Spring Cleaning of PAWS Calendar Data
The snow is gone, the roads are (slowly) being swept of last winter's gravel and dust, and spring is in the air. Now how about a little of our own spring cleaning?
On May 20, 2009, the university will remove old events from PAWS calendars with end dates prior to June 1, 2007. While this particular purge is being done as part of the preparations for a major version upgrade we intend to make it a practice going forward to retain PAWS calendar data for a two-year period. It'll feel good to sweep out that old data and make room for new events.
"But wait! Will this affect other data in PAWS? What about my email? What about course files?"
This particular purge will only affect your PAWS calendar data. PAWS email will not be affected. PAWS courses are already only stored for two years after the course has ended, so if you know you'll need materials from a course for more than two years you should save a backup copy (on your hard or storage device, or in one of the file storage areas in your My Files channel, such as Folder or Cabinet).
What if I need a record of my old PAWS calendar events? Can I back up my calendar data?
If you'd like a record of calendar events more than two years old, you must back up your calendar data (before May 20). Instructions in the PAWS FAQs will help you do this. You may also re-import the data to your calendar if required using the FAQ instructions, but please do not re-import the data until after May 20, 2009.
I synchronize my PDA with Calendar. Will these old events be removed from my PDA as well as from PAWS?
Depending on sync settings, users who synchronize their PAWS calendar data to a PDA will likely note that such data is also removed from their PDA. If you back up your calendar data and re-import the events after the May 20 purge, they will reappear in your PDA when you synchronize it with PAWS.
So, out with the old and in with the new! As always, you can get help with anything PAWS related by contacting the ITS Help Desk. We welcome your feedback, so please send us your comments or suggestions.