Change default Calendar events to have dropdowns populated by SP Lists

Question

I figured out how to change the fields in a calendar to add extra info about events. Is there a way that I can take the fields that popup when I try to add a new event and get a dropdown table based on existing SP lists?

For example, location is a field that needs to be filled in when a calendar event is made, so how can I make the location field a dropdown populated by my Locations SP list.

Further than that is there any way to do this and combine a SQL Server Table and a SP List together? Like if I had my SP list but I also had a DB of locations that would be changed by those who have access to the DB but not the SP lists?

Answer 1

For your first part, there isn't something out of the box that can handle it. You can either

• Use some custom Javascript code to change the input to a dropdown, and save the value into the textbox. SPServices, http://spservices.codeplex.com/documentation, may have something that can do that

• Add a separate field for location that is a dropdown, keep the original location, and use a workflow to update the original location field from the new field.

For your second part, you can use SQL tables in SharePoint via BCS (Business Connectivity Services) more details: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/office/ee556826(v=office.14).aspx