Updated: 31st October 2019

Have you ever wanted to update the SW Hash Diary quickly? Or provide additional information? Perhaps you wish more detail could be provided on the existing Diary? Or provide a clickable link to the exact start location on GoogleMaps maybe? Well, the good news is now you can!

A trial has been underway now for several months testing a more up-to-date method of populating our Diary – much used by both local hashers and visitors to our area. It has proved successful and so has been rolled out to all, enabling several hashes (I.E. those who took up the offer to join the trial) the option of directly inputting, editing and updating their entries in real time when it suits them! Even by using their smartphone in the pub after the hash! The trial has now concluded and the new Diary is available to all who wish to use it, so if that's you, please read on. For those not wanting to adopt this, fear not as your updates can be sent at any time directly to southwesthashhouseharriers@gmail.com and they will be updated to the new Diary in due course.

So, here's how you get to take control of your own Diary entries:

Firstly, you’ll need a Google account set up in the name of the hash – if you don’t already have one. If you do, go to 'Share your calendar' below.

To create a Google account (if you don’t already have a suitable one):

  1. Go to www.google.com ...
  2. Click 'Sign in' then 'Create an account' and 'For myself'
  3. The signup form will appear ...
  4. Review Google's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, click the checkbox, then click Next step
  5. The Create your profile page will appear ... enter a suitable new email addresss
  6. Your account will be created, and the Google welcome page will appear

The email address and password created will be the access details for your Google calendar, but it need not be used in any other way if you so choose, however it might prove useful to a future Hare Master, so pick something appropriate! Also, your calendar can be readily embedded into your own hash webpage, so speak to your webmaster.

To share your calendar:

  1. On your computer, go to www.google.com, use google apps (the 9 little dots in a square, top right) to open your Google Calendar
  2. On the left under ‘My calendars’ you will see your calendars name. Hover over it and click the three dots ‘Options for …’
  3. Click ‘Setting and sharing’
  4. Under ‘Access permissions’, ‘Make available to public’ must be ticked and ‘See all event details’ must be selected from the drop down list
  5. Under ‘Share with specific people’ click ‘+ Add people’, add the email address southwesthashhouseharriers@gmail.com; set ‘Permission’ to ‘See all event details’
  6. That should be it! Confirmation will follow to ensure all is in place and operational

Populate the calendar with your dates

  1. Either use the ‘Create’ button in the top left or click on the date
  2. It is recommended that a ‘dummy’ entry is set up so that there is a basic entry for all your future dates:
    1. Click ‘+ Create’
    2. In ‘Add title’ type ‘your hash H3 – vytbc’ (venue yet to be confirmed, or something similar). IMPORTANT: Please use your full hash name, not abbreviated – remember this website is accessed by hashers who may not recognise your hash by its abbreviation
    3. Click ‘More options’
    4. Select the next date for your hash, the start time, and then it’s suggested the end time should be 2 hours later
    5. Click ‘Doesn’t repeat’ to show a drop down menu which will allow you to select the 'Weekly on ??' option (you may need to set an end date if your hash changes it’s run time during the year)
    6. Remove the notification by clicking on the ‘X’
    7. Under add description, it’s suggested that it would be useful to add the hare master's email address and a link to your webpage, or Facebook location, so type ‘Webpage’ or ‘Facebook’ and then, to add a link, highlight the appropriate word, then ...
    8. Hover over the icons at the top of the same grey window until you find the one that says ‘Link’ and click on it
    9. Now you see the text that will be the link and a window for you to type or paste the URL of the website or Facebook location you wish to connect to
    10. Click ‘Save’!
    11. You should now have the dummy date set up for the future
  3. Formatting the information you add to your calendar is important to enable the combined calendar on the SW Diary page to be easily read, so:
    1. Click the entry to be updated
    2. Click on the ‘Edit event’ icon (a little pencil)
    3. In the ‘Add location’ box you should already have ‘your hash H3 - vytbc’, now delete ‘vytbc’ and add your actual start location
    4. Confirm the dates and times are correct
    5. In the location window you should be able to find a description that will enable Google to provide a link to the exact location. Pub names and postcodes are a good start, and adding such will bring up a suggested list, so you can simply click on the one that applies. Be sure to check its right to avoid people going to the wrong location! (See ‘Adding a location’ below for more)
    6. In the notes window, below your ‘website’ or ‘Facebook’ link you can add whatever else you want to. If the pub you’re visiting is different to the start location, then you can add a link to it in exactly the same way as the website/Facebook link was added. You can include the hares names and any additional information you wish to include
  4. These activities can be completed from your PC, laptop, phone or tablet, so ideal for carrying out on the spot updates at the post hash pub

Adding a specific location

  1. Search Google Maps and/or Satellite for the location you wish to add;
  2. Click on the actual location and a grey marker appears on the chosen spot;
  3. Click on the address (not the grid reference) in the new pop-up window (screen bottom)
  4. Click ‘Share’ in new pop-up window (screen left)
  5. Click ‘Copy link’ in new [pop-up window (screen centre)
  6. Now open the required event, click the pencil icon to edit, and paste the link into the ‘Add location’ window.

Users

  1. Scroll through the calendar to find the date and hash you’re looking for
  2. Click on the event to open it. Hopefully the ‘Where’ will include a ‘map’ link to be shown exactly where the start is on google maps (if the Hare Master has decided to use this option)
  3. Under ‘Description’ you will find ancillary information such as the after hash pub, if different from the start location; the hare(s); other relevant information!

Producing a printed Diary

At the top right of the calendar is a ‘Print’ link. Clicking will take you to an initial view of the first few entries based on the ‘Print Range’ set in the first option row

  1. Print range: Clicking on the dates will enable you to select a number of default options, or enter your own start and finish dates. I suggest the latter is the best option as you will be told how many pages will be required
  2. Font size: Can be changed and this may also reduce the number of pages – but be sure you can still read the output!
  3. Orientation: Personal choice. I think in most cases the Portrait option will be better, and seems to be first choice for the ‘auto’ setting too
  4. Print Descriptions: I suggest this is ticked as it’ll ensure all the details are included
  5. The remaining fields are probably not required, so un-tick the boxes
  6. From here, the calendar can be printed, or even saved as a PDF for viewing off-line