Countdown

  • No dates present

StockTwits - All Updates

Loading...
«  
  »

How to enable two-way synchronization of Google Calendar with Thunderbird and Lightning

June 30th, 2007
0
Digg me

Google Calendar synced with Thunderbird and LightningWith the release of the latest version of the open-source calendaring application Sunbird, Mozilla has also released the Thunderbird extension Lightning.

Until now it wasn’t really possible to have two-way synchronization of your local Lightning calendar with Google Calendar. In this post, I show you how to do this so that an event added or edited in Google Calendar will appear in Lightning, and vice versa automatically. For Windows XP you should apply the XP timezone patch, but for all other Operating Systems, like Mac OS and Linux, the steps should work the same.

Requirements:

1. If you have Windows XP: XP timezone patch

2. Google Calendar

3. Mozilla Thunderbird – The best open-source email program.

4. Provider for Google Calendar add-on

5. Lightning – Thunderbird calendar add-on

Install the timezone patch if necessary. If you already have Thunderbird and a Google Calendar account, then:

1. Download and install the Provider for Google Calendar add-on for Thunderbird

2. Download and install the latest Lightning add-on for Thunderbird

To do these two steps above, you must:

a. Right-click and save the extension in a local folder

b. In Thunderbird, go to Tools->add-ons

c. Click on the lower left “Install…” button and then find the two add-on files you saved (with the .xpi extension)

Once the extensions are installed, check whether Lightning has correctly determined your timezone, and if not, set it manually in Thunderbird:

Tools->options->Lightning->Timezone tab

  • Now, log into your Google Calendar and choose the calendar (if you have more than one) you want to sync with. Add some new test events if you wish.
  • On the lower left pane next to your calendar, click the blue down arrow, and select Calendar Settings.
  • On the settings page, go down to your Private address and click the orange XML button.
  • Right-click on the address shown in the new window and Copy Link Location.
  • In Thunderbird’s lower left pane, click on the Calendars tab, and then click on the New… button.
  • Select “On the Network” in the new window which appears. Click Next…
  • Select “Google Calendar”, and then paste the private address you copied into the Location entry. Click Next.
  • Give a name to your Calendar and choose a color. Click Finish.
  • Enter your password for your Google Calendar account and check the box so that Password Manager remembers it.

    • You should find your events appear magically in Thunderbird.

    Now try adding a new event in Thunderbird and Reload the Google Calendar page in your browser. Then, try editing an entry in Thunderbird and Reload the page in Google Calendar.

    There you go, two-way sync between Thunderbird and Lightning and Google Calendar!

    Now, when you see an interesting event on Upcoming or any other site which uses microformats, you can easily add that event to your Google Calendar with a single click, thanks to Firefox and the Operator add-on. If not, read my previous post on Enhancing calendar scheduling with Microformats.

    Once you’ve done that, your event is both in Google Calendar (so that you can check your calendar from any online computer) and in Thunderbird (so that you can check your calendar even when offline).

    The world just got a whole lot better.

    June 30th, 2007 | Category: Google, Mozilla, Open Source, Productivity, Thunderbird, Tutorials
    • It also works really well with Mozilla Sunbird! So, for those of us who only want to use a calendar software, and not the email/RSS agregator (like Thunderbird), it's perfect! You also need the Provider and Timezone patch, but other than that, it's the same steps to use it.
    • Josh
      Definitely: Lightning and Sunbird share the same code base and that's why the new releases occurred simultaneously too.
    • Very nice feature, I tried Sunbird a month ago and dropped it mainly because I didn't find any suitable remote calendar solution. I'm really reconsidering giving Sunbird a try.
    • Josh
      Thanks Leif. You'll like the latest release of Sunbird I'm sure.
    • I really love it! Been using it now for two days and it's really practical, and sync well with Google Calendar.
    • Josh
      It's fantastic, isn't it? :)
    • MWright50
      Thanks for this excellent time-saver and organizer tool.

      I think this should be added to the Help links for Sunbird and Lightning. It should be mentioned in both the FAQ and the Tutorial.

      Let me know if I should push this suggestion through a specific channel.
    • Josh
      Thanks for the appreciation, MWright50.

      I think it would certainly be useful to many people, so if you can push it so that it appears where needed, please do, I'd be most happy to share it with as many people as possible. Mention of the originator would be appreciated too. Cheers!
    • clint.walker
      "Once you’ve done that, your event is both in Google Calendar (so that you can check your calendar from any online computer) and in Thunderbird (so that you can check your calendar even when offline)."

      Hi Guys - some advice. I've used Sundbird + Provider for Google Calendar add-on but the calendars only seem to appear when I'm connected to the net.
      i.e. No offline mode. Am I missing something? Online only mode obviously has no benefit, as the I may as well use the browser directly.
    • Josh
      Sunbird is an offline application, so you should be able to see your calendar when offline.

      Another advantage is if you're away from your computer and don't have access to Sunbird, then you can still have access to Google Calendar.

      However, currently, there is no offline synchronization. That would be a welcome next step.
    • When I follow these instructions as carefully as I can, I find that the event times on my Google calendar are displaced by exactly 12 hours on my Lightning calendar. Do you know why this would be, or in any case, how to fix it?
    • Josh
      Are you on XP? If so, don't forget to install the timezone patch.
    • This is amazing! Esp. since even a non-techie like me can understand it.
    • Josh
      Thanks for the kind words, Lena.
    • tchnandler
      this is great! but i'm also having a problem viewing my google calendars (through lightning) when offline. there's no kind of cache capability that allows you to do this?
    • Josh
      tchnandler: if you have synced the calendars, then you should be able to see the same events in Lightning that were in Google Calendar even when offline.
    • Mike
      I'm having the same problem viewing Lightning calendar events off line. I think my calendars are properly synch'd because I can add an event to either Google or Lightning and it shows up on both calendars when on line. However, nothing shows up in T-bird Lightning when off line. Even the events I add to Lightning when off line will not show up in Lightning until I'm back on line. It seems kind of futile not to be able to see the items I add to Lightning while off line. Is there a box somewhere I need to check that will allow me to view my events in Lightning while off line?
    • Josh
      You guys are right: there are currently two filed bugs which currently do not allow this:
      https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=36...
      and
      https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=38...

      and on refreshing the calendar view when offline I get the same problem.
    • yes, there is currently no offline support for lightning/provide/googlecalendar. apparently it's coming in october.

      in the meantime, i just disabled provider and installed gcaldaemon. it's a much more labor intensive install, but it allows for local caching of your google calendars and two way syncing. so, you can view and update while offline and then it will sync once connected.

      http://sourceforge.net/projects/gcaldaemon/
    • atenrok
      after I updated both lightning and provider to the most recent version no remote calendars show up in my thunderbird any more. I tried to delete the calendars and create them again - no change.
    • Dissidence
      I'm having the same problem as atenrok. When I add a calendar it doesn't show in the calendar list of Lightning.

      I'm using
      Thunderbird Portable: 2.0.0.9
      Lightning: 0.7
      Provider for Google Calendar : 0.3.1

      Any suggestions?
    • omg, this is just fantastic.. i dont have a clue how i came across this blog article, but i am so glad i did :) this is just amazing, you have no ideal how long ive been trying to sync my g cal with my desktop.. and then i sync my desk (Thunderbird) cal with my nokia symbian device.. (n95 and n82 with handy calender installed on both)

      thankyou for this great post..
    • Reza
      Great Help... I always wanted to sync my google calender with thunderbird.
    • Henrik (Denmark)
      Thank you so much :-) - this is just so very, very cool
    • Risa
      You would not believe the [insert expletive here] I have been through for the last week in order to find a way to use Sunbird to eventually sync to my BB. I needed to be able to include a link in the event (which I knew Google didn't accept) but in Sunbird I pasted the link into the description field and it successfully was synced to gcal and the link worked perfectly.

      I have reviewed so many techie blogs and installed (and uninstalled) numerous programs because they didn't work out like I had hoped. I love add-ons!! I can't believe this was right under my nose the whole time.

      Thank you for this great add-on and for making the process so simple!! This is such an easier process than using GCalDaemon!!!
    • Thanks for great step by step process. If I'd followed it properly the first time it'd have been faster : )

      Any advice on how to sync a Windows Mobile Phone with Sunbird/Thunderbird or Google Calendar? If I get that right it's goodbye Outlook forever?

      Thank you. Beeg time again
    • Ben
      I don't have the New... button in the instructon that says: "In Thunderbird’s lower left pane, click on the Calendars tab, and then click on the New… button".

      I reinstalled Thunderbird, Lightning and GCal add-on but I still don't see "New..." button. Where is it?

      Thanks
    blog comments powered by Disqus