Upcoming Update – May 2026 (2026-05-18)

This release will contain some new requested features and add an exciting new feature: an interactive map for showing locations for public witnessing.

New Features

• A map for showing locations for public witnessing with additional information on an interactive map
• Feedback can be edited by calendar coordinators
• Publishers are given the possibility to remove themselves from a calendar or delete their account (calendar coordinators will be notified if this happens)
• In the calendar email settings, a specific contact email address can be added. That address will be set as the reply-to address on outgoing emails. It will be shown in specific places and emails to point out how to get in contact with the calendar coordinators.
• With a publisher, an end date can be set. At the given date the connection to the calendar will be removed and the publisher and calendar coordinators informed. This can be helpful for publishers added as guests for a time period.

Changes

• Allowing up to 4 publishers with flexible calendar bookings (currently only 3)
• Shifts that break rules (too few brothers, too few participants overall) can be shown on the user's dashboard
• Statistics feature re-enabled
• Improved selection of publishers in the add-publisher-to-calendar form
• Optimized styling

Bugfixes

• Bug fixes and improvements based on user feedback
• Newly created publishers were set with German language under certain conditions. Now, they are created without a specific language, so the calendar language is used unless the publisher overrides it in their settings.

Upcoming Update – June 2026

This release will include an AI Support Agent helping calendar coordinators understanding what options are available for configuration. It also will contain UX improvements and cleanup.

New Features

• AI help agent for calendar settings

Changes

• Implementing a Data Retention policy
• Inventory feature re-enabled (perhaps, based on the user feedback in May)
• Improved User Experience in the calendar view for calendars with many bookable items

Release April 2026 (2026-04-13)

This update focuses on restoring paused features and switching to a new payment system. Also, it will simplify connections between calendars, congregations and publishers.

New Features

• Publishers now can receive internal or public tags, like "guest" or "has key"
• Improved newsletter feature to send out e-mails to publishers of a calendar
• New iCal feed for publishers to use in their calendar apps
• Publishers can be marked as inactive for the current calendar
• Onboarding of new calendars is back
• Excel download for feedbacks is back
• The admin area offers a button on the lower right to get help fast

Changes

• Introducing a new payment system and disabling Patreon subscriptions
• Rework congregation-to-calendar and publisher-to-calendar connections internally to make them easier to manage
• Feedback can be deleted by coordinators
• Deletion of publishers got improved and handles different situations like the publisher being connected to multiple calendars
• Week shift templates can now be edited
• Improved gender balance security rule handling for shifts

Bugfixes

• iCal feed for admins to show all calendar bookings fixed
• Telegram chat bot fixed
• The file upload was fixed
• Booking limitations for publishers fixed

Major Relaunch (2026-03-09)

This update makes the PW-TOOLS calendar faster, more stable, and easier to improve in the future. To ensure a smooth transition, some features will be temporarily paused.

New Features

• A nice new styling.
• New authentication options: Login via Google and Passkeys.
• You can now download a calendar import file directly from a reservation.
• ICS file downloads for appointments.
• The week templates for creating shifts can now be edited.
• Improved processing of the self registration link.
• The option "Will be added later" as selection of a publisher can be disabled in the calendar settings (in the Actions and Behavior section).
• All sent emails now include hidden unsubscribe information. Clicking the unsubscribe link in an email client will stop all PW-TOOLS emails for that user. This helps improve spam ratings and avoid email provider blocks. The unsubscribe link is also visible in the email footer.

Changes

• Temporarily disabled: creating new calendars
• Temporarily disabled: deleting your own calendars
• Temporarily disabled: iCal Feed
• Temporarily disabled: downloading feedback as an Excel file
• Temporarily disabled: sending newsletters to participants
• Temporarily disabled: Zapier integration (may be removed permanently if no longer needed)
• Temporarily disabled: inventory feature (may be removed permanently if no longer needed)

Bugfixes

• Files uploaded to a calendar now open in a new browser tab. This prevents users from getting stuck and makes it easier to return to the app.
• Phone numbers are now normalized across the entire app, so phone links work reliably.
• Opening a reservation from the dashboard now automatically switches to the correct calendar if needed.
• Emails are now sent in the recipient’s language, not the language used when the reservation was created.
• The Telegram bot is working again.