.Close();

            }
        }
    }
}

}

     <asp:UpdatePanel ID="UpdatePanel1" runat="server">
 <ContentTemplate>
 <asp:Repeater ID="eventRepeater" runat="server">
 <ItemTemplate>
   <asp:Label ID="Date" runat="server" CssClass="dateStyle"  Text="<%# DataBinder.Eval  (Container.DataItem, "") %>"></asp:Label><br />
     <asp:Label ID="Title" runat="server" CssClass="titleStyle" Text="<%# DataBinder.Eval(Container.DataItem, "Title") %>"></asp:Label><br />
     <asp:Label ID="Description" runat="server" CssClass="descriptionStyle"  Text="<%# DataBinder.Eval(Container.DataItem, "Description") %>"></asp:Label><br />
   </ItemTemplate>
   </asp:Repeater>
  </ContentTemplate>
  </asp:UpdatePanel>

Answer 1

The code you have provided, written as is, will NOT account for recurring events. Recurring events are a special case in calendars.

---

Note: A Calendar list is really an "Events" list. It's default view happens to be a calendar view. You can apply a Calendar view to just about any type of list, including custom lists, you need only provide fields that map to the Start/End date (and time if appropriate). You also must configure the Display Title column mapping for the Month, Week, and Day views. Here are SOME features you miss by not using a Calendar (aka Events) LIST:

• Ability to do calendar overlays
• Ability to do recurring items (at least not easily)
• Integration with Outlook calendars

---

If in your scenario you would not have an "event" that is recurring, I'd recommend hiding the Recurrence field. You can do this through the server side API (object model) or using a tool like SharePoint Designer (http://www.rightpoint.com/community/blogs/viewpoint/archive/2011/10/27/how-to-hide-the-workspace-checkbox-on-a-calendar-without-code-or-form-customization.aspx). This cannot be done through the web based interface as of SP 2010 SP1 + February 2012 CU. Otherwise, you might consider building a custom list with your event details and just building a Calendar view on top of it.

Now, assuming you DO need to account for Occurrences, you need to account for a few things in your code.

First, you need to set the SPQuery.ExpandRecurrence property.

oSPQuery.ExpandRecurrence = true;

Then in your Query CAML, you then need to use the element in your clause. This is the closest thing I could get to what you might need (again depending on requirements around if you want to show recurring items, should you be showing events that currently are happening, should you show events from earlier in the day today, etc):

<Or>
 <Geq>
   <FieldRef Name='EventDate' />
   <Value IncludeTimeValue='TRUE' Type='DateTime'>
     <Today />
   </Value>
 </Geq>
 <DateRangesOverlap>
   <FieldRef Name='EventDate' />
   <FieldRef Name='EndDate' />
   <FieldRef Name='RecurrenceID'/>
   <Value IncludeTimeValue='TRUE' Type='DateTime'>
    <Now />
   </Value>
  </DateRangesOverlap>
</Or>

I would use this as a reference: Query Schema: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms467521.aspx

It's worth mentioning, again, that the rendering could be accomplished using XSL, rather than a web part. So assuming you could get a SPView on the list that contains the query that correctly filters/sorts your data, you can simply apply a custom XSL to the List View Web Part (or to the View itself), and accomplish the rendering without the need for a Web Part (and Repeater, etc).

Answer 2

At last! Here is the final code:

---

Announcement Web Part code:

  protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        try
        {
            SPWeb web = SPContext.Current.Web;
            web.AllowUnsafeUpdates = true;
            SPList list = web.Lists["Announcements"];

            SPQuery spQuery = new SPQuery();
            spQuery.Query = " <Where><And><IsNotNull><FieldRef Name='Title' /></IsNotNull><Or><IsNull><FieldRef Name='Expires' /></IsNull><Geq><FieldRef Name='Expires' /><Value Type='Date'><Today /></Value></Geq></Or></And></Where><OrderBy><FieldRef Name='Expires' Ascending='True' /></OrderBy>";
            spQuery.RowLimit = 5;
            SPListItemCollection oListCollection = list.GetItems(spQuery);
            System.Data.DataTable table = new System.Data.DataTable();
            table = oListCollection.GetDataTable();

            repAnnouncements.ItemDataBound += new RepeaterItemEventHandler(repAnnouncements_ItemDataBound);
            repAnnouncements.DataSource = table;
            repAnnouncements.DataBind();
        }
        catch (Exception ex)
        {
            throw ex;
        }

}

   void repAnnouncements_ItemDataBound(object sender, RepeaterItemEventArgs e)
   {
   try
   {
   SPListItem item = (SPListItem)e.Item.DataItem; 
   SPAttachmentCollection attachments = item.Attachments;
    ((HyperLink)e.Item.FindControl("hypTextEditLink")).NavigateUrl = SPContext.Current.Site.RootWeb.Url + "/Lists/Announcements/DispForm.aspx?ID=" + ((HiddenField)e.Item.FindControl("ItemID")).Value;

    string imageUrl = item.Web.Url + "/_layouts/images/defaultannouncementimage.png";
    ((Image)e.Item.FindControl("imgLink")).ImageUrl = imageUrl;
if (attachments.Count > 0) 
{         
    //imageUrl = SPUrlUtility.CombineUrl(item.Attachments.UrlPrefix, item.Attachments[0]);
    imageUrl= attachments.UrlPrefix + attachments[0];
    ((Image)e.Item.FindControl("imgLink")).ImageUrl = imageUrl;
}
((HyperLink)e.Item.FindControl("hypImageEditLink")).NavigateUrl = SPContext.Current.Site.RootWeb.Url + "/Lists/Announcements/DispForm.aspx?ID=" + ((HiddenField)e.Item.FindControl("ItemID")).Value;
}
catch (Exception ex)
{ throw ex; }