New Features & Functionality

Events Calendar Pro 6.0 includes two major components:

A new post type called Series
A new backend process for handling event data

Together, these provide a more robust, compatible, and performant system for managing events. Extensive changes to the way we store event data also means faster load times on calendar views for all users (free and paid). Additionally, the Pro release includes some changes and features to improve and expand the admin experience:

You can duplicate any event (single or recurring) to easily create a clone with the same content and settings. (Note: this does not include duplicating tickets… yet.)
The list of events in the WordPress dashboard is simplified to show a recurring event once, instead of listing each occurrence. You can find any specific occurrence from the Events Manager.

Series

The new Series post type provides a powerful way to group, organize, and present events. A Series is completely customizable and can contain any single or recurring events.

With recurring events plus Series, individual occurrences of recurring events can be edited to contain different content, venues, etc., while remaining connected through their associated Series.

Series have their own pages on the front end, showing the Series description and listing the events in the Series with a standard calendar view. You can create and manage Series from the new Series list table. You can add single events to a Series from the Series editor or event editor. Recurring events will be added to an auto-generated Series when you create them.

As an example of Series, say you have a weekly recurring event called Yoga Class. The event is also part of a Series called Yoga Class. You open the recurring event and change the title and description and then save your changes for that particular occurrence. That occurrence now has a new title and description and is no longer part of the recurring event. However, both the new single event and the original recurring event will be part of the Yoga Class Series. The Series can be easily presented on your calendar as a cohesive set of events.

Recurring Events

Events Calendar Pro 6.0 introduces new functionality around recurring events. The new system uses the iCalendar Standard. As part of this change, recurring events can each have one pattern-based recurrence rule (e.g. repeats weekly on Sundays) and up to one pattern-based exclusion rule. Recurring events can have any number of single recurrence rules (e.g. once on 1/17/2022) or single exclusion rules. All recurring events are part of a Series, which opens up additional editing options and allows you to use multiple recurrence rules (see below).

There is also a new process for saving recurring events. You no longer choose whether to Edit All, Edit Single, or Edit Upcoming. Instead, you open any recurring event in the editor and make changes. When you save, you’ll be prompted to decide how you want those changes to impact recurring events. Different options will be available depending on the changes you’ve made to the event. This process will be familiar to folks who use Google Calendar.