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Pre-filling Client View Using URL Parameters

Paul Sullivan
Updated

You can pre-fill the Coconut Client View with specific values—such as location, service, or staff—by adding URL parameters to your booking link. This helps you:

  • Launch directly into a specific branch from your website or online banking

  • Pre-select a service category like Personal or Business banking

  • Pre-select a specific staff member or meeting method

This article explains which parameters are supported, how they work, and how to construct valid URLs.

URL Parameters vs. Booking Shortcuts

Coconut supports two different ways to pre-configure the booking page:

  • Booking Shortcuts (links that use /s/yourShortcutName)

  • URL parameters (e.g., ?location=e:1234&category=personal)

Note:
You must choose one approach per link. Coconut does not support combining a booking shortcut path and URL parameters in the same URL (for example, .../s/PersonalBanking?location=e:1234). If you need to use URL parameters, start from the standard client view URL, not a /s/... shortcut.

When to Use URL Parameters

  • You want to build links dynamically from your own systems (e.g., website, online banking, Google Maps, etc.)

  • You want to preselect location, staff, service, category, or meeting method using IDs or external identifiers

  • You don’t want to maintain a large number of individual booking shortcuts

Requirements

Before you start:

Finding IDs in Coconut

Location IDs

  1. Go to Locations

  2. Click the three vertical dots next to the location of your choosing

  3. Click Edit

  4. In your browser address bar, look for the URL like .../locations/12345

  5. 12345 is the Location ID.

  6. To locate a location's external ID on the same page, scroll down to Preferences to see the External ID field.

  7. In this example, 4533 is the external ID.
    ​

    ​

Staff IDs

  1. Go to Staff

  2. Click the three vertical dots next to the staff member of your choosing

  3. Click Edit

  4. In the address bar, look for .../staff/1006041

  5. 1006041 is the Staff ID.

Service IDs

  1. Go to Services

  2. Click More → Edit beside the service.

  3. In the Service popup, scroll down to see the External ID field

  4. In this example, homelineofcredit is the external ID

Category IDs

  1. Go to Settings → Categories

  2. Click the three vertical dots next to the staff member of your choosing

  3. Click Edit

  4. In the address bar, look for .../categories/2312

  5. 2312 is the Category ID.

Meeting Method IDs

If you need the numeric meeting_method IDs:

  • Use your existing analytics/API access or Coconut Support to look them up for your vendor, or

  • Prefer external IDs or slugs in URL parameters (for example, meeting_method=3) and only use numeric IDs when specifically required.

Supported URL Parameters

The following parameters are supported in Client View:

  • location – Prefills a location (branch).

  • staff – Prefills a staff member.

  • service – Prefills a service (e.g., “Mortgage Appointment”).

  • category – Prefills a service category (e.g., “personal”, “business”).

  • meeting_method – Prefills a meeting method (e.g., 1 for in-branch, 2 for phone, 3 for video).

Each parameter accepts one of the following value types:

  1. Coconut ID (numeric)

    • The internal ID for that resource.

    • Example: service=508035
      ​

  2. External ID (with e: prefix)

    • Your own external identifier for a resource, if configured in Coconut.

    • Example: location=e:1026 (where 1026 is your external branch/location ID)
      ​

  3. Slug (string)

    • A URL-friendly string configured for that resource (most commonly for categories).

    • Example: category=personal

URL Structure

A Client View URL with parameters follows standard URL rules:

  • Start parameters with a question mark ?

  • Separate multiple parameters with an ampersand &

Pattern:

https://yourdomain.coconutcalendar.com?parameter=value&parameter2=value2

or, if your Client View path includes /service or another route:

https://yourdomain.coconutcalendar.com/service?parameter=value&parameter2=value2

Examples

Prefill a location by external ID

Goal: Open the booking page with a specific branch already selected.

https://yourdomain.coconutcalendar.com/service?location=e:1026

  • location – Tells Coconut to prefill the location.

  • e:1026 – Uses the external ID 1026 for that location

Prefill service category and location

Goal: Open the booking page with Personal Banking and a specific branch preselected.

https://yourdomain.coconutcalendar.com/service?category=personal&location=e:1026

  • category=personal – Uses the category slug personal.

  • location=e:1026 – Uses the external location ID.

Prefill service, staff, and location

Goal: Open the booking page with a specific service, specific advisor, and specific branch.

https://yourdomain.coconutcalendar.com?service=508035&staff=e:andreadvisor&location=e:8102

  • service=508035 – Service with Coconut ID 508035.

  • staff=e:andreadvisor – Staff member identified by external ID andreadvisor.

  • location=e:8102 – Location identified by external ID 8102.

Prefill meeting method

Goal: Open the booking page with Video (or another method) preselected.

https://yourdomain.coconutcalendar.com/service?meeting_method=3

The value accepted here depends on your configuration (ID, external ID, or slug). Your implementation team can confirm the correct values.

Best Practices

Do not combine booking shortcuts with URL parameters:

  • Avoid URLs like .../s/PersonalBanking?location=e:1026.

  • Instead, choose:

    • A booking shortcut only (e.g., .../s/PersonalBanking1026), or

    • A pure URL-parameter link (e.g., .../service?category=personal&location=e:1026).

Standardize your patterns:

  • Decide on a consistent pattern for building links (for example, always using external IDs with the e: prefix).

  • Document that pattern for your web and online banking teams.

Test in lower environments first:

  • Validate that each parameter correctly pre-populates the booking page.

  • Confirm behaviour when users refresh the page or navigate back from a browser history action.

Troubleshooting

If the booking page does not look as expected:

  1. Check the base URL

    • Make sure you are starting from the Client View URL, not a booking shortcut URL.
      ​

  2. Validate parameter names

    • Ensure you are using the supported names exactly:
      ​location, staff, service, category, meeting_method
      ​

  3. Validate parameter values

    • Confirm that:

      • Numeric IDs are valid resource IDs in Coconut.

      • External IDs exist and are correctly prefixed with e:.

      • Slugs (like personal) match what is configured for that resource.
        ​

  4. Test each parameter individually

    • Start with one parameter (for example, just location).

    • Add additional parameters one at a time to isolate any configuration issues.
      ​

  5. Confirm configuration in Coconut

    • Ensure the location, services, staff, and meeting methods:

      • Are active

      • Are assigned correctly (e.g., to the right locations and categories)

      • Are bookable in the environment you’re testing

If you’ve validated the URL format and resource configuration and are still not seeing the expected behaviour, share the following with Coconut Support so we can investigate further:

  • The full URL you are using (with sensitive data removed if needed)

  • The IDs or external IDs you expect to be pre-filled

  • Screenshots of what you are seeing on the Client View

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