Why Share a Calendar?

Google CalDAV keeps my busy family calendar in sync

With three active kids, my family has a lot going on. My wife, our au pair, and I are always heading in different directions, and new appointments are often added literally “in the field.” Baseball practice is rescheduled, a special ballet session is added, maybe a birthday party on Saturday. The iPhone makes it simple to add these events to a calendar, but it’s easy to forget or get out of sync.

Most devices can subscribe to multiple Internet-enabled calendar services and present a unified view. This includes iPhones, iPads, Blackberries, Androids, and popular desktop applications. Many services are read-only – that is, subscribers may view but not create or modify calendar items. But the CalDAV protocol allows any linked device to not only display events but create and update them as well!

What You Need

Google added CalDAV support back in July of 2008, and Apple added read/write support a year later in iPhone OS 3.0, so the iPad has always had this capability. Most other devices and applications support CalDAV as well.

You will probably want to create a special Gmail or Google Apps account just for this use. I use Google Apps for the Fosketts.net domain, so I created an account called “activities”. A regular Gmail account would probably work as well, but you’ll need to select a unique (and probably fairly odd) name.

Set It Up on iPhone or iPad

These instructions are specific to the iPhone or iPad, but other devices probably use similar steps.

1. Create a new Gmail or Google Apps account to use as the shared calendar. I called mine “activities@fosketts.net” but yours could use any name.
2. On the iPhone or iPad, enter the Settings screen.
3. Select “Mail, Contacts, Calendars”
4. Select “Add Account…”


Add an "Other" account in "Mail, Contacts, Calendars", then select "Add CalDAV Account"

5. Select “Other” – don’t just add it as a Gmail account!
6. Select “Add CalDAV Account”


Enter "www.google.com" for the server and your full Gmail or Apps email address as "User Name"

7. Enter “www.google.com” for the “Server”
8. Enter your full calendar account address for “User Name” (e.g. “activities@fosketts.net”)
9. Enter the account password
10. Enter a description (e.g. “Family Activities”)
11. The iPhone or iPad will now auto-detect Google’s CalDAV settings and configure the account

That’s all there is to it!

Using the Shared Calendar

Sharing a calendar is just like sharing an email account: Every device synchronizes its content with the server and new items are distributed automatically. Just remember to select this calendar whenever you create shared events, since it might not be the default.

Let’s walk through the creation of a new event on an iPhone or iPad:

1. Open the “Calendar” app
2. Tap the “+” sign to create a new event
3. In the “Add Event” screen, enter the Title, Location, Start and End time, etc.
4. Set any desired “Alert” items here – they’ll be synchronized too!
5. Tap “Calendar” and select the shared activities calendar – it might not be the default!
6. Tap “Done” and the iPhone or iPad will immediately send this new event to Google’s CalDAV server. It should show up on all subscribed phones and other devices within an hour.

Gotchas

The main gotcha is simply using the wrong calendar. Make sure you select this shared CalDAV calendar every time you add a shared calendar entry. If it’s not selected, it won’t be shared!

CalDAV is a great protocol, but sometimes it’s a little too thorough. Any changes made to the Alerts will propagate to all connected phones or other clients. If someone else adds an event, you may be surprised to have alerts begin showing up for events you didn’t create. They might also change the Alerts, adding a second or third alarm or email notification.

Google defaults to sending an email and pop-up alert before any event created, and these settings spill down to the iPhone, iPad, or iCal on OS X. I was pulling out my hair trying to stop the emails before I figured out I needed to remove them under “Settings”->”Notification” at calendar.google.com. Otherwise, they would automatically reappear even after I removed them in iCal!

Two-way sync only works with CalDAV, so devices that only support ICS can view but not create or update calendar items.

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2010. | How To Keep Your Family Activities In Sync With A Shared Google Calendar
This post was categorized as Everything, Features, Personal. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

Check it out! How To Keep Your Family Activities In Sync With A Shared Google Calendar

For the most up-to-date information, see my iPhone Exchange ActiveSync Guide!

This post is part of my series focused on integrating the iPhone with Microsoft Exchange using ActiveSync:

• iPhone OS 3.0 information:
  1. First Look: iPhone 3.0 And Exchange ActiveSync Integration
  2. How To Subscribe To Internet Calendars In iPhone OS 3.0
  3. How To Access LDAP Directories In iPhone OS 3.0
  4. iPhone 3.0 Exchange ActiveSync: Better But Not Perfect
• How To Set Up iPhone Exchange ActiveSync
1. A Few iPhone Exchange ActiveSync Gotchas
2. Can the iPhone Sync With Multiple Exchange Servers?

This is really a major advancement for the iPhone platform. With 3.0, you have many different calendar synchronization options and can mix and match, using all or none as you see fit:

How to Subscribe to a CalDAV Server (Like Google Calendar)

CalDAV is a powerful open protocol for calendar event synchronization. Lots of services support it, including Google’s free Calendar application, which is part of gmail and Google Apps. It’s a mash-up of WebDAV and ICS and supports two-way synchronization, notes, alerts, and such. iPhone OS 3.0 includes CalDAV as a supported protocol for over-the-air subscription and synchronization, so it can seamlessly synchronize your Google calendar with your phone calendar. Unlike ICS, however, you can create and edit CalDAV entries on the phone and the changes will quickly show up in your Google calendar.

iPhone 3.0 includes direct over-the-air use of CalDAV, ICS, and LDAP servers

Setting up CalDAV, though hidden, is pretty slick. Follow these steps:

1. On the iPhone, select “Settings”
2. Select “Mail, Contacts, Calendars”
3. Select”Add Account…” under “Accounts”
4. Select “Other” at the bottom
5. Select “Add CalDAV Account”
6. Enter “www.google.com” for “Server” – the iPhone will automatically identify this as a google CalDAV server!
7. Enter your gmail user name (e.g. “sfoskett”) or full google apps username and domain (e.g. “stephen@fosketts.net”) for “User”
8. Enter your password for “Password”
9. Optionally modify the description
10. Select “Next” and you’re done!

The iPhone recognizes Google Calendar – it’s smart enough to “know” that when you enter “www.google.com” as the CalDAV server it needs to correctly format the URL for Google. Other CalDAV server types might need some tweaking, which you can do in the Advanced tab of the CalDAV’s account in Settings.

All CalDAV calendars are bi-directional, meaning you can create or edit entries and they will (eventually) synchronize on both the phone and calendar server. In my tests, items modified on the iPhone showed up almost immediately, while changes made on Google’s calendar server took a few minutes to show up.

Two notes on CalDAV:

1. Although the documentation says it’s read-only, my Google Calendar absolutely, definitely, is read/write: I can create and modify appointments in the Google Calendar on the iPhone and it shows up online.
2. The “Sync events x weeks back” limit in settings does not apply to CalDAV or ICS! Large numbers of events will cause Calendar to be very, very slow. Beware!

Other popular apps also support CalDAV, including Apple Leopard Server’s iCal Server, Yahoo Calendar, and Zimbra.

I use this capability as a shared family activities calendar. What ideas do you have?

How to Subscribe to an iCalendar Server/.ICS feed

iCalendar is an older calendar subscription format, and many servers offer .ICS feeds of calendar entries. I particularly love TripIt‘s free travel itinerary service, which is available as an ICS feed. iPhone OS 3.0 also includes iCal as a supported protocol for over-the-air subscription, so you can view your ICS feeds right in your phone calendar. Note that iCalendar is read-only, like an RSS feed, so you cannot create or edit items on the phone.

Tap a link to a .ics file and the iPhone will ask to subscribe

The simplest way to subscribe to an ICS feed is simply to email the link to yourself. The iPhone interprets any URL ending in “.ics” as a iCalendar feed and asks if you want to subscribe. This ensures that the link is typed correctly.

Note: This no longer works in iOS 4.2! Now you have to add it in Settings. See Apple Breaks ICS Calendar Auto-Subscription In iOS 4.2.

If you need to manually set up an iCalendar feed, it’s very similar to CalDAV. Follow these steps:

1. Locate the calendar feed you want to use and copy it using OS 3.0′s new copy and paste features
   1. If you use TripIt, log into your account in the iPhone Safari browser
   2. Select the “iCal Feed” icon in your main page
   3. In the popup, select “Subscribe to calendar feed”
   4. Tap and hold the resulting URL (which begins with “webcal://”) until the “Copy” box appears
   5. Tap “Copy”
2. Go back to the hope screen and select “Settings”
3. Select “Mail, Contacts, Calendars”
4. Select”Add Account…” under “Accounts”
5. Select “Other” at the bottom
6. Select “Add Subscribed Calendar”
7. Select the “Server” box and tap “Paste”
8. Select “Next”
9. Optionally modify the description

Updates to the iCalendar feed will now show up in your calendar. These are read only, of course, but it’s awfully nice to be able to subscribe to a TripIt or Dopplr feed or the Red Sox schedule on your phone!

One more time: The “Sync events x weeks back” limit in settings does not apply to CalDAV or ICS! Large numbers of events will cause Calendar to be very, very slow. Beware!

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2009. | How To Subscribe To Internet Calendars In iPhone OS 3.0
This post was categorized as Apple, Personal. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

This blog post is probably out of date. If you want to set up Exchange ActiveSync, you should instead consult one my guides:
	iPhone Exchange ActiveSync Setup		iPad Exchange ActiveSync Setup
	iPhone ActiveSync Troubleshooting		iPad ActiveSync Troubleshooting

iPhone OS 3.0 is here, offering enhancements for enterprise Exchange ActiveSync

iPhone OS 3.0 was released today, and I’ve had a chance to play with it for a bit now. I am very impressed with the improvements Apple has made, and think that 3.0 will be much more welcome in Microsoft Exchange environments. However, it’s still not quite up to the high standard set by the BlackBerry.

Wondering how to get Exchange working in 3.0? Start here:
How To Set Up iPhone Exchange ActiveSync

For the most up-to-date information, see my iPhone Exchange ActiveSync Guide!

This post is part of my series focused on integrating the iPhone with Microsoft Exchange using ActiveSync:

• iPhone OS 3.0 information:
  1. First Look: iPhone 3.0 And Exchange ActiveSync Integration
  2. How To Subscribe To Internet Calendars In iPhone OS 3.0
  3. How To Access LDAP Directories In iPhone OS 3.0
  4. iPhone 3.0 Exchange ActiveSync: Better But Not Perfect
• How To Set Up iPhone Exchange ActiveSync
1. A Few iPhone Exchange ActiveSync Gotchas
2. Can the iPhone Sync With Multiple Exchange Servers?

Major Changes

Apple made some significant updates to all three of the components touched by ActiveSync: Mail, Calendar, and Contacts.

• The Calendar has been totally re-done, more smoothly supporting multiple calendars, syncing with local calendars and Exchange at the same time, CalDAV and .ICS natively, and allowing on-phone creation of meeting invitations for Exchange users.
• The Contacts application can now sync with local address books and Exchange at the same time.
• Mail is more flexible, with per-folder downloading of Exchange messages.

As I noted last month, however, OS 3.0 is not all roses. In particular, the following issues continue to haunt the phone:

1. The iPhone only supports full ActiveSync with a single Exchange server. Although you are free to establish as many IMAP connections as you like, including connecting to Exchange with IMAP, you cannot use more than one ActiveSync service.
2. Still no notes and tasks sync (with Exchange). Although iPhone OS 3.0 does allow synchronization of notes with Apple Mail for Mac users, it does not support Exchange or Apple’s own MobileMe over-the-air services.
3. No public folder support.
4. ICS and CalDAV seems to be desktop-sync only.
5. Spotlight does not include full-text search of mail messages.
6. Push email remains slow, flaky, and battery-consuming. This is a very tough nut to crack!

Mail

The mail application gets numerous improvements for all mail servers. Notable among these is landscape mode and spotlight search. When it comes to Exchange ActiveSync, the changes are harder to notice. One thing that struck me was the ability to specify which folders to “push” along with the Inbox. Perhaps this was there all along and I missed it, but I never noticed it before.

Note that the Push settings have been moved under “Mail, Contacts, Calendars” in OS 3.0.

Calendar

OS 3.0 is much more sensible in organizing and synchronizing multiple calendar types

Although iPhone OS 2.0 supported multiple calendars, it was very confusing and not at all integrated with Exchange. OS 3.0 has cleaned things up significantly. As illustrated, the iPhone now organizes calendars into categories: Those synced from the Mac or PC and those synced over the air from an Exchange server.

That’s right – the iPhone can now sync calendar entries over both USB and Exchange at the same time! This is super handy, since iTunes supports CalDAV and ICS subscribed calendars through iCal on OS X, and presumably on Windows as well. I’ve written before about TripIt’s solid iPhone app, and this gives another way to view trips. But the iPhone doesn’t seem to support either CalDAV of ICS over the air, which is something of a disappointment. We can’t have everything, can we? Update: I missed it! iPhone OS 3.0 does include over-the-air CalDAV and ICS!

Of course, the new spotlight search supports calendar entries as well, allowing quick access to appointments.

Perhaps the most-anticipated calendar feature for iPhone OS 3.0 is meeting invite support. I can confirm that it is possible to create a meeting, add attendees, and send invites right from the iPhone, and that this works over the air! This is a specific Exchange feature, so of course it only works for the Exchange calendar. But you can easily change an existing non-exchange item to the Exchange calendar and start inviting attendees, even those not using Exchange.

But there are still limitations. You cannot add invitees to someone else’s meeting. You cannot make any changes to an appointment synced from the desktop (CalDAV and ICS included). You cannot forward a meeting request from the calendar app. You cannot see free/busy time when scheduling. It’s not like you have Outlook in your pocket!

One more weird thing I noticed: Nearly every app now has a landscape mode, including mail and contacts, but calendar is locked in portrait only!

Contacts

Like calendars, contacts now supports both iTunes and over-the-air Exchange syncing

The other application to see some updates is Contacts. Like the calendar app, Contacts can now sync to both local desktop and over-the-air Exchange sources at the same time. The iPhone sync combines desktop sources into an “on my iPhone” category and maintains Exchange contacts separately. It also includes access to an Exchange global address list (GAL), and this seems to work much better now than it used to.

Contact management is somewhat limited, however. If you locate a user in the GAL, you can’t add them to your Exchange or iPhone contact list without copy and paste (did I mention that it works?) or finding an email message from them. The phone also has no de-duplication features, so if your desktop contact list is synced with Exchange already you will have a world of duplicate entries.

Summary

All in all, iPhone OS 3.0 is a worthwhile upgrade, especially for business users. Everything seems to work more smoothly and logically than in 2.0, and the added Exchange calendar invite support is great. The complete set of additions, from copy and paste to spotlight search, are excellent as well. But, like the Mac, the iPhone remains just a bit left-of-center in the world of business and Microsoft Exchange. Maybe that’s for the best!

Check out Paul Robichaux’s comments on 3.0′s mail as well!

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2009. | First Look: iPhone 3.0 And Exchange ActiveSync Integration
This post was categorized as Apple, Personal. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

iPhone OS 3.0 is coming, offering enhancements for enterprise Exchange ActiveSync

As the release of iPhone OS 3.0 nears, I set out to discover how the new OS changes the iPhone’s ability to synchronize data with Microsoft Exchange servers using ActiveSync. What follows here is my deductions so far, and is of course subject to change when the new OS is released!

For the most up-to-date information, see my iPhone Exchange ActiveSync Guide!

This post is part of my series focused on integrating the iPhone with Microsoft Exchange using ActiveSync:

• iPhone OS 3.0 information:
  1. First Look: iPhone 3.0 And Exchange ActiveSync Integration
  2. How To Subscribe To Internet Calendars In iPhone OS 3.0
  3. How To Access LDAP Directories In iPhone OS 3.0
  4. iPhone 3.0 Exchange ActiveSync: Better But Not Perfect
• How To Set Up iPhone Exchange ActiveSync
1. A Few iPhone Exchange ActiveSync Gotchas
2. Can the iPhone Sync With Multiple Exchange Servers?

New ActiveSync Features

1. iPhone OS 3.0 allows users to create meeting invitations! Finally, right from the phone, you will be able to set up meetings, select invitees, and send invitations. Initial reports are that this functionality is definite and fairly complete.
2. Enhanced mail search includes contacts, messages, and even mail still on the Exchange server! This is a huge and welcome addition. No longer will you be frustrated that the iPhone didn’t download that one important message from last month, and no longer will you have to scroll around trying to locate it! This is integrated into the new Spotlight screen: Flick left from the home screen and you’ll be able to search email, contacts, calendars, and all other phone content! But Spotlight only searches message metadata, not message content.

New Related Features

1. The calendar app supports CalDAV and ICS calendars as well as ActiveSync, making it much easier to use Google, Yahoo, and TripIt calendars. But these probably will not be integrated and synchronized with the ActiveSync calendar, leaving you in multiple-calendar hell.
2. Peer-to-peer contact exchange using BlueTooth seems certain. Since the iPhone gracefully integrates on-phone changes with ActiveSync contacts already, this will be a welcome way to build out one’s Exchange address book.
3. Cut, copy, and paste are definitely in, and will work in the mail, contacts, and calendar apps!
4. The mail app now supports landscape mode, with its larger keyboard.
5. A new API for email within applications would be compatible with Exchange, allowing a new family of corporate apps and possibly mitigating some of the missing features. I can imagine someone developing a far more feature-packed email client which embeds the native email client and extends its support to public folders, for example.
6. iPhones running 3.0 appear to allow automatic on-demand connections to VPNs. Again, not specifically an ActiveSync feature, but this would make the process of accessing a firewalled Exchange server more friendly.
7. OS 3.0 supports LDAP servers. Although this is not an ActiveSync issue per se, it could allow a workaround for the single-ActiveSync issue (which remains). LDAP contacts would make the basic IMAP email connection with a second Exchange server somewhat more tolerable. But it’s not yet clear if LDAP contacts are all that functional in 3.0, or whether they’ll make the cut at all.

Bad News

1. The iPhone will remain limited to full ActiveSync with a single Exchange server. Although you are free to establish as many IMAP connections as you like, including connecting to Exchange with IMAP, you cannot use more than one ActiveSync service. However, as noted above, 3.0 does include LDAP support so at least the contacts from your second Exchange server might be accessible.
2. Still no notes sync (with Exchange). Although iPhone OS 3.0 does allow synchronization of notes with Apple Mail for Mac users, it does not appear to support Exchange or Apple’s own MobileMe over-the-air services.
3. Spotlight does not include full-text search of mail messages. Although it’s nice to be able to search through everything on the iPhone, and even content on the Exchange server, you still have to remember the sender, subject, etc.
4. Battery life is poor with Exchange ActiveSync push and the new push notifications enabled. iPhone push battery life has been a problem for quite a while.

As the iPhone OS 3.0 release nears, I will keep my eyes open for enterprise Exchange ActiveSync features and post them here. Subscribe to my Apple feed for up-to-date details!

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2009. | iPhone 3.0 Exchange ActiveSync: Better But Not Perfect
This post was categorized as Apple. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.