GCalendarSync v0.2 Release + Source

What is GCalendarSync? Go to the project page…

First, the links: source | binary cab

If you just want to use it on your mobile, hit that binary cab link from pocket IE and it will install for you. No, I didn’t sign my assemblies (i don’t have a real certificate), so be prepared to click through some warnings. You’ll need the .NET 2.0 Compact Framework installed for this app and you can get it from Microsoft here.

I have been using it for a day now with no issues but all the usual disclaimers apply. Use it at your own risk. I’m releasing this under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 License. Share it and Remix it, but let me know what you’re doing with it so we can enjoy it too.

Oops… It just came to my attention that there’s already something out there called GCalSync. Wow it’s a small world. That app is *shiver* in java, so I need a new name for this app! Suggestions please

More detailed release notes after the jump…

Important Note
Make sure your device timezone is set correctly.
When the app launches, the status bar will show your timezone, if it’s not correct go fix it before you sync. Google stores in GMT, and the app has to convert to local time for you. If your timezone isn’t right you’ll get wierd times on all your appointments, then you’ll have to delete them all off your device and re-sync. Not fun. Trust me.

Basic Usage

1. After you put in your account information and click Pick Calendars, it will connect and attempt to list your available calendars for you
2. Check off one or more calendars.
3. Make sure you go to Options->Choose Default. This will allow events created on the mobile device to be exported back to the google calendar.
4. Click Done and then Yes to do the initial import.
5. Import will take a little while, depending on how many events you have in the calendar. (All events are imported, this will be more flexible in the future)

Notes
Persistent Storage
All user settings are stored in plaintext in an xml file in the application directory. If you click the “Save Password” checkbox, then your password will also be stored in plaintext. I am minimally concerned about this myself, if that bothers you consider not saving your password, though you will have diminished functionality if you do that. There are a few places where the app uses the stored password instead of the text box value (an oversight on my part, this will be changed in the next release).

Sync Functions
New events created either on the Mobile or Online are synced. Changes made Online to dates and titles will be reflected on the mobile device. Other changes will not be merged. Date/Title changes on the mobile device to events already existing online will be overwritten by the online data. I need to write a better sync/merge function and that will come in the next release.

Authentication Issues
It appears that on occasion there is a random authentication failure to the API. I am guessing this happens if you try to sync too often, but couldn’t find any supporting documentation from google. If anyone wants to track that down, I’d be grateful.

Error Reporting
Errors which occur during runtime are recorded in a file somewhere near \applicationData\GCalSync\GCalSyncErrors.xml – this will help developers, and if you want to report bugs to me, include the stack trace from the error when you do.

Outlook
If you sync using ActiveSync or the Vista Sync Center, events added to your mobile calendar by this application will be merged back into your outlook calendar on the desktop. I don’t use Outlook, so I don’t think it’s a big deal, but it might affect you so you should know about it.

Future Plans
Merge Sync
As mentioned above, this feature is in progress.

Import Date Range Selection
To allow user to specify which events to import. i.e. everything from one week ago through two months in the future. or something.

Deletion Handling
Right now I have no way to detect and mirror event deletions, if you delete something from your mobile calendar, it will be re-imported at the next scheduled time. If you delete something online, it won’t be deleted off the mobile but will be orphaned instead. To handle this will require a more persistent state mechanism so that I know when an online event that used to be there doesn’t show up in the event list anymore.

Public Calendar URL Support
Right now you can import public calendars by just adding them to your Google Calender collection of calendars. Public calendars are also visible via a direct URL and I want to add a function so you can anonymously connect to calendars (even if you don’t have a Google Calendar account at all, you should still be able to import events from the Georgia Tech Basketball 06-07 public calendar for instance)

That’s it for now
If you have suggestions for improvements and features, leave me a comment and I’ll see what I can do. If you take the source and do something cool with it, drop a note so that everyone can check out your take on it.