Compass

Compass combines quick event search with optional Ask Compass conversations. Search works without an AI account. AI answers require a supported, connected provider and an explicitly enabled audience.

Set up search

1. Install core and activate CalendarWP - Compass.
2. Review CalendarWP > Options > Add-on Settings > Compass.
3. Add the CalendarWP - Compass Search block or [calendarwp_compass] shortcode to a page.
4. Search for a published event or calendar name. Try date filters and open a result.

Public search only returns permitted public event information. Management search follows WordPress permissions. The block editor preview is local search, not a paid AI conversation. Removing the optional public logo leaves the Compass header without a replacement logo.

Enable Ask Compass

1. Under Options > Integrations, save and explicitly test your provider connection. Testing contacts the provider. Saving credentials alone does not run an AI question.
2. In Compass settings, choose a supported model for the intended audience. Public and management AI are separate and initially disabled.
3. Review the data scope, provider terms and token allocations; explicitly enable and save the audience. Keep private editorial evidence disabled unless you intentionally need and authorize it.
4. Ask a question on the published page, then a follow-up. Check the linked event sources, dates and any stated prices.

This package offers Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite and Cloudflare Workers AI Llama 3.1 8B Instruct Fast or Llama 3.3 70B Instruct Fast. OpenAI and Claude credential connections do not currently make their answer models selectable. Use the choices actually offered in your installed settings. Cloudflare needs an Account ID and scoped API token.

A successful connection test does not prove answer quality, available generation quota or billing status. Provider charges are separate from the plugin license; token limits are not a guaranteed monetary spending cap. Disable the audience to stop new AI questions without removing ordinary search.

Check event knowledge

Open CalendarWP > Compass > Knowledge. The overview distinguishes the search index from saved event Markdown:

• Indexed events count eligible event records with a search row.
• Venues, organizers and calendars count unique linked terms, not separate Markdown documents.
• Saved Markdown counts stored public-event knowledge, not independently verified answer accuracy.
• Missing, changed and awaiting-scan counts identify different kinds of pending work.
• Status and the last successful scan time show whether a scan completed. Times follow the WordPress site timezone; a historical run without a recorded timestamp is not assigned an invented time.

Automatic indexing normally handles changes. Use Refresh event knowledge for the Markdown scan. Search has separate Rebuild index, Run next batch, Pause rebuild and Resume rebuild controls. Pausing a search rebuild does not stop ordinary event saves updating search. Background work depends on WordPress Cron and site activity. If progress stalls, check diagnostics before repeatedly restarting.

Markdown contains public descriptions, taxonomies, schedules and supported venue, organizer and add-on details. Current upcoming occurrences and live availability are retrieved separately; Markdown is not a reservation ledger. Dynamic shortcodes are not executed to build knowledge, so some rendered-only content may be absent. Keep important public facts in the event's saved content or supported fields.

Preview an event's Markdown

1. Under Event knowledge, enter part of the event name and click Search events.
2. Choose a matching event from the results dropdown. Refine the search if there are too many matches.
3. Click Preview Markdown and check the actual facts and price-table headings.

The dropdown appears after a matching search; no post-ID lookup is required. Edit the source event to correct its facts rather than treating the preview as another editable event.

Main goal and System prompt

Under Conversation instructions, Main goal describes the assistant's purpose. System prompt describes its tone and conversational behavior. Plain text and Markdown headings/lists are supported; HTML is not required.

Click Save instructions to save both fields. Main goal allows 1,200 characters and System prompt allows 6,000. Restore defaults replaces both saved fields, so copy custom text somewhere safe first. Empty fields use their defaults. Existing custom instructions are preserved when updating from the older single-field interface.

These settings guide answer generation. They do not add new search sources, override access controls, train the provider model or authorize bookings and payments. Store changing event facts in events, not in the prompt.

Add verified FAQs

Choose Add FAQ or Manage FAQs in Knowledge. Use the question as the title and the verified answer as its content. Draft and review it before publishing. Published FAQs have a public source page and may be used by Ask Compass; drafts and password-protected answers are excluded.

For example, publish an answer to “Where can I find accessibility information?” that points to your actual event or venue policy. Do not publish an assumed parking, refund or accessibility policy just because an example suggests one. Retrieval considers the 100 most recently updated published FAQs; keep the collection focused. Do not place credentials or private customer information in FAQs.

Have a conversation

Start with a topic, then refine it: “Where can I play pickleball?”, “What about Sunday?”, “How much is that event?” Use New conversation to start over. The newest question-and-answer pair appears beneath the input, with older exchanges below it.

Compass should use current sources, not invent missing facts. A missing answer does not prove an amenity or event does not exist. If Search finds an event that Ask Compass misses, retain the question sequence and report the difference without sharing private data. See Privacy and data for retention and provider transmission.

Applies to Compass 1.0.0-rc12 with core 1.0.58-rc27. Compass's event search does not currently index arbitrary documentation pages.