[APP] Google Calendar Merge - use multiple calendars now... - Windows Mobile Apps and Games

If anyone uses Google Sync to get all their gmail and calendar data through the exchange server, you've probably been pretty happy with the service.
EXCEPT for the fact that you can only display your primary google calendar on your Windows Mobile Phone. I don't think Google is going to do anything about this, so I decided to write my own solution.
This is a program that runs on your Windows desktop/laptop and takes any of the calendars you view in Google Calendar and merges them into one calendar... your primary calendar. AND THEY WILL STAY IN SYNC! Meaning: if you change the date or any info on one calendar, this tool will copy those changes to your phone. If you make any changes on your phone, this tool will make those changes to the original calendar your event was from.
This is still in beta stage... so BACKUP ALL YOUR CALENDAR DATA FIRST!!!!! I have also included a function to copy all your primary calendar data to a secondary calendar. You can then use the primary calendar solely for syncing to and from your device.
Known bugs:
1. If you try to sync a calendar that you do NOT have write access to, you're going to get some funky results... it won't work yet. DON'T sync to calendars you don't have write access to.
2. If you sync a calendar, then you stop syncing it (meaning you uncheck the box) and run sync a few times, I'm pretty sure the next time you start syncing that calendar, the whole calendar will get deleted! I haven't made this thing idiot-proof yet. If you want to unsync a calendar with the option of syncing it again at another time, I have included a tool to remove all "tags" from all calendars. Run it! It basically lets you "start over".
3. There's an issue with calendar events remaining on the main calendar after you stop syncing one of your other calendars. I'll get that fixed.
4. There are various error handling routines I still need to add... such as if you screw up the login, it will crash. No biggie yet...
Besides these there are other bugs, I'm sure. However, I'm fairly certain this works for everyday use... I use it to sync my calendar and my fiancee's calendar. Now I see both sets of events on my windows mobile phone.
FYI, for those with security/privacy concerns, I used the sample Google login code that came with the Google Data API, unaltered.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}

I should mention that once this program is stable (and useful), I intend to port it to the device to run in the background.

looks great, but please explain:
1. how are all the combined events displayed in the merged calendar?: if i have an event in a "work" calendar - how will be displayed in the main calendar? by category "work"?
2. how can i see on the device (which can only sync that main calendar) from which google calendar an event is? - for example, how can i know an event on the device is from "work" calendar?
3. when i create an event on the device - how can i choose to which calendar/category will it be synched?

roisagi said:
looks great, but please explain:
1. how are all the combined events displayed in the merged calendar?: if i have an event in a "work" calendar - how will be displayed in the main calendar? by category "work"?
2. how can i see on the device (which can only sync that main calendar) from which google calendar an event is? - for example, how can i know an event on the device is from "work" calendar?
3. when i create an event on the device - how can i choose to which calendar/category will it be synched?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aha, well, that is why this is in beta.
1. First of all, there's no way to do anything by category using Google Sync. It just doesn't work that way. So far, there's nothing to identify which calendar it came from.
2. Again, there's no way to tell yet... but I can easily add some code to change the name of the event to something like "[W] Name of Event" so that you would know it came from work.
3. As of this moment, you can only pick ONE calendar that will echo any new event you create on your device. (This is the list of calendars in the 2nd box.) However, as this program gets more advanced, and we add a naming scheme like in point #2, I could try and have the program interpret which calendar it goes into by the header you put in for the event title ([W]...). Or, I could just have the program ask you which calendar it needs to go in when it finds a new event. This second part may have to wait until I move the program over to the mobile phone (which I don't want to do until this thing is optimized or else it's going to suck batteries dry).

Thanks, software like this is on my "wanted" list for long now. Hope you can make it bug free, and a WM version would be great!
Is there anyway to donate?
I use my Google calendar in every day life, and will not risk testing with it, but will try testing with other calendars.

Since nuevasync has stopped being free; I've started looking for an alternative and found this.
Unfortunately it won't run, 'Google_Calendar1 has encountered a problem and needs to close'

This is a splendid initiative.
I'll see if I can risk my data to test this

Did it work?

This is funny... I got no response for a long time so I figured no one cared. I decided to go for something different in the end. I will be getting a Windows 7 Phone within a couple months and decided that one calendar per account (on phone 7) would work just fine for me.
I even deleted VS2008 because I figured I wouldn't need it anymore.
If anyone wants the source code I have so far, I'd be willing to post it. It's written in Visual C#, but it really doesn't have many comments. You'd need to install the Google Data API for Visual Studio, too.

makku12, I for me I wasn't looking for something to do this as I was happy with what I had (nuevasync), but now they want to charge $15 when all I want is to be able to sync my google calendar with my mobile.
All everyone (there are questions and queries all over the internet from loads of people) wants to do is be able to sync all their google calendars with WM, whilst this wasn't that solution, it at least offered an opportunity to get there with an added stage in between.
Google have provided the opportunity to do just one calendar and despite many requests on their forums to enhance this, they haven't. Neuvasync worked by using the category field to keep the calendars separate; I just wish someone a lot more technically gifted than me could do the same.
I've tried oggsync but that seems to be an hour off the true time and again is only for one calendar in the free version (and $30 per annum for more!), gmobilesync is my best bet at the moment, but it is a beta which hasn't been updated for over a year.

grayme said:
Google have provided the opportunity to do just one calendar and despite many requests on their forums to enhance this, they haven't. Neuvasync worked by using the category field to keep the calendars separate; I just wish someone a lot more technically gifted than me could do the same.
I've tried oggsync but that seems to be an hour off the true time and again is only for one calendar in the free version (and $30 per annum for more!), gmobilesync is my best bet at the moment, but it is a beta which hasn't been updated for over a year.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As long as you're using Google Sync (google's exchange server) to get your email and calendar data, you'll never be able to use the categories feature in outlook calendars. You're limited to what you get from them...
BUT, that gives me an idea. I was using Google as the base since their API is very easy to use. But now I'm thinking it might be better to merge all of your Google Calendar data into a primary Windows Live (hotmail) calendar. I'd have to study how to interact with the Windows Live calendar but that way I could use the category option! Now that Hotmail provides an free exchange server to sync with, this might be the way to go. Let me check up on this...
(FYI, this would be damn useful because Windows Phone is limited to ONE calendar per account. It's not quite as limited as WM6.5, but you still can't sync multiple calendars within one account.)

makku12 said:
As long as you're using Google Sync (google's exchange server) to get your email and calendar data, you'll never be able to use the categories feature in outlook calendars. You're limited to what you get from them...
BUT, that gives me an idea. I was using Google as the base since their API is very easy to use. But now I'm thinking it might be better to merge all of your Google Calendar data into a primary Windows Live (hotmail) calendar. I'd have to study how to interact with the Windows Live calendar but that way I could use the category option! Now that Hotmail provides an free exchange server to sync with, this might be the way to go. Let me check up on this...
(FYI, this would be damn useful because Windows Phone is limited to ONE calendar per account. It's not quite as limited as WM6.5, but you still can't sync multiple calendars within one account.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I was using Neuvasyc, I was using their exchange server so they must have found a way to interface with google's calendar to use the category function to distinguish between the different calendars. Are you saying that you can find a way to get hotmail to do the same so you can just use hotmail as we used to use Nuevasync?
If that doesn't work, a way to do the same on the PC with Outlook's categories would be great.

Shame... I just bumped into this thread some time ago, wish I was sooner. Please all vote it to front page, so it will get more attention and someone will pick up development.
makku12 said:
This is funny... I got no response for a long time so I figured no one cared. I decided to go for something different in the end. I will be getting a Windows 7 Phone within a couple months and decided that one calendar per account (on phone 7) would work just fine for me.
I even deleted VS2008 because I figured I wouldn't need it anymore.
If anyone wants the source code I have so far, I'd be willing to post it. It's written in Visual C#, but it really doesn't have many comments. You'd need to install the Google Data API for Visual Studio, too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Bump...

Related

Is MS retarded, or is it me ? Contact photos and some other things.

After using Google calendar for about a year, I finally gave up. The service, for most part, is reliable, the calendar loads fast, but there's no way to sync Todo's and I have tons of them. Used to work around this by using GogTasks but the latest change from Google broke the sign-in process so there's no (free) way now to sync tasks.
So, I decided to give MS another try. Synced to Windows Live - this time calendar sync worked (I had a major problem with it a year ago). Still, there's a few issues.
1) It appears MS no longer allows syncing multiple calendars to Win Mob device.
2) It appears MS no longer supports categories in Tasks or Appointments.
3) It appears there's no way to add contact photos unless contacts create a Windows Live account and set up a profile picture.
Now, I can live with 1 and 2. It sucks but I guess there are some underlying problems they were trying to get rid of - AS always used to choke on category sync.
#3, in our day and age, is completely, utterly retarded. I don't understand why they did it. I don't understand the thinking behind it. Do they seriously think everybody in my contact list will just stampede all over one another rushing to create their own Windows Live ID ? The only thing more retarded is Google's joke of a practically unusable task list.
I'll stick with WL for now - unless I get an Android device next, and unless I start having problems syncing, I'd rather have bastardized Contacts and ToDos than "normal" Contacts and no ToDos. Still, why isn't there a single online provider that just works for basic PIM info on WinMob ?
gmail?
I use exchange and pocket outlook to sync my calendar and contacts with my gmail account - google runs the exchange server for free. I add my todos to wm's built in calendar app and gmail syncs them with google calendar or put it in google calendar save then sync your phone. It also syncs all my contacts including contact pictures - when I hard reset I just sync and everything is there - the only thing it will not sync is tasks so I just put them as appointments in the calendar.
http://www.google.com/support/mobile/bin/answer.py?answer=138636&topic=14299
The first 2 I just learned of today, it is a pain it doesn't do that, and this is one huge deal breaker for me to go almost to another OS as a whole, this whole unintegrated Microsoft ecosphere. It seems like though that Microsoft finally understands how broken they are and are finally integrating things all together, but that's only in their new products.
As for your problems...
1) Windows Mobile devices never synced multiple calendars, even with Google Calendar (you could get around it with other programs though which I used to do but alas, that was broken like you mentioned when Google updated...)
2) I'm not sure but my categories sync, when I make them in WLM Messenger (Favorites category seems to be syncing). Maybe the work around is to make it in WLM or on Live. Doesn't seem to sync the categories from your phone though....
3) I don't know what exactly is wrong, because I have been able to sync contact photos on my phone. I'm not sure if you're trying to do it from the Live services side of things though, if so, then I think it's impossible unless you do it through Windows Live Messenger.
Wow! This is all very interesting. A few weeks ago, my company's Blackberry server was upgraded. At the same time, MS Activesync stopped working for me. It gave me an error message code 80004005. I Googled this and it said that some software needed to be upgraded or something like that. I had assumed that because the security in my company's IT department is so strict, this had put a spanner in the works somehow into Activesync.
From what you guys are saying, it is a microsoft thing. I thought it was a RIM thing.
I am currently syncing with Blackberry Connect for both appointments and contacts. This is an old and crap system.
The contacts don't sync with their photos and also they sync lastname, firstname whereas I have set my preference to firstname, lastname. I then have to manually change this on my WM6.5 phone
The calendar syncing is also crap. Catagories don't sync and also some annually recurring appointments show up on my WM6.5 phone one month early!
I don't have Windows Live installed on my phone. If I did, would Activesync then work? Would it get rid of the 80004005 error code?

[Q] Are there any sync solutions for Android that actually work?

Over the last few weeks, I've been talking more about the things that make Android very annoying to use after I was forced to switch from regular Windows Mobile last October. So far we've covered forced roaming on the fly (still no conclusive answer to that one), programs that close themselves (also inconclusive), and broken update nagscreens. Today, I've decided to finally present to you guys the most difficult and most baffling problem yet - one that I've spent numerous hours on and reading countless threads asking the same question, but still not seeing any way to fix the problem, and that is one of the most simple things to ask from a mobile operating system: syncing.
That's right - you'd think it's that simple, right? Hit a button, and all the changes to your tasks, contacts, and calendar items that were changed last on the computer or the device should be properly updated. This feature is completely absent on a stock or custom setup of Android. I mean, it's not new - my Windows Mobile 6 Diamond had it, my Windows Mobile 2003 iPAQ had it, my Palm OS 4 Palm had it, and Palm OS has been around since what - 1995? How can something so simple present in as early as a 1996 handheld with a 16Mhz processor and 512KB of RAM and ROM running Palm OS 1 not be available to my 1000+Mhz Epic with half a gigabyte of RAM and ROM running the "latest and greatest" Android 2.3? Windows Mobile had it too, and my PIM stuff is still managed using a software called Microsoft Outlook in what I think is a pretty satisfactory means.
History aside, my question is this: Are there ANY good sync solutions for Android? I've tried numerous solutions including VCOrganizer, CompanionLink, MyPhone Explorer, and probably others. All I need is syncronization in some way with the computer (preferably USB) and the device that will sync my contacts, calendar entries (including recurring ones), and tasks (including categories and recurrences). Some of these software do some of the job right, wether it be just the contacts or just the calendar entries (none of them did the tasks right at all - and I need those the most), but none of them came close to doing everything right :: it seemed like they did five things wrong for every one thing they did right.
I didn't even realize the problem was this bad, after all, Windows Mobile did these right out of the box even on a stock "unmodded" device; you'd just plug in the USB cable and go - it would (usually) just sync itself, no questions asked. Hopefully somebody else knows what to do about this because I'm just at the end of my rope on these - I've put probably no less than a running total of five hours into figuring this out and I'd like to just be able to sync up my contacts, calendar, and tasks on Android - is it too much to ask?
Thanks in advance.
- 2 Bunny
An exchange email account.
Seriously, you can't do this on any current platform. Annoys the hell out of me - no local pc sync...
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
Everything moved to the cloud instead of you having to remember to sync. You can have your contacts, email, calendar sync with a gmail account or other services. Are you looking for something that isn't connected remotely and only syncs local data on the phone with local data on a computer?
spunker88 said:
Everything moved to the cloud instead of you having to remember to sync. You can have your contacts, email, calendar sync with a gmail account or other services. Are you looking for something that isn't connected remotely and only syncs local data on the phone with local data on a computer?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd rather have my information with me. After trolls/lobbyists shut down probably the biggest "cloud" in the world, MegaUpload, I don't trust "the cloud" for sync or backup of any kind. I just need something that will sync the contacts, calendar items (with recurrences), and tasks (with categories and recurrences) with my computer by any means (preferrably USB cable).
- 2B
kainppc6700 said:
I'd rather have my information with me. After trolls/lobbyists shut down probably the biggest "cloud" in the world, MegaUpload, I don't trust "the cloud" for sync or backup of any kind. I just need something that will sync the contacts, calendar items (with recurrences), and tasks (with categories and recurrences) with my computer by any means (preferrably USB cable).
- 2B
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand, long time Windows Mobile user as well if you noticed the Axim x50 in my signature. Still many things I miss from that OS like TCPMP and the taskbar based multitasking app Magic Button.
Anyways as far as what you want check out Android-Sync, it works with Outlook since you mentioned you use it. From their website:
Android-Sync account is an Android account, that stores your contacts, calendars, tasks and notes in your Android phone. It syncs with Outlook using your USB cable only.
The Android-Sync account keeps all your sensitive personal information, like contacts, calendars, tasks and notes from being transferred to the third party via public internet connections.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would something like this be what you want?
http://www.android-sync.com/
spunker88 said:
I understand, long time Windows Mobile user as well if you noticed the Axim x50 in my signature. Still many things I miss from that OS like TCPMP and the taskbar based multitasking app Magic Button.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I was surfing on the Android XDA DEVELOPERS program (I probably could just use the full site while I'm at home where there's halfway decent bandwidth). I was actually thinking about TCPMP not that long ago and complaining in another thread about the inability to play streaming radio on Android (since the Epic has the internal FM Radio disabled) so that I can eat tons of data and kill the battery really fast.
spunker88 said:
Anyways as far as what you want check out Android-Sync, it works with Outlook since you mentioned you use it. From their website:
Would something like this be what you want?
http://www.android-sync.com/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll tell you what, I've been through so many of those software that I forget which ones worked or not, and the site for this one looks kind of familiar so I'll need to recap on this one. Is it free? If not, is there a fully functional trial? Have you tried it? If so, do you still use it?
Thanks.
- 2B
In the same boat
I also come from the same background (HTC TP2 6.5.3 with Sense and Cookies, the most complete and uniform solution, too bad it was abandon ).
So I am also trying to figure out what is the best way to synch to Outlook, I understand the advantage of the cloud and do not mind that much if my data transit through the cloud, but it needs to end up in Outlook (I cannot live without Outlook, there is no cloud email, calendar or task that is as feature rich and efficient to use as Outlook from a business user perspective). Since I am a self-employed IT consultant, I do not have access to an Exchange server.
Basically I am looking for the same functionality that I had with ActiveSych (MobileCenter):
Bidirectional with a choice offered if changed on both side
Calendar to Outlook 2010 (full: recurring, category, attendees…)
Contact to Outlook 2010 (full: note, category, picture, anniversary…)
Task to Outlook 2010 (full: note, category, recurring…)
Files from a specific folder
Pictures would be nice…
So right now I am going through this list, from syncdroid.net, I will post my findings (please do the same):
Android-Sync
CompanionLink for Outlook
gSyncit
Mobisynapse
Moonrug
Moxier Mail
MyLink Advanced
MyPhoneExplorer
RoadSync
The Missing Sync
Touchdown
Triosync
VCOrganizer
---------- Post added at 05:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:11 PM ----------
2 Bunny,
Could you please expand on the problems/limitations that you found with:
VCOrganizer,
CompanionLink,
MyPhone Explorer,
Other...
Thanks,
ANDROID SUCKS SOMETIMES Reply
Stephane Dufault said:
I also come from the same background (HTC TP2 6.5.3 with Sense and Cookies, the most complete and uniform solution, too bad it was abandon ).
So I am also trying to figure out what is the best way to synch to Outlook, I understand the advantage of the cloud and do not mind that much if my data transit through the cloud, but it needs to end up in Outlook (I cannot live without Outlook, there is no cloud email, calendar or task that is as feature rich and efficient to use as Outlook from a business user perspective). Since I am a self-employed IT consultant, I do not have access to an Exchange server.
Basically I am looking for the same functionality that I had with ActiveSych (MobileCenter):
Bidirectional with a choice offered if changed on both side
Calendar to Outlook 2010 (full: recurring, category, attendees…)
Contact to Outlook 2010 (full: note, category, picture, anniversary…)
Task to Outlook 2010 (full: note, category, recurring…)
Files from a specific folder
Pictures would be nice…
So right now I am going through this list, from syncdroid.net, I will post my findings (please do the same):
Android-Sync
CompanionLink for Outlook
gSyncit
Mobisynapse
Moonrug
Moxier Mail
MyLink Advanced
MyPhoneExplorer
RoadSync
The Missing Sync
Touchdown
Triosync
VCOrganizer
---------- Post added at 05:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:11 PM ----------
2 Bunny,
Could you please expand on the problems/limitations that you found with:
VCOrganizer,
CompanionLink,
MyPhone Explorer,
Other...
Thanks,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll tell you what - it's been a long time since I've been through those. All I know is that I've tried every single one that could possibly work and MyPhoneExplorer (the only one that is free without visiting shady "free paid software" websites) is the best. Here's what I observed in another test that I did today:
Installation:
On the desktop, you install a "MyPhoneExplorer" client which goes smoothly - you also install an apk on the device which installs three programs: The sync manager - which just shows you if it is connected and allows you to change various sync settings, and also dedicated "tasks" and "notes" programs (calendars and tasks are synced directly to their native android counterparts, which is a plus).
Use:
General
You click on the icon and do some setting up and you realize that it does a lot more than just syncing - you can not only manage your files without enabling the USB mode and monitor the device (battery, CPU use, signal, etc), but you can even make/receive calls and send/receive text messages right on your desktop while your handheld is connected which is a remarkable feature that I know for a fact none of the other software had. It is worth noting however, that this connection is relatively flaky and doesn't always connect right away and sometimes will stall and disconnect while you are syncing things.
Contacts
You get good control of your syncing on the contacts and the software asks for confirmation to each and every change made (for better or for worse, usually better) and it usually makes the right guess for which way each item needs to be synced. Unfortunately, it sometimes decides to add a "+" in front of some of my contacts' phone numbers; for example, "555.555.5555" might become "+555.555.5555" on the device, which will cause any calls or text messages to that number to fail. Oddly, this only occurs when you select it to import that number from outlook (and only some entries are like this) when they clearly aren't actually like that. It has no "full name" field, but they still show up okay on the Android contact list when synced.
Notes
Don't use, didn't test.
Tasks/Calendar
Tasks and calendar items are synced together under their own combined tab in the desktop client (which confused me for the longest time when I first installed it because I just couldn't find where the tasks got synced to since there was no option in the sidebar). First sync seemed to get everything from outlook onto the device, but it is worth mentioning that there are absolutely no categories or recurrences (this doesn't seem to be even available in the software). If you check a recurring task as complete, it will not "respawn" until synchronization is completed next (not good for say daily recurrences if you forget to sync on a daily basis). Tasks created on the handheld don't always get created, but usually they do. As for calendar items, they (astoundingly) all sync correctly.
If you want, I could take a look at the other softwares again and make an exhaustive description of each, but it is extremely time consuming. I would recommend experimenting your results, and if you learn anything from my mistakes, WRITE DOWN YOUR RESULTS .
Good Luck.
- 2 Bunny
ANDROID CAN'T EVEN SYNC IT'S SO PATHETIC Reply
If anybody has any updates on this, that would be great.
Thanks.
- 2B
Hey guys, I feel your pain. A bit of background: I came from a HTC Touch HD WinMo6.1 and had problem-free usb sync with outlook (complete with Jeyo SMS sync add-in). Then moved to HTC HD2 WinMo6.5 and Office 365 to make use of the OTA sms sync feature but the phone just kept freezing. Gave that up and recently moved to HTC One X with Touchdown which I'm now testing.
SMS sync is my main priority so my problems are a little different.
My experience with Touchdown so far: It works smoothly with Exchange, quick and responsive, and syncs notes and sms too, which is great (apart from the usual mail, calendar and tasks). Working with email on Touchdown is much better than on the stock Email app on the phone. But I don't like the way it saves contacts from incoming calls and sms - a big issue for me because I get a lot of incoming contacts. Another big problem: sms sync is far from perfect (smses sent from the phone does not sync up to exchange and caller/contact IDs do not show when SMS is received).
My workaround was then to run Touchdown together with an Exchange Activesync account set up just to sync my contacts to the native phonebook (People App) but I'm having sync problems here too. (Just posted this issue on XDA on another thread).
It looks like I now need some combination of OTA sync plus some app for USB sync just to make sure everything is synced up properly. But all options seem to be a compromise so far and I'm pulling out my hair too.
Am prepared to test out a few apps and contribute my 2 cents. Will follow this post with great interest...
So because megaupload was shut down for storing absolutely massive amounts of illegal movies, tv shows, music, programs etc etc, you don't trust any part of the internet cloud?
Google is not illegal, it cannot be used in such a way as megaupload was used.
I personally sync my contacts, calendar, email, etc etc with my gmail. Completely flawless and syncs within 20 seconds of me changing something on my tablet and then looking over at my phone. Done.
And the best part? It's built into the OS. No need for sluggish 3rd party apps or programs that has bugs and flaws.
SYNCRONIZATION Reply
UKC1 said:
Hey guys, I feel your pain. A bit of background: I came from a HTC Touch HD WinMo6.1 and had problem-free usb sync with outlook (complete with Jeyo SMS sync add-in). Then moved to HTC HD2 WinMo6.5 and Office 365 to make use of the OTA sms sync feature but the phone just kept freezing. Gave that up and recently moved to HTC One X with Touchdown which I'm now testing.
SMS sync is my main priority so my problems are a little different.
My experience with Touchdown so far: It works smoothly with Exchange, quick and responsive, and syncs notes and sms too, which is great (apart from the usual mail, calendar and tasks). Working with email on Touchdown is much better than on the stock Email app on the phone. But I don't like the way it saves contacts from incoming calls and sms - a big issue for me because I get a lot of incoming contacts. Another big problem: sms sync is far from perfect (smses sent from the phone does not sync up to exchange and caller/contact IDs do not show when SMS is received).
My workaround was then to run Touchdown together with an Exchange Activesync account set up just to sync my contacts to the native phonebook (People App) but I'm having sync problems here too. (Just posted this issue on XDA on another thread).
It looks like I now need some combination of OTA sync plus some app for USB sync just to make sure everything is synced up properly. But all options seem to be a compromise so far and I'm pulling out my hair too.
Am prepared to test out a few apps and contribute my 2 cents. Will follow this post with great interest...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
According to the SyncDroid.net official chart, Touchdown doesn't seem to support USB sync or sync with outlook. If it can't do either of those, by what means does it connect to your computer and what software does it use instead?
So far, the best solution I've found after going through what seemed like the whole SyncDroid.net list was MyPhoneExplorer. It syncs SMS and even lets you send and receive it live, right on your desktop which is a huge plus. It syncs calendar and contacts nearly perfectly, and does a better job of syncing tasks then anything else (while it still pales in comparison to Windows Mobile), and the best part is that it is completely free from their website. I did a post on it earlier in this thread if you want to read my detailed observations on it.
That's what I'm using for now though, and it's where I'll probably end up staying (unfortunately) unless some actually useful software comes into the picture.
Moonbloom said:
So because megaupload was shut down for storing absolutely massive amounts of illegal movies, tv shows, music, programs etc etc, you don't trust any part of the internet cloud?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No offense, but you really need to get your facts straight. I see you're out of the loop on the whole MegaUpload debacle, so I would strongly recommend you read these articles before you think that the CNN or FOX NEWS report about it were the straight facts:
Article 1
Article 2
Article 3
Moonbloom said:
I personally sync my contacts, calendar, email, etc etc with my gmail. Completely flawless and syncs within 20 seconds of me changing something on my tablet and then looking over at my phone. Done.
And the best part? It's built into the OS. No need for sluggish 3rd party apps or programs that has bugs and flaws.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I couldn't find any semblance of sync software built into mine, is there some kind of key combo or something you have to use to unlock it? If this is true, it'll be good for a lot of people.
- 2B
Touchdown syncs over the air (OTA) with Exchange Server - which means I don't need USB sync anymore. I use Office 365 which comes with Exchange.
But as I said I can't find a reliable, full-featured Exchange Activesync client now for Android. I guess Touchdown is the closest but it's not perfect - or at least it doesn't work the way I like.
So that's why I'm now considering some form of USB or Wifi sync option now.
MyPhoneExplorer sounds interesting, especially since it's free. But what I'm not crazy about is that you have to install some desktop app/client which you need to open/run - correct me if I'm wrong?
SYNCRONIZATION Reply
UKC1 said:
Touchdown syncs over the air (OTA) with Exchange Server - which means I don't need USB sync anymore. I use Office 365 which comes with Exchange.
But as I said I can't find a reliable, full-featured Exchange Activesync client now for Android. I guess Touchdown is the closest but it's not perfect - or at least it doesn't work the way I like.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is Exchange server like a free software I can install?
UKC1 said:
So that's why I'm now considering some form of USB or Wifi sync option now.
MyPhoneExplorer sounds interesting, especially since it's free. But what I'm not crazy about is that you have to install some desktop app/client which you need to open/run - correct me if I'm wrong?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wasn't too excited about that either, but the good news is that it isn't a resource hogging program on the desktop end, and on the mobile end, it only installs a sync, tasks, and notes client (unlike some software that also supply a redundant calendar and contact software). You can choose to run the desktop or mobile software 24/7, but I only run them when I'm using them for the most part. The really cool thing about MyPhoneExplorer is that you can read and reply to text messages in real time right on the computer without having to use the more primitive input from the phone itself.
- 2 Bunny
Any updates on this?
Thanks.
- 2B
SYNCRONIZATION UPDATES Reply
Anyone found any updates on this?
Thanks.
- 2B
I went round this whole loop when I first moved from Windows Phone to Android, and after many years of being able to synchronise my data between my PC and my Phone, I also couldn't believe how difficult it was under Android.
I'm also old school, in that I like to manage my data myself and I don't trust the cloud.
After trying just about every solution out there, I now use VCOrganizer Pro. The developers seem to have put a fair amount of effort into improving it over the last few months, and it now synchronises Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, Categories and Notes. There are also useful Android apps included (especially where Android doesn't have a native solution) and some widgets that I quite like.
Frustrating choices
Philip said:
I went round this whole loop when I first moved from Windows Phone to Android, and after many years of being able to synchronise my data between my PC and my Phone, I also couldn't believe how difficult it was under Android.
I'm also old school, in that I like to manage my data myself and I don't trust the cloud.
After trying just about every solution out there, I now use VCOrganizer Pro. The developers seem to have put a fair amount of effort into improving it over the last few months, and it now synchronises Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, Categories and Notes. There are also useful Android apps included (especially where Android doesn't have a native solution) and some widgets that I quite like.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I too have been in serious bewilderment over Microsoft's choice to downgrade the scope of synchronization with Outlook when Winmo 7 arrived. What a joke! Picked up an HTC HD2 running Winmo 6.5 just to satisfy my business synchronization needs. Now, surprise, surprise, surprise, Winmo 8 is still impotent in regards to categories, which I use regularly. My HD2 has been a great phone but is now sliding into home plate. So, I have been scouring the web to find out which if any phone can sync with Outlook like Winmo 6.x does. At this point I have my fingers crossed for Blackberry 10, which is reportedly getting unveiled in a few days.
@Phillip: Can you please expand on your experience with VCOrganizer Pro? ie. accuracy/buggines and maybe how it compares to Winmo 6.x syncing if you have experience with that OS. Thx.
Android-Sync
I have been using Android-Sync (sorry can't post links, new user) for about 6 months now with my Motorola RAZR HD.
It syncs with Outlook via USB cable. So far I have not had any issues. No duplicates. No unexplanable deletions. It has worked very well so far.
It creates a generic "Android-Sync" account on your phone that syncs your Calendar, Contacts, Notes and Tasks. Or you can set it to sync with your Google account. I have only used the Android-Sync account, as that is the recommended. I am currently contemplating trying the sync to my Google account to try and get my Outlook contacts into my Google contacts.
Calendar and Contacts are synced to the stock Calendar and People apps in the phone. Notes and Tasks are synced to new apps called Android-Sync Notes and Android-Sync Tasks respectively.
You can set-up how much or how little get synced. For example you can sync all your calendar items or "Don't sync items older than ___ days."
Go through the setup page here: (sorry can't post links) which has a number of screen shots that help in explaining a lot.
I have used Blackberry Desktop extensively in the past and this is quite similar.
I have also used Companion Link for Outlook (sorry can't post links) with DejaOffice on an iPhone. (I have not used Companion Link to sync with my Android, so this is based on my used with iPhone)
This setup worked in terms of syncing, my only issue was with both the stock ios Calendar and Contacts apps the "Notes" fields would never display a full note, neither would the "Notes" fields the respective DejaOffice app, the note would just stop after a certain number of characters (kinda like twitter!). This was frustrating, as some of my Contacts have lengthy notes attached to them.
Neither Android-Sync or Companion Link are free though. I am fine with this, as long as it works.
Android-Sync is $29.99 and Companion Link is $49.99.
Android-Sync has a trial download here: (sorry can't post links) and also a 60 day full refund policy. I do not know if the trial version has limitations.
Companion Link also has a trial download here (sorry can't post links) which is fully functional for 14 days. At the end of 14 days you are asked to purchase a full license. They have a 90 day full refund policy.
Hope this was helpful.
Let me know if you have any questions. I'll try and help from my experience with these.
VCOorganizer but
Same here - VCOrganizer was more reliable than CompanionLink for me. I migrated to Android from Palm in 2009. non-cloud sync is necessary when traveling internationally, and to protect confidential client information. Sync by cloud, lose your license.
Still VCO sometimes does the wrong thing. It's almost always related to the Outlook interface (most recently after migration to Outlook 2013 which took me 2 months to unravel). So I would trust a Microsoft solution more than an independent. Lawyers and doctors can pay handsomely for this. Satya, are you listening? do you read xda-developers? Do any of your developers read this?

Unable to configure 2 exchange accounts in stock Android's email client

Community:
I have a Galaxy Nexus with Stock 4.0.4 ROM and a Transformer Prime also with the stock ASUS firmware (4.0.3), The company where I work has a mail server that supports exchange (Kerio Connect)
At that server I have (because I need it that way) 2 different accounts, I need one of those accounts to synchronize everything; contacts, mail, calendar, and the other one to synchronize only calendar appointments.
If I configure the first account everything works just fine. But, when I configure the second account, I start receiving login errors for both accounts every certain time, the apps shows me the option to update my account credentials and when I do it works for the moment but after a while it fails again. If I delete whichever of the two accounts the other works fine.
I have not tested this scenario against other email servers, so I’m not sure if this a problem with my server or if this is an Android problem.
Both accounts are configured as Exchange accounts from Settings menu.
Any ideas?
The same thing happens on Gnex and Prime?
Tynen said:
The same thing happens on Gnex and Prime?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes happens in both devices
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
. Let me make a second exchange account for myself and try adding it. I'll post back with the results
Edit:
I would confidently say that the problem doesn't reside with Android. Here is a screenshot of two fully working exchange accounts using the built in ICS email.apk program. Hope that helps you.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Answer
rootusr said:
Community:
I have a Galaxy Nexus with Stock 4.0.4 ROM and a Transformer Prime also with the stock ASUS firmware (4.0.3), The company where I work has a mail server that supports exchange (Kerio Connect)
At that server I have (because I need it that way) 2 different accounts, I need one of those accounts to synchronize everything; contacts, mail, calendar, and the other one to synchronize only calendar appointments.
If I configure the first account everything works just fine. But, when I configure the second account, I start receiving login errors for both accounts every certain time, the apps shows me the option to update my account credentials and when I do it works for the moment but after a while it fails again. If I delete whichever of the two accounts the other works fine.
I have not tested this scenario against other email servers, so I’m not sure if this a problem with my server or if this is an Android problem.
Both accounts are configured as Exchange accounts from Settings menu.
Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good, but try to configure manually through no exchange, try configure email, or you can have the doors of the mail server bad configure
Thanks I will try that and let you know the results.
Synching with 2 exchange servers with conflicting policies
I have the following problem:
I have an SGS2 with the latest ICS release. I work with two companies supporting sync with the exchange server (2010) on a smartphone.
I can set up both exchange servers at the same time. The first day the both work, but on the second day one of the two (so far always the same) start giving me connection errors, and will no longer sync emails.
I am almost sure that the problem is that for security reasons, both want to have their security policy (admin privileges etc) enforced over my phone, and when they re-check daily they find that the policy is not as they want it.
Can anyone suggest a way to overcome this?
Thanks,
Geza
kovacs5geza said:
I have the following problem:
I have an SGS2 with the latest ICS release. I work with two companies supporting sync with the exchange server (2010) on a smartphone.
I can set up both exchange servers at the same time. The first day the both work, but on the second day one of the two (so far always the same) start giving me connection errors, and will no longer sync emails.
I am almost sure that the problem is that for security reasons, both want to have their security policy (admin privileges etc) enforced over my phone, and when they re-check daily they find that the policy is not as they want it.
Can anyone suggest a way to overcome this?
Thanks,
Geza
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like a problem really similar to mine, but I'm not using MS Exchange server.
I did the suggested test, configured both accounts as "email accounts" and not as "Exchange accounts" Same result both works but after a while I start receiving "Could not sing on" errors, Enter the account settings and works again for a while, delete one of the accounts and everything works again with the remaining account. Will see if there is a way to look at the server logs, common sense says to me that if this were an Android bug there would be a lot of users reporting it.
Best regards
OK guys I looked at the server logs and I'm getting this error:
"keep-alive connection is misused with multiple user authentication" for both accounts
I'm not sure what this means and I could not find anything related in the Kerio Mail server documentation.
Any ideas?
Did you Google that error?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Did you Google that error?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes I did, I couldn't find specific information I also looked at the server configuration but couldn't find any related option
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Cannot get calendar apps to see select Google calendars

I've done some looking around, but I haven't found a solution that has solved the problem, so I hope this isn't redundant:
I have two or three Google calendars. If I go to the website, I see them all fine and can see the information in them. I have my EVO 3D (stock, Gingerbread; too many ICS complaints for me to run the Sprint OTA) set to sync and to show these calendars, but none but the main one will show. This is true whether I have them set to show multiple calendars together or set to show only individual ones. I tried clearing the data in Calendar Storage and resyncing; it made no difference. I don't use the stock Calendar app; I use Jorte and Pimlical, but none of the three of them will show the other calendars (which I believe is because there's only one group of calendar selection settings, no matter which app you use). BTW, the other calendars don't show on either of my tablets, either, so it's not really just a 3D problem.
Does anyone have any idea how to correct this situation?
EVO Longoria
This was an issue with Gingerbread which (for me at least) was resolved in ICS. When I used GB, I got around this problem by using multiple Google accounts and then sharing them with the primary account (the one you have linked to your phone). I had our family calendar as the calendar on my primary Google account. My wife's work calendar was on her account. I created another Google account for my work sked. The key on your secondary calendars, is to go to settings and share them with your primary account. If you select "Make changes and manage sharing" under permissions, you'll be able to make changes from your phone.
Like I said, on ICS, the issue went away for me, and I have created several new calendars on my primary Google account and all of them show up on my E3D.
nobody291 said:
This was an issue with Gingerbread which (for me at least) was resolved in ICS. When I used GB, I got around this problem by using multiple Google accounts and then sharing them with the primary account (the one you have linked to your phone). I had our family calendar as the calendar on my primary Google account. My wife's work calendar was on her account. I created another Google account for my work sked. The key on your secondary calendars, is to go to settings and share them with your primary account. If you select "Make changes and manage sharing" under permissions, you'll be able to make changes from your phone.
Like I said, on ICS, the issue went away for me, and I have created several new calendars on my primary Google account and all of them show up on my E3D.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for responding. I wrote you a long post which got lost because my login timed out before I was finished writing. I should have copied it first, but didn't so let me just say this: There is information going around that clearing Calendar Data solves the problem. I have three devices; it didn't work on any of them, and it also made me lose the ability to see anything on my device past a month ago, which it turns out Google warns you about on a Google Calendar help page:
Clear your device's Calendar application data
Warning: After performing the following steps, events from more than 30 days ago will no longer be available for viewing on your device. Rest assured these events remain saved on the main Google Calendar server and are accessible via the web. Further, these steps will cause your Calendar app settings (e.g., Calendar notification ringtones) to be reset.
We recommend proceeding with these steps only if the above steps did not resolve the issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I solved my problem by exporting all my calendars, deleting all data from my primary calendar and importing the data back in to it.
This process had differing results on my three devices, but I was at least able to get a complete "timeline" in one calendar to show on each device. This doesn't help everyone, but it may help some. Remember: If you need to keep any extended period of time available on your device, DON'T clear Calendar Data!
It's sad that after all this time Google hasn't been able to do better than this.

[Q] (no name) contacts in phonebook

Hi everyone!
I have a small but annoying problem with my android phone.
In my contacts i have ~70 contacts named "(no name)" as you can see here:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
If I tap on it, it shows me that it's somehow connected to Whatsapp:
Why are those entries not linked to the regular contact?
I have this problem with every ROM i use....
I can't delete those entries but the phone tells me that they will be hidden instead. Is there an easy way to fix that instead of trying to delete every single contact?
Thank you in advance.
-Ben
Anyone? Can't imagine I'm the only one with that problem?
Benxter said:
Hi everyone!
I have a small but annoying problem with my android phone.
In my contacts i have ~70 contacts named "(no name)" as you can see here:
If I tap on it, it shows me that it's somehow connected to Whatsapp:
Why are those entries not linked to the regular contact?
I have this problem with every ROM i use....
I can't delete those entries but the phone tells me that they will be hidden instead. Is there an easy way to fix that instead of trying to delete every single contact?
Thank you in advance.
-Ben
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't find the answer here, but you should try this app : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=wolfen.deleteblankcontacts&hl=en
If it helps, hit the Thanks button.
Sent from my Xperia Arc S using xda premium
Works. Thanks
No problem, glad to help
Sent from my Xperia Arc S using xda premium
Benxter said:
Anyone? Can't imagine I'm the only one with that problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, your not. I just rebooted my G3 and now I have these as well... Mine seem to be linked to outlook though (I don't have what'sapp). Im still using unrooted stock. Im not downloading something else to hide/delete these, that's going on? Why'd this happen and how do I prevent it from recurring? Thanks
This is most likely due to the same issue as Facebook contacts. As whatsapp is owned by Facebook and Google removed all code to sync Facebook contacts natively.
Simple solution
I had the same problem, although I haven't established which one was the offending app, I disabled contact sync for:
Microsoft Exchange
Whassap
Skype
Viber
Linkedin
Sync only with google and it works fine.
Someone ought to figure out which apps are the offending ones and let us know.
/Max
[email protected] said:
I had the same problem, although I haven't established which one was the offending app, I disabled contact sync for:
Microsoft Exchange
Whassap
Skype
Viber
Linkedin
Sync only with google and it works fine.
Someone ought to figure out which apps are the offending ones and let us know.
/Max
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My guess would be it's ms exchange as that would over ride the default.
Can't say anything about whatsapp, everyone I know stopped using it years ago.
Also don't use Viper nor does anyone I know.
Linked in works fine for me.
Unknown Name MSactivesync. Outlook and Note 5 400 unk names
Always had good luck synch contacts to Putlook even after they changed this to all exchange vs that hotmail patch thing on the desktop.** My Note 4 crashed so got a temp LG prepaid, which sinked fine, then got a Note 5...yuk...but anyway.* I got 100 contacts 400 of which dont exist on the desktop outlook but show as unknown name.* They say they are from Microsoft Active Account Synch.
The only account I have or want for contacts* is Outlook via the exchange.* Email works great.* I dont like gmail or its contacts especially on desktop.* Im outlook guy.* I dont have skype whatsapp etc.* So google is only sych chrome and gmail as i need* a gmail and google for android.* I like chrome btw.* All the unknows coming from active synch outlook.*
If i add a contact in outlook it comes accross fine.* But where are tye others from? How do I stop it . Samsung support on ph has no idea...in best buy i usually know more than them and verizon is getting less tech knowledgeable by the month.*
Some hints...the unknown names do not show up on the LG phone, which that ph is a prepaid # i bought to use the ph temp on my vz contract number until I got the Note 5 warranty replacement.* The Lg is synched same way and it picks up contacts i added but no unknown names.* So why would the issue be specific to note 5? I checked all the settings and I can't find anything that is importing strange contacts to the Note 5. And the thing is it's saying it's from Microsoft so somewhere if getting unknown name from Microsoft for creating them for some reason.
Another hint. And these may not be related. When I delete these unknown names from my phone I notice some of them anyway show up in my deleted folder in my mailbox on the desktop in Outlook. They don't say unknown names they just have a timestamp for about the time I delete the unknown name for my note 5. They also look like mail folders instead of contacts. But I have never had this until I started deleting these unknown names. You probably know but in outlook the contacts are there and when you delete them they go into the deleted items folder for the email account the contacts are in.
I deleted suggested contacts and case that's confusing something in Outlook.
One more thing is it on my LG they're all of the sudden have been some random contacts show up for people whose names I don't know. It doesn't look like it is hacked. Some of them might be people and email before and there was an online dating site that I use that I have emailed from Outlook and then at one point I imported contacts to Gmail and then deleted them but some of these email showed up in the LG contact list under the Google account which is my gmail.* That is to say that when I look at the contact to see what it's linked to it says it's from Google not Microsoft or anything else. When I go to the desktop for Gmail there are no contacts like this in there. In fact there are no contacts. I deleted the groups that cat contacts but work in my contact list. So if you go into contacts on the desktop for Gmail you can select groups as opposed to all contacts and there what's my imports in there. But these contacts have shown up since I deleted all of that and I have no idea where they came from
So I have been using contacts syncing with my email for ever since I can remember having a smartphone back when I think there was an S3 or something period suddenly now all of this craziness and I have activated 4 different Note 4's because they were all junk on the touch screen or would freeze up and then before that I had a Note 3 and I have a Galaxy S5 and so on and have never had any problems like this and in fact I got so fast switching information over the phone I could do all of my apps all of my settings including pesky ones like opening an app for Facebook and Google search removing those I could do that in about 30 minutes or less. So I have no idea what's going on. Sorry this is so long but I have searched and searched and no one describes this problem exactly like me they all talk about it being associated with another app besides Microsoft Exchange Server and all the people use Gmail and wanted that to work instead of Outlook. So hopefully someone can help.
---------- Post added at 11:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:54 PM ----------
So I found the source of the contacts in my LG phone that have never been there before until this phone. For whatever reason perhaps the new Android I don't know but not only did it import groups that I had to delete from the web version of Gmail in contacts but there is something called "other contacts."
If you go into Gmail I don't know where to find the contacts so I have to search Google contacts from Google and then it loads my contacts. I checked all the contact lists which were empty except for when I clicked other contacts it said that that version of the page did not support other contacts. This page on the phone looks different than the one on the desktop .
I clicked on the link on the page that said "go to old version of other contacts." And there I found all the contacts that Were Somehow showing up on to my contact list on my LG.
The weird thing about it is that I have syncing to contacts for. Google unchecked under accounts. So in addition to the problem of of with the unknown name for Microsoft Outlook Exchange ActiveSync or whatever it's called now, now why would "other contacts" from Google show up when contacts is unchecked under accounts for Google on the ph? Good news is I know the source of the contacts but it still doesn't explain why they are syncing when the box is unchecked. And it doesn't explain why all of the sudden now after having Gmail long after I ever emailed any of those people that would have been in "other contacts" is it all the sudden just now showing up? I mean they must have been there a long time and I've been using Gmail with it unchecked for a long time and suddenly this week on a new phone it shows up when all the other new phones it never did that.
Thanks so much for the fix "Delete empty contacts". I've had the same problem with the no name contacts and I would delete each one as I saw them but it was driving me nuts.
Thanks again!
I have deleted all of thm using the all, but they keep coming back after every reboot, another thing, this was not a problem till I flashed the Google dialer on my xperia. Has been happening every since.

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