solspace calendar: only display the first occurrence of each recurring event within a set timeframe

Question

EE 2.8.1 Calendar 1.8.6

I want to only display the first occurrence of each repeating event.

Right now I have a list of all events always displaying the next upcoming occurrence.

{exp:calendar:cal calendar_id="{embed:calendar_id}" event_limit="{embed:event_limit}" date_range_start="today" show_months="6" pad_short_weeks="n" dynamic="off"}
<li><a href="{path='events/event'}/{event_id}/">{event_title} - Details >></a> {event_start_date format="%F %j, %Y"} 
{if event_summary}<br />{event_summary}{/if}
{if event_location}<br />Location: {event_location}{/if}
{if event_cost}<br />Cost: {event_cost}{/if}<br /><br />


</li>
          {if no_results}
          <li>No events could be found within the specified time range for this Calendar.</li>
          {/if}
{/exp:calendar:cal}

Answer 1

The following solution, from the Solspace support site, might be what you are looking for:

How to display a chronological list of events, with each unique event appearing only once

It's also been mentioned in these threads:

• Solspace Calendar Limit Occurrence Returned
• Solspace Calendar: Only show next occurrence of recurring event in list of recurring and non-recurring events

Summary:

One approach is to use PHP to create an array of unique events, and display your event data only when the event is encountered for the first time in {exp:calendar:cal}. Here's an example (turn on PHP for your template and set it to Output):

{!-- Create the arrays --}
<?php 
    $event_ids = array();
    $event_data = array();
?>

{!-- 
    // Check if the event was already encountered (i.e. is in the array),
    // and store your data in a separate array if this is the first time
    // encountering this event 
--}
{exp:calendar:cal /* your other parameters here */}
<?php 
    if( ! in_array('{event_id}', $event_ids) )
    {
        $event_ids[] = '{event_id}';
        $event_data[] = '* The data you want displayed *';
    }
?>
{/exp:calendar:cal}

{!-- Display event data, still in chronological order --}
<?php 
    foreach($event_data as $data)
    {
        echo $data;
    }
?>

Of course there are likely other strategies, using PHP, Stash, or other means, but the main idea is to create a list/group/array of unique events within your timeframe.