Recurring events

For site administrators configuring recurring event schedules.

How NetterTech Events handles recurrence

NetterTech Events uses RFC 5545 (the iCalendar standard) for recurrence rules. In practice this means: when you save a recurring event, the plugin pre-computes a set of occurrence dates and stores them in the database. Each occurrence is an independent record with its own capacity, ticket inventory, and check-in state.

This approach has a practical implication worth understanding: recurring events do not dynamically calculate dates at page load. The plugin pre-computes event dates up to a set number of days in the future – called the occurrence horizon (default: 365 days). Dates beyond that cutoff won’t appear on your calendar until the horizon window reaches them. You can extend the window in Settings > Advanced > Occurrence Horizon.

Setting up a recurring event

In the event editor, set your start date and time, then click Make Recurring in the Event Details metabox. You’ll see fields for:

Frequency - Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Yearly
Interval - How often (every 1 week, every 2 weeks, etc.)
Days - For weekly recurrence, which days of the week
End condition - After a specific number of occurrences, or by a specific date

Common patterns you can configure:

Schedule	Setup
Weekly Tuesday class	Weekly, interval 1, Tuesday
Biweekly Thursday rehearsal	Weekly, interval 2, Thursday
Monthly board meeting (2nd Tuesday)	Monthly, by pattern
15th of each month	Monthly, by day of month
Annual fundraiser	Yearly

After you publish, the plugin generates occurrences across the occurrence horizon and creates separate ticket inventory for each date.

Per-occurrence ticketing

Each occurrence gets its own ticket capacity. A 10-week workshop series with 20 seats per session tracks those 20 seats independently per date. Selling out week three does not affect week four.

You set the default capacity when creating the event. Ticket types and prices are shared across the series by default, but you can override individual occurrences if a specific date needs different pricing or a different capacity.

Editing occurrences

When you update a recurring event, you’ll be asked whether you want to apply the change to this occurrence only or to the entire series.

This occurrence only - Changes the selected date without affecting the rest of the series
All future occurrences - Re-generates occurrences forward from the selected date with the new rule

Changing the recurrence rule itself always re-generates occurrences. Any per-occurrence overrides you made prior to the rule change are preserved where the occurrence dates still match.

Skipping specific dates

To exclude a date from an otherwise regular series (a holiday, a venue conflict), use the Exclusion Dates field (EXDATE in the iCalendar standard) in the Event Details metabox. Enter the date you want to skip, and that occurrence will not be generated. The series continues on its normal schedule around the excluded date.

Troubleshooting missing occurrences

If a recurring event shows fewer upcoming dates than expected:

Check Settings > Advanced > Occurrence Horizon. A 180-day horizon on a weekly event generates roughly 26 visible occurrences.
Re-save the event. Opening the event and clicking Update without making changes triggers occurrence regeneration.
Verify the recurrence rule has a valid end condition. An end date in the past will stop occurrence generation.