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XML Feeds

If you are using the Cascade CMS, an XML feed is the easiest way to include PlanIt Purple events in your site. There are two ways to create a feed:

  1. Click the "Add/Manage Events" button from the PlanIt Purple homepage, sign in, then click "Add a Feed."
  2. Construct a URL of the following format: https://planitpurple.northwestern.edu/xmlfeed?cal=33&days=30

Querystring Parameters

The following are valid querystring parameters for the second method:

XML feed querystring parameters
Parameter Description
cal Required. Comma-separated list of group IDs or 0 for all calendars.
days Required. Number of days to include. Can be 0 for unlimited (3-year past limit; 5-year future limit).
category Optional. Only applied if cal is set to 0. Comma-separated list of category IDs (see below). Events assigned to any of the specified categories are included.
audience Optional. Only applied if cal is set to 0. Comma-separated list of audience IDs (see below). Events assigned to any of the specified audiences are included.
location Optional. Only applied if cal is set to 0. Comma-separated list of location IDs (see below). Events assigned to any of the specified locations are included.
max Optional. An integer specifying the maxiumum number of events to be included.
archive Optional. Valid values are 0 (default) or 1, which sets start date to 3 years in the past, ignoring the start parameter. When set, days parameter only applies to future events.
start Optional. Must be a valid date in the format mm-dd-yyyy. Events on or after the specified date will be included.
end Optional. Must be a valid date in the format mm-dd-yyyy. Events on or before the specified date will be included.
token Required for private groups. Alphanumeric access code displayed on the Edit Group page. If there are multiple values for cal, comma separate tokens, using an empty string for non-private groups.

Category IDs

Event Category IDs
ID Category
1 Academic
2 Fine Arts
3 Athletics
4 Social
5 Lectures & Meetings
6 Religious
7 Other
8 Training
9 Fitness & Recreation
10 Multicultural & Diversity
11 Global & Civic Engagement
12 Grand Rounds
13 Women 150 [temporary]
14 Environment & Sustainability

Audience IDs

Event Audience IDs
ID Audience
1 Faculty/Staff
2 Student
3 Public
4 Post Docs/Docs
5 Graduate Students

Location IDs

Event Location IDs
ID Location
1 Evanston
2 Chicago
3 Off-Campus
4 No Location
5 Online
6 Qatar

XML Data Structure

XML feeds contain the following elements:

  • planitpurple: root element (always present)
  • event: can be none or multiple depending on upcoming events for your group
    • title: event title
    • date: human readable date in format Month, D, YYY
    • time: human readable start and end time in format HH:MI A.M. - HH:MI P.M. or empty if an all-day event
    • isodate: with attribute format="YYYY-MM-DD HH24:MI"
    • time_zone: time zone abbreviation (CT, PT, or AST)
    • location: specifies campus (Evanston, Chicago, Off-Campus, No Location, Online, or Qatar)
    • locationurl: a link to the event building on the online campus map site
    • address: the address of the event broken down into the following elements
      • building_name
      • address_1
      • address_2
      • city
      • state
      • zip
    • webcast_link: optional URL for online event
    • contact: the event's primary contact broken down into the following elements
      • name
      • email
      • phone
    • group: the group which posted the event broken down into the following elements
      • name
      • url
      • id
    • shared_groups: a comma-separated list of groups from the current feed which include this shared event
    • image_sm: URL for a 250 x 250 pixel image for the event
    • image_sm_alt: alt text describing the above image
    • image_med: URL for a 530 x 398 pixel image for the event (only be populated by Arts Circle enabled groups)
    • image_med_alt: alt text describing the above image
    • image_hero: URL for a 1440 x 400 pixel image for the event(only be populated by Arts Circle enabled groups)
    • image_hero_alt: alt text describing the above image
    • externalurl: the event's external URL (empty if not populated)
    • registration_link: URL for event registration with a label attribute (current options are "Register" or "Buy Tickets"; empty if not populated)
    • ppurl: the event's PlanIt Purple URL
    • event_category_id: an integer representing the event category (see translation table above)
    • category-name: one of the names listed above
    • secondary_category: can be none or multiple
      • id
      • name
    • last_modified: human readable date of last modification in format Month, D, YYYY; defaults to creation date if there have been no edits
    • cost: plaintext event costs
    • audience: one or more elements containing one of the following strings: Student, Faculty/Staff, Public, Post Docs/Docs, Graduate Students
    • cosponsors: contains one or more cosponsor elements containing a group name
    • advanced-property: none or multiple pairs of name and value elements as configured on the Edit Group page; contact Web Communications for this to be enabled
    • description: plaintext event description
    • description_html: HTML event description escaped in CDATA
    • recurring: either a unique ID specifying the event series or a 0 if the event is not recurring
    • series_url: URL for the event series view in PlanIt Purple; only appears if event is recurring
    • cancelled: empty element which appears if the event has been cancelled

For examples of XSLT formats that can handle these fields, please contact Web Communications.

Last modified: August 3, 2023