Warped presentation of events in calendar views

Abstract

Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and software for providing warped event presentations in calendars. A calendar is set to an active time zone and a period of time is identified within which to display a warped presentation of events scheduled to occur outside of the active time zone. For at least an event scheduled to occur outside of the active time zone at a time in a different time zone that falls within the period of time, the event is presented in the calendar as if the event were scheduled for that time, but in the active time zone.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of presenting calendars to facilitate enhanced event presentation across time zones, the method comprising:
 identifying in a calendar set to an active time zone, at least a period of time within which to display a warped presentation of events scheduled to occur outside of the active time zone; and   for at least an event scheduled to occur outside of the active time zone at a time in a different time zone that falls within the period of time, presenting the event in the calendar as if the event were scheduled for that time, but in the active time zone, and with at least a visual characteristic indicative that the event will actually occur outside of the active time zone.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein identifying at least the period of time comprises identifying a warping event, identifying a start time and an end time for the warping event, and identifying the period of time based at least in part on the start time and the end time for the warping event. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2  wherein the warping event comprises travel and wherein the method further comprises, when scheduling the travel, presenting a warp option selectable to at least enable the warped presentation of the events scheduled to occur outside of the active time zone. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2  wherein the warping event comprises a meeting scheduled to occur outside of the active time zone and wherein the method further comprises, when scheduling the meeting, presenting a warp option selectable to enable the warped presentation of the events scheduled to occur outside of the active time zone. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2  wherein the calendar comprises a warped region associated with the warped presentation of the events scheduled to occur outside of the active time zone and a non-warped region associated with a non-warped presentation of non-warped events scheduled to occur in the active time zone. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5  wherein the visual characteristic distinguishes the warped region from the non-warped region. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6  wherein the visual characteristic comprises a color coding of the warped region. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the calendar comprises a weekly grid defined by a plurality of days and a single range of times in the active time zone. 
     
     
         9 . An apparatus comprising:
 one or more computer readable storage media; and   program instructions stored on the one or more computer readable media to facilitate enhanced event presentation in calendars that, when executed by a processing system, direct the processing system to at least:   identify in a calendar set to an active time zone, at least a period of time within which to display a warped presentation of events scheduled to occur outside of the active time zone;   for at least an event scheduled to occur outside of the active time zone at a time in a different time zone that falls within the period of time, render the event in the calendar as if the event were scheduled for that time, but in the active time zone, and with at least a visual characteristic indicative that the event will actually occur outside of the active time zone.   
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 9  wherein, to identify at least the period of time, the program instructions direct the processing system to identify a warping event, identify a start time and an end time for the warping event, and identify the period of time based at least in part on the start time and the end time for the warping event. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 10  wherein the warping event comprises travel and wherein the program instructions further direct the processing system to, when scheduling the travel, render a warp option selectable to at least enable the warped presentation of the events scheduled to occur outside of the active time zone. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 10  wherein the warping event comprises a meeting scheduled to occur outside of the active time zone and wherein the program instructions further direct the processing system to, when scheduling the meeting, render a warp option selectable to enable the warped presentation of the events scheduled to occur outside of the active time zone. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 10  wherein the calendar comprises a warped region associated with the warped presentation of the events scheduled to occur outside of the active time zone and a non-warped region associated with a non-warped presentation of non-warped events scheduled to occur in the active time zone. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 13  wherein the visual characteristic distinguishes the warped region from the non-warped region. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 14  wherein the visual characteristic comprises a color coding of the warped region. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 9  wherein the calendar comprises a weekly grid defined by a plurality of days and a single range of times in the active time zone. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 9  further comprising the processing system configured to read and execute the program instructions. 
     
     
         18 . A method of warping calendar presentations comprising:
 rendering a view of a calendar comprising a range of times;   identifying at least a period of time in the calendar within which to display a warped presentation of events scheduled to occur outside of an active time zone;   for a non-warped event scheduled to occur on a day and at a time in the active time zone that falls outside of the period of time, rendering the non-warped event in the view of the calendar to correspond to a representation of that time in the range of times.   for at least a warping event scheduled to occur within the period of time and on a different day at that time, but in a different time zone, rendering the warping event in the view of the calendar to correspond to the representation of that time in the range of times and with at least a visual characteristic indicative that the event will actually occur outside of the active time zone.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18  wherein identifying at least the period of time comprises identifying a start time and an end time for the warping event and identifying the period of time based at least in part on the start time and the end time for the warping event. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19  wherein the calendar comprises a warped region that is associated with the warped presentation of the events scheduled to occur outside of the active time zone and that is visually distinguished from a non-warped region associated with a non-warped presentation of non-warped events scheduled to occur in the active time zone.