Google Calendar Integration with Joomla Websites
Are you an avid user of Google's Calendar component? Did you know that you can integrate your existing Google Calendar(s) into a Joomla CMS website relatively easy..? Let me show you how I made it happen on one of my websites.
The Joomla CMS platform has a wide variety of calendar/event extentions, most notably, JEvents, JCalPro, and EventList -- which I installed and configured for the Jewish Heritage of NC website last year.
However, when it came to my personal website, DerrekLemar.net, the thought of managing yet another calendar database was unappealing. To that end, I discovered and installed the GCalendar Joomla extension. You can see it in action on my personal calendar page.
Nifty, huh?
Configuring GCalendar
In order to configure GCalendar correctly, you'll need several pieces of information:
- Google Calendar ID - this is typically your Google user login (e.g. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )
- Magic Cookie - for relative Google Calendar newbies like me, this was not easy to find initially.
Locating the Calendar Magic Cookie
Figure #1
Each calendar you manage in Google appears in a list on the left side of the page. As Figure 1 illustrates, select "Calendar Settings" from the dropdown menu that accompanies the calendar of your choice.
Figure #2
Under the Private Settings section, look for the XML button, as shown by Figure 2. You can find the Magic Cookie by clicking on the XML button, as such...
Figure #3
In the above illustration, the long string reads:
I've highlighted the portion of the string that is the actual "magic cookie" value, the section of the string that appears between the "private-" and "/basic".
Now that you have the Calendar ID and Magic Cookie, configure the component in the Joomla Administrator (straightforward), set up a menu item, and showcase your events on your website without having to manage another separate calendar.
