Using OS X Lion Server as a Home Server (Part 12 – Shared Calendar)

If you’ve been following our series on using OS X Lion Server as a Home Server then you’ll know that last time we configured our Mac Server and clients (including iOS devices such as the iPhone and iPad) to take advantage of a shared family address book – one contacts list that can be used by the whole family, available from any Mac or iOS device in the home (or mobile). That’s one really useful feature of Lion Server, and along similar lines you’ll find a shared calendar for the family equally useful for tracking family events on a day to day basis. Let’s take a look at getting it set up.

We start at the Server app, just as we did when setting up our Shared Address Book. In the left hand pane, you’ll see a listing for iCal. Click on it, and there’s another of those huge On buttons to flick.

This time, we have a few additional options we can configure on the server itself before configuring our computers and mobile devices. Just like in the workplace, you’re able to set up Locations and Resources which can be “booked” by family members. Let’s say one of the kids has their friends around for an Xbox 360 session, you may want to set up the Xbox 360 as a resource, and the Living Room as a location – both can then be reserved so the rest of the family know to stay the heck away. If you’re going to utilise Lion’s Mail Server, you can also configure email invitations to be sent to book resources and calendar slots.

To add a location or resource, click the Plus button as directed, and you’ll see the following panel.

Use the drop down to determine whether you’re adding a location or resource, and I’d suggest leaving the Delegate options alone for home use. Click Done, and your newly configured location or resource will be added as we see below. If you need to edit your list in the future, the pencil icon is your friend.

As with the creation of a shared address book, you can work with shared calendars on OS X Lion Server in a couple of ways. Individual users can be provided with their own personal calendar, which can be accessed across multiple devices – at home or remotely. That’s their private calendar that only they can access with their account name and password. Alternatively, you can create a single family calendar that everyone has access to. It all depends on how you configure your clients. Once again, we’ll show you both ways, starting this time with the creation of a single, family calendar.

Configuring a Shared Family Calendar

To take advantage of a shared family calendar, we need to set up an account on the server that everyone has access to. You may already have set up a shared account, if you followed the last part of the series – if so, that should serve you well. Otherwise, go to the Server app, click Users and create a new, dummy account called sharedcalendar (or similar) with an associated password that everyone will know. Remember these details as we’ll need them shortly.

Now, head over to one of your Mac clients and open iCal. In the Application Menu at the top of the screen, click iCal > Preferences and click the Accounts tab on the resulting panel which appears.

Click the Plus button at the bottom left of the panel to add your shared family account. A new panel, unsurprisingly named Add an Account will open up. First things first – hit the drop down next to Account Type and switch the setting from Automatic to CalDAV. A new field will appear in the panel called Server Name.