iCal on Droid (for a newbie)

[atomicwedgie]

The problem with the Droid is that the contact fields are limited AND you can only sort by first name. It's also odd that the fields in Google contacts and the Droid contacts don't match up. This is only a few places where I feel the Droid falls short for business use.

I stand by my opinion that a BB is more conducive to business users than the Droid even though I love a lot about my Droid.

 

[tonyproscio]

Actually, that's really true -- the whole contacts thing is pretty weak in Droidland. My particular work isn't that dependent on a rich contacts database (I have just a few clients whom I already know well). If you're managing a lot of contacts and need a lot of data on them, you'll be unhappy with the Droid's limits.

 

[bgrubb7]

When I try to setup my account in iCal I get the following message:

"Availability is not supported on the server for this account."

Yes, I followed the instructions from the above Google link, and yes I have the supported versions of iCal (v3.0+) and Mac OS (10.5+). I've googled this issue and found several other threads complaining of the same problem, but none have any solutions...

 

[tonyproscio]

Sorry - I know how frustrating this is (I really do -- I went through days of trying before I got a working calendar). Everything seems to depend on the order in which you create the two calendars. I may have oversimplified the process in my previous note, so here's another web page with much more detailed instructions. (It covers both contacts and calendar, but the latter is easier.) The most important principle is to be sure you back up the calendar you're currently using, to make sure you don't lose anything. Then try this and see if it helps. Let me know what happens!

How-To: Droid Syncing on the Mac

 

[bgrubb7]

I'm starting from scratch, so I don't have a current calendar to lose (well, actually I do have a blank one) My problem is that I can't get the actual CalDAV to work with my Google account period. I enter the correct server info, then it does pull my full name from my google account, but also tells me that "Availability is not supported..."

 

[bgrubb7]

Well, it appears to be working after all. I still get the "Availability" message in my account settings, but it appears to be syncing anyways. Syncing from Google to iCal, but not the other way around. I'll keep working on this...

 

[tonyproscio]

Hooray - you got it! I never noticed it before, but my "accounts" page in iCal also says "Availability not supported." Since everything was working properly, I just never noticed this alarming (and apparently meaningless) little message. I can tell you with confidence that the process works fine -- I've been using it for months without a hitch. Whatever it is that is "not supported" has made zero difference in my use of the calendar. I think you can chalk this up as solved -- but please stay in touch if you have more problems.

 

[bgrubb7]

I tried about every order possible. I created a new iCal calendar, then deleted my Google Calendar, then added my Google account to iCal, and I can still only sync from Google to iCal, not the other way around...

If I add an event in Google or from the Droid, it syncs into iCal no problem, but events added in iCal do not transfer to Google.

 

[tonyproscio]

Oh, wait - I responded too fast. You said you were syncing from Google to iCal, but not the other way around. That's not ideal, obviously. In iCal, are you sure you're working on the Google calendar? It should show up in the menu bar on the left. The only way to sync from iCal to Google consistently is if you make sure that Google calendar is highlighted, and be sure to enter information in that specific calendar. Have you tried that?

 

[bgrubb7]

Duh, I get it now. Thanks Mr. Obvious :biggrin:

Yes I was trying to Sync my iCal calendars (at the top of the menu bar) to Google, with no avail. Obviously that is not supported.

But yes, as long as I have the Google calendar selected, then my entries are attached to the Google Cal and everything is kosher.

Since I wanted color coded entries for different types of events, I just had to create multiple Calendars in Google, rather than iCal. Then the additional Calendars must be enabled under the Delegation tab in your iCal account settings. Now the secondary calendars show up as Delegates on the menu bar. A little clunky but working flawlessly nonetheless.

Thanks for the help!

 

[tonyproscio]

Glad it worked! Now, someone with better knowledge of Google might want to explain to us why something so basic should turn out to be so hard -- and why so many forums are full of desperate people struggling with this same issue!

Anyway, it's a nice feeling when it finally works right, isn't it?

 

[Shaneathan]

I got CalDAV set up, but I have a question about the way the left bar is set up...

View attachment 1489

Why does it duplicate like that? And I'd like to minimize all of it, but then I can't see the colors of the calendars. Any advice?

 

[bgrubb7]

I find that annoying too, but don't how to change it. It would be even better if all my calendars would just show up under google with the main cal instead of as delegates...

 

[bgrubb7]

Only problem I have now is that when I add an event in iCal the reminders don't transfer to the Droid. I have to open up and re-edit the event on the Droid to add the reminder if I want it to alert me.

 

[bgrubb7]

Figured out the alerts. When you add an alert in iCal, make sure the alert type is a "message", NOT a "message with sound". The alert will then transfer to the Droid.