KsMahGrts 0 Report Share Posted July 12, 2007 Hi folks- New here and looking for some insight into what program you use to produce your monthly a calendar. I'm accustomed to doing it all by hand in MS Publisher, but I'm moving into an administrator role, and want to get my new AD something that is a little more than just a word/graphic publishing program. What I'm really looking for is a piece of software that will import from Outlook so that our recurring events won't need to be manually added, and so that all of the members of my team who add information to the calendar will be able to see a "live" updated version at all times. Essentially I need to plan in Outlook but produce in something else. Or, if this new software accommodates recurring activities, that's great too. I know Calendar Creator is one that has been on the market for ages, and one that many people use... we actually used it at one time, but it was incredibly sluggish and although it had many options, it provided very little flexibility outside of its templates. So I'm looking to you all for some suggestions as to what you use and also what you suggest we stay away from. Many thanks, and I look forward to your replies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pennie 26 Report Share Posted July 12, 2007 Hi folks- New here and looking for some insight into what program you use to produce your monthly a calendar. I'm accustomed to doing it all by hand in MS Publisher, but I'm moving into an administrator role, and want to get my new AD something that is a little more than just a word/graphic publishing program. What I'm really looking for is a piece of software that will import from Outlook so that our recurring events won't need to be manually added, and so that all of the members of my team who add information to the calendar will be able to see a "live" updated version at all times. Essentially I need to plan in Outlook but produce in something else. Or, if this new software accommodates recurring activities, that's great too. I know Calendar Creator is one that has been on the market for ages, and one that many people use... we actually used it at one time, but it was incredibly sluggish and although it had many options, it provided very little flexibility outside of its templates. So I'm looking to you all for some suggestions as to what you use and also what you suggest we stay away from. Many thanks, and I look forward to your replies. At Activity Directors Network we like the PrintMaster the best. We also offer 5 Themed Templates for each month on our subscription site, It has a complete month of ideas pre-choosen that you can use or edit to fit your facility. We offer 1500 activities to choose from.. As far as moving your recurring events forward each month, you can accomplish this, by creating one complete calendar (any month) then printing and mailing.. for the next month choose the dropdown menu the month and year, the Printmaster will move everything forward and you will then need to edit special events for that month, switch out a few graphics and your ready to print and mail. This recurring moves will not work if you load a new template each month, we normally open up the last month calendar, along with the present month calendar, then cut and paste in the days that are the same and edit the days that are changing. I have 11 copies of the Printmaster 17 Silver CD for sale if anyone is interested.. 9.95 plus shipping .. I will email a sample of our template to get you started.. let me know.. admin(at)activitydirector.net or PM me.. thanks, Pennie PS Click my Name in the upper left corner of this post to PM (private message) me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Med268 0 Report Share Posted July 28, 2007 Hi! I am fairly new on here. The program I use is Art Explosion Publisher Pro. I love the program and use it for annoucements. Resident Council name tags, calendars and flyers. I have had great success with this program. M. Devin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trixiedg 0 Report Share Posted July 28, 2007 I use the software put out by creative forecasting called activity planning simplified. They offer a free 60 day trial to see if you like it. When you click on a date another window pops up to type your info in. It also has a copy and paste feature that comes in handy. I have not had a chance to use all of the features but you can run participation reports and daily activity sheets that have a trivia question for each day. You can also put in resident preferences and birthdays if you want. The only thing is, it doesn't have any clip art. You have to add that yourself after it is printed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladybug99 0 Report Share Posted July 28, 2007 Hi folks- New here and looking for some insight into what program you use to produce your monthly a calendar. I'm accustomed to doing it all by hand in MS Publisher, but I'm moving into an administrator role, and want to get my new AD something that is a little more than just a word/graphic publishing program. What I'm really looking for is a piece of software that will import from Outlook so that our recurring events won't need to be manually added, and so that all of the members of my team who add information to the calendar will be able to see a "live" updated version at all times. Essentially I need to plan in Outlook but produce in something else. Or, if this new software accommodates recurring activities, that's great too. I know Calendar Creator is one that has been on the market for ages, and one that many people use... we actually used it at one time, but it was incredibly sluggish and although it had many options, it provided very little flexibility outside of its templates. So I'm looking to you all for some suggestions as to what you use and also what you suggest we stay away from. Many thanks, and I look forward to your replies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladybug99 0 Report Share Posted July 28, 2007 Hi folks- New here and looking for some insight into what program you use to produce your monthly a calendar. I'm accustomed to doing it all by hand in MS Publisher, but I'm moving into an administrator role, and want to get my new AD something that is a little more than just a word/graphic publishing program. What I'm really looking for is a piece of software that will import from Outlook so that our recurring events won't need to be manually added, and so that all of the members of my team who add information to the calendar will be able to see a "live" updated version at all times. Essentially I need to plan in Outlook but produce in something else. Or, if this new software accommodates recurring activities, that's great too. I know Calendar Creator is one that has been on the market for ages, and one that many people use... we actually used it at one time, but it was incredibly sluggish and although it had many options, it provided very little flexibility outside of its templates. So I'm looking to you all for some suggestions as to what you use and also what you suggest we stay away from. Many thanks, and I look forward to your replies. Hi, I'm new here too. I use Microsoft Publisher for our Assisted living Cal. (It is not as involved as our SNF Cal.) For the SNF Cal, I made a template in XCEL. It was difficult, but now that it is done and saved as a template its easy to go in and adjust it Monthly. XCEL allows me a little more freedom with lines of text and font size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigchris 1 Report Share Posted July 29, 2007 I have found that publisher is the easiest for me to use, basically due to the cut and paste and the interaction with other microsoft products that I use anyway. It also has a ton of images that can be used and manipulated. bigchris Hi folks- New here and looking for some insight into what program you use to produce your monthly a calendar. I'm accustomed to doing it all by hand in MS Publisher, but I'm moving into an administrator role, and want to get my new AD something that is a little more than just a word/graphic publishing program. What I'm really looking for is a piece of software that will import from Outlook so that our recurring events won't need to be manually added, and so that all of the members of my team who add information to the calendar will be able to see a "live" updated version at all times. Essentially I need to plan in Outlook but produce in something else. Or, if this new software accommodates recurring activities, that's great too. I know Calendar Creator is one that has been on the market for ages, and one that many people use... we actually used it at one time, but it was incredibly sluggish and although it had many options, it provided very little flexibility outside of its templates. So I'm looking to you all for some suggestions as to what you use and also what you suggest we stay away from. Many thanks, and I look forward to your replies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceanGuy23 2 Report Share Posted August 1, 2007 I really enjoy using PrintShop to make our activity calendars. Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miguel 4 Report Share Posted August 4, 2007 Their are so many different programs one may use for creating various items such as calendars, newsletters, flyers, etc etc.. Some Administrators are not willing to pay the extra money for a nice program so to those activty professionals who struggle with budgets or supply Issues I suggest you learn how to make your calendars in Microsoft word ( I have been using word for the past 4 years and am able to just as much as the big programs) or if you have some of the fancier programs use them. I would be willing to send anyone my word layout on my calendar, shoot me an e mail msarasa@thevillagehemet.com -Miguel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imzoop 0 Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 I use Microsoft Excel. For me it has made calendar creating so much easier. I have formatted it, which is the most tedious part, so that I can easily type in my main 8"X11" calendar. Each activity is typed into in a different cell allowing me to easily make changes as I am developing the calendar. The information that I have typed into my main calendar is automatically tranfered/added to several other sheets. Each sheet has been formatted differently for different sizes and uses. I can also insert clipart into the calendars from printshop programs using cut and paste. One sheet resizes the calendar information to a legal size page. I simply print it off and make copies for the resident's rooms. The next sheet is programed so that each day, and it's scheduled activites, fit onto an 8' X 11' page. I use these pages for my large Activity Calendar. I have a 4' X 8' black wipe off board that I use for my large calendar. The black wipe off board off sets/frames my individual pages nicely. I use UHU tac to put the indivdual pages up on the wipe off board creating my large monthly calendar with each day framed by the black background. On this calendar I alternate colors for each row of entries making the calendar reader friendly for our residents. I use colors that cordinate with the season. If I need to change the schedule for the day, I can reprint that day with corrections, print it off and use it to replace the old one. The tac and wipe off board also make removing pages quick and easy w/out the mess of tape or staples. I create all of my forms on Excel which allows me to modify them as needed when there are changes. I also use it to record and calculate my yearly budget projection, staff salaries , fund raiser expenses, resident (fundraiser) sales inventory, and the resident's fund raiser check book record. My charting is also on Excel, I fill in the Daily Roll Call sheet and the information is transfered to the resident's individual Daily Participation Sheet. I print these off monthly. I am somewhat dislexic and am terrible with numbers - so I have put formulas into these programs to make them automatically calculate the information that I enter. For me the time it takes to create and set up these programs is well worth the effort because I have been using them for years, modifying prn. It is survival as it has saved me hours of time and hair pulling. I have been an activity director since 1987, and long ago learned that time invested is time saved. I like having the ability to create programs that are fitted to my needs and Excel allows me to do that. I don't think Excel is for everyone - there are some good programs out there, it does work for me and I appreciate the opportunity to share. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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