Resource Scheduling Made Easy: A Guide to Object Lists
Ever needed to schedule a specific conference room, assign a piece of demo equipment, or book time with a technical specialist? Smackdab's Object Lists feature lets you do just that!
Think of it as creating custom lists of any shared resource you need to manage and schedule. This powerful tool helps you track, assign, and visualize your resources right on your Smackdab Calendar, preventing conflicts and keeping everyone organized.
How It Works: A Quick Overview
The process is simple and involves three main phases:
Create Your Resource List: Build a master list of your resources (e.g., a list of all your company's conference rooms).
Link Resources to Activities: Connect your list to your activities so you can assign a specific resource to a meeting or task.
Visualize on the Calendar: Filter your calendar by resource to see who's using what, and when.
Let's walk through each phase step-by-step.
Phase 1: Create Your Resource List
First, you'll need to build the list of resources you want to manage.
Navigate to Settings to find the area for creating Object Lists.
Create a new list and give it a clear name, like "Conference Rooms" or "Demo Equipment."
Add each individual resource as a record within that list (e.g., "Room A," "Room B," "Room C").
Crucially, mark the list for calendar integration. This tells Smackdab that the items on this list are schedulable resources.
Phase 2: Link Your Resources to Activities
To assign a resource to a meeting or task, you first need to connect your list to the Activity module.
Go to the section for creating Custom Fields for your Activity module.
Create a new custom field. For the field type, be sure to select "Object List (Resources)".
A dropdown menu will appear. Select the resource list you just created (e.g., "Conference Rooms").
Add this new field to your "Add/Edit Activity" layout.
Now, whenever you create a new activity like a meeting, you'll see your new "Conference Rooms" field, allowing you to pick "Room A" from a dropdown menu and reserve it for your event!
Phase 3: Manage Resources on the Calendar
Here's where the magic happens. Once your resources are being assigned to activities, you can visualize everything on your calendar.
Head over to your Smackdab Calendar.
In the sidebar, you'll see a new "Resources" section.
Here you'll find your "Conference Rooms" list. You can expand it to see every room.
Check the box next to "Room A" to instantly filter your calendar and see only the meetings scheduled in that specific room.
This powerful filtering gives you complete visibility and control, making it easier than ever to manage, plan, and schedule your team's valuable resources.