Synching Lightning and Android

For discussing the Mozilla Calendar, Sunbird and Lightning projects.
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DVB
Posts: 449
Joined: November 2nd, 2005, 7:54 am

Synching Lightning and Android

Post by DVB »

I depend on Lightning (far more than I ever expected) to keep track of my complex work and social life and other appointments. Most of the time I work at home, so it's on my computer in front of me, but when I'm out it would be really useful to be able to check my Lightning calendar on my phone. I thought there's bound to be a simple solution. I googled. I searched PlayStore. I searched this forum. I followed several ways of (supposedly) doing it with very complicated sets of instructions -- but all I ended up doing was creating a couple of Google calendars I didn't want. Every solution seems to be a clumsy workaround, such as using Google calendars to feed data into Lightning.

To quote an equally exasperated forum member, cubspike, on the Thunderbird forum way back in 2013: "WHY IN ALL THAT IS HOLY....HAS NOTHING BEEN DEVELOPED TO SYNC LIGHTNING TASKS EASILY AND WITHOUT A CHAIN OF THIRD-PARTY ACCOUNTS?????"

Come on, developers. We all use mobiles. Is it beyond the wit of man or woman to get them to read a calendar?
DVB
Posts: 449
Joined: November 2nd, 2005, 7:54 am

Re: Synching Lightning and Android

Post by DVB »

I'm using Thunderbird 52.9.1; I can't see a separate version number for Lightning.
And Android 8.0.0.
And I'd like them to talk to each other.
Any ideas, anyone?
mgagnonlv
Posts: 848
Joined: February 12th, 2005, 8:33 pm

Re: Synching Lightning and Android

Post by mgagnonlv »

You can't do it locally, alas. The easy solution is to use your Gmail address that you needed with Android and put all your events there.

Install the extension "Provider for Google Calendar"; from that point, it will be very easy to add your Google Calendar to Lightning. Then, the Google Calendar will be seen in Thunderbird/Lightning, on the Google Calendar web page and on your phone.

To transfer your appointments from your current local calendar to the Google one, select your calendar, right-click and export in "ics" and "cvs" format (I don't remember which one works the best).

Then press ALT to show full menus, and under "Events and Tasks", select "Import" to import the file you just created a few minutes ago. Then select the Google calendar you want to import the file into and... that's all.
Michel Gagnon
Montréal (Québec, Canada)
DVB
Posts: 449
Joined: November 2nd, 2005, 7:54 am

Re: Synching Lightning and Android

Post by DVB »

Thanks for your response -- which seems to confirm what I'd already discovered: Lightning can't be synched to Android phones. From what you've said, although I'll be able to copy over my existing Lightning events (for months ahead) to a Google calendar, I'd then have to use Google Calendar both on my phone and on my computer, rather than Lightning. I've no idea if Google Calendar is anywhere near as good (with reminders etc) -- but it looks as if I'll have to say goodbye to Lightning, which is a great shame.

You really would think that by now someone would have found a way of getting Android and Lightning to talk to each other direct.
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WaltS48
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Location: Pennsylvania, USA

Re: Synching Lightning and Android

Post by WaltS48 »

They do with the Provider for Google Calendar extension installed in Thunderbird.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/us ... e-calendar
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mgagnonlv
Posts: 848
Joined: February 12th, 2005, 8:33 pm

Re: Synching Lightning and Android

Post by mgagnonlv »

To confirm what WaltS48 is saying, I am using Thunderbird with Lightning and Provider for Google Calendar extension. I have no local calendar, but use a Google calendar for personal appointments, a calendar on the corporate server (WebCal) for office events and another calendar on a Google calendar owned by a different owner for church events. All these events are on different servers – none are local, but I manage them all through Lightning.

Compared to a local calendar the Google calendar adds the possibility of inviting participants filling the "time busy" properly (it is not reliable with a local calendar). You can also send reminders not only as alerts (like with a local calendar), but also as emails. And if, in the calendar properties, you clicked on "Allow off-mode connection", the calendar will be available in Thunderbird even if you use it in the middle of the woods.

So quite frankly, unless you have a really faulty connection, I don't see any drawback about using Google Calendar as a support for your own calendars..
Michel Gagnon
Montréal (Québec, Canada)
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