Breaking down 1 calendar event into smaller events in SharePoint

Question

I'm trying to create some sort of reservation system in SharePoint using a calendar list. It's been recommend to me to create events and add a column which allows a user to claim it. From there, claimed events would change color and only those who've claimed the event would have permission to unclaim the event.

This is what it would look like (see alternative option):

What I'd like to be able to do though, is instead of having to create three events like shown in the alternative option, creating 1 event (see original) and have that be broken down into 3 events or more, maybe using some form of drop down asking for intervals (ie. 15m, 30m, 1h). Based on the selected interval, it'd break the event accordingly.

Answer 1

A possible solution is in your main event you add another field named Interval.

The you design a workflow when you create the event that creates new events according to the interval specified using a while loop while incrementing the start time with your interval.

Those new events have a content type with a field named UserClaimed. you then associate another workflow to those new events that checks for that field and changes permissions on the event to only allow modifications of that event to the user specified.

This is the general idea, the implementation should not be that hard

Answer 2

just a thought - I mean, the reason i think you want the events to pre-exist is so that users can easily create them in the correct time slot (rather than clicking the new item menu, which throws them away from the calendar view/context). Is that right?

If so, allow me to offer you this scenario: If you are using KWizCom's Calendar Plus web part (yeah, I work for KWizCom...) it allows you to type in the event in the calendar itself directly. Something simple like: "1pm-2:30pm Training meeting with Josh"

check the demo video here: http://www.kwizcom.com/sharepoint-add-ons/sharepoint-calendar-plus-web-part/overview/

Also, drag and drop events in the calendar to move them easily, and it also supports color coding events based on categories (meta data, views, sources, etc.).

The one thing you will need to develop is the unique meeting logic, and owner permissions. meaning, an event handler that does not accept 2 meetings at the same time for the same room (define the unique resource field, if any), and the logic that allows only the person who created an event to edit or delete it.

ping me, I can help with the event handler - perhaps we can add this to our product, this is actually a cool idea. my work mail is shai at kwizcom dot com