Today I focused on developing the UI interactions for our shift calendar system, bringing the frontend components into alignment with our new backend architecture. This involved extensive JavaScript work to create intuitive, responsive controls for shift management directly within the calendar interface.
I began by implementing the event handlers necessary for drag-and-drop rescheduling. This functionality allows managers to simply drag shifts to new times or dates, automatically updating the backend through our API. The implementation required careful coordination between FullCalendar’s event system and our Laravel endpoints, ensuring all necessary validation occurs server-side before changes are committed. I added visual feedback during drag operations, showing allowed drop zones and providing clear indicators when a proposed move would create scheduling conflicts.
Next, I rebuilt the shift editing modal that appears when users click on existing shifts. The modal now communicates directly with our RESTful API rather than the previous Google Script functions. I enhanced the user experience by implementing real-time validation that checks for conflicts as users modify shift details, providing immediate feedback rather than waiting until form submission. This immediate validation significantly reduces the frustration of filling out a form only to discover conflicts after submission.
One particularly challenging aspect was implementing the recurring shift management interface. Users need to be able to modify either a single occurrence or all future occurrences of a recurring shift, which requires sophisticated handling both in the UI and when communicating with the backend. I created an intuitive interface that clearly explains the consequences of each choice and correctly passes the user’s selection to our API endpoints, which handle the appropriate database updates.
I also developed a comprehensive set of filter controls that allow users to customize their calendar view based on departments, employees, shift types, and status. These filters now use AJAX to dynamically update the calendar without full page reloads, significantly improving the responsiveness compared to our previous implementation. The filter state persists across user sessions using localStorage, so returning users see their preferred view configuration automatically.
For mobile compatibility, I implemented touch-friendly alternatives to drag-and-drop functionality, recognizing that many managers access the system from tablets or smartphones. This included swipe gestures for navigating between time periods and a simplified tap-to-edit workflow optimized for touch interfaces.
Initial testing of the event rendering revealed promising results. The calendar now loads significantly faster than our previous implementation, particularly for month views with many shifts. The visual rendering correctly applies our status-based color coding and displays appropriate icons for different shift types, maintaining visual consistency with the rest of our application.
By the end of the day, I had completed most of the planned UI interactions and begun integration testing to ensure everything works together seamlessly. There are still some edge cases to address tomorrow, particularly around error handling and reconnection logic when network issues occur during shift operations.