UICalendar Utilities: iCal Web Links

• Create/Edit ical links on your personal UICal calendar.
• Is Your Target an iPhone?
• 1. Make a UICal iCal Web Link
• -- Specifying the Date Range
• -- Having Problems With Syncing Repeating Events?
• 2a. Subscribe to Your UICal iCal Web Link in Your Other Calendar Software
• -- iCal on Macs
• -- Google Calendar
• Or 2b. Import Your UICal Web Link in Your Other Calendar Software
• -- iCal on Macs
• -- Google Calendar

UICalendar is now set up so that it allows you to bring a copy your UICalendar agenda into other calendar programs, such as iCal on the Mac and iPhone and Web calendars such as Google Calendar and Yahoo Calendar. This copy is brought into the new calendar software by a Web link to your agenda on the UICal server, using Oracle Mobile Data Sync -- OMA-DS (Open Mobile Alliance - Data Synchronization), formerly known as the SyncML. The link is in iCal format, which is the most widely used import format for calendar data. You use the UICalendar Web Utility to create this iCal Web URL allows you to import a "snapshot" copy your UICalendar agenda. When you or your calendar software go to this URL, it returns your UICal data, as it is at that very moment.

Note that this copy is one way: UICalendar into iCal, Google Calendar, or whatever, though when you "import" the URL into your other calendar software, the other software will automatically go back to the UICal Web link on a regular basis to get a new, updated copy of your UICal calendar. We do not have the ability now to bring changes made in the other calendar program back into UICalendar using the UICal iCal Web link.

Follow the instructions below to use the UICalendar utility to create a UICalendar SyncML iCal Web link to your UICalendar agenda. After that you can use the iCal Web URL to bring your UICal data into other calendaring software in two ways.

• If your calendaring software allows, you can subscribe it to the UICalendar SyncML iCal Web link. The software will then automatically go to the URL, download your data, and put it in your calendar for you. This leads to a read-only calendar -- one that you cannot modify in your calendar software.
  
  
• Or you can go to the UICalendar SyncML iCal link on the Web yourself. This will download a file to your computer called netid.ics (for example, adabyron.ics for Ada Byron) and then you can import the .ics file into your calendaring software. This gives you a calendar that you can modify in your calendaring software. However, you can not upload whatever changes you make back to UICal.

In all the other calendaring software I've worked with, the first is a lot easier -- you set it up once and forget about it. But it results in a read-only calendar. The second is more trouble; you have get the calendar data yourself and in some cases, you have to delete the previous calendar each time you import a new one. But it results in a calendar that you can change.

In either case, this link is one way -- data comes down from UICalendar only.

If you have trouble with missing repeating events in your displayed calendars, add the following to the end of the UICal iCal Web link: &compat=br
as directed below.

You have lots of choices of how to use the UICal iCal Web link. See ACCC Services and the iPhone.

1. Go to the UICal Utilities Page (on the ACCC Email & Calendar home page) and login with your UIC netid and ACCC common password.
2. Click on the Create/Edit links on your UICal calendar link. Note that you may probably will not have all the links shown in this figure. The utilities available to you depend on your status. Only departmental REACH representatives have the full set.
   
3. We want to Create a new link to your calendar, the first section.
   1. This is for your own use, so leave the calendar - full access to all event details radio button selected. (You would use the public radio button if you were creating a link for other people to use; it would allow them to download only those items on your agenda that you had marked as Public.)
   2. Click Create Link.
      
4. The UICal SyncML Web link created is listed in a new section at the bottom of the screen. The link will be there whenever you go back to the UICalendar Utilities, so you can copy it again or delete it.
   

If you take a look at the "Manage your existing ical links" section at the bottom of the Create/Edit ical links on your personal UICal calendar Web page after you create a UICal iCal Web link, you will see a link that says "create a variation of this link to specify a certain date range".

You don't want to bring your entire UICal agenda into your other calendar software; if it's large, it might take too long. So by default, this UICal utility provides data from 10 days in the past to 60 days in the future.

But you can change that; click on this link to see how or to do it.

1. In the "Manage your existing ical links" section at the bottom of the Create/Edit ical links on your personal UICal calendar Web page after you create a UICal iCal Web link, click on the "create a variation of this link to specify a certain date range" link.
2. The next page explains how to modify the UICal iCal Web link to return a different date range and has a section to fill in that will build the new URL for you. This date-modified URL is not kept for you, as the base UICal iCal Web link is.
   For example,
   • Grace would use: http://ical.uical.uic.edu/uicalbin/uicalTOical?c=566861224616075&back=30&forward=90
     to change the date range from the default 10 days in the past to 30 days in the future to 30 days back and 90 days in the future.
   • Or use: http://ical.uical.uic.edu/uicalbin/uicalTOical?c=566861224616075&startdate=11/2/2002&enddate=10/25/2005
     to change the date range from the default relative date range -- being relative to today's date -- to an absolute date range from November 2, 2002, to October 25, 2005.

Are you syncing your phone or calendar software with UICalendar over the Web using a UICal iCal Web link? If you are having trouble with missing repeating events, add the following to the end of the URL: &compat=br

For example: http://ical.uical.uic.edu/uicalbin/uicalTOical?c=566861224616075&compat=br

This makes a permanent, read-only connection, which refreshes itself on the schedule that you choose.

1. Open iCal on your Mac.
2. Go to Calendar Subscribe...
   
   
3. Paste iCal Web link from the final step of 1. Make a UICal iCal Web Link above.
   
   If you are having trouble with missing repeating events, add the following to the end of the UICal iCal Web link that you paste in: &compat=br

   For example: http://ical.uical.uic.edu/uicalbin/uicalTOical?c=566861224616075&compat=br

4. In the subscribing box, you can select a title for the calendar, select the time interval that iCal will go back to UICal and get an updated calendar -- refresh -- and tell it whether to remove the alarms and to do items. I'm not sure why you'd want to remove the alarms; that's one of the major advantages of having your UICal calendar on your iPhone.
   
   
5. And that's it. If you click on any of the items in this calendar, you will see a pencil with a line through it icon in the upper right corner of the info tab; this means the item is read-only. If you've changed your UICal calendar and you want to refresh the iCal calendar, Control-click on the calendar name and select Refresh from the menu.
   
   
   
6. If you are having trouble with missing repeating events, add the following to the end of the UICal iCal Web link you are syncing with: &compat=br

   For example: http://ical.uical.uic.edu/uicalbin/uicalTOical?c=566861224616075&compat=br

-- Then Sync iCal on Your Mac with iCal on Your iPhone

Got an iPhone? After you get your UICalendar information into iCal, all you have to do is sync your iPhone using iTunes and your UICal calendar will be on your iPhone also. Though if you have iPhone Version 3.0 or higher, you can subscribe to the iCal Web link directly on your iPhone.

1. Select your iPhone from the DEVICES list.
2. Click the Info tab.
3. Scroll down to the Calendars section; click the Sync iCal calendars box.
4. Either click the radio button beside All calendars or beside Selected calendars and check UICal calendar.
5. Click Apply. This will start a sync, and will save these options for future syncs.

Unlike iCal, Google Calendar does not allow you to select the refresh interval -- the time interval that it will go back to UICal and request a new copy of your agenda. The Google Calendar refresh interval is either "a few hours" or "three hours". It also does not allow you to refresh manually as iCal does.

1. Open your Google Calendar.
2. Click the Add link in the Other Calendars box on the left hand side.
   
3. Click Add by URL.
   
4. Paste the iCal Web link from the final step of 1. Make a UICal iCal Web Link above in the Public Calendar Address: box and click Add.
   
   If you have trouble with missing repeating events, add the following to the end of the UICal iCal Web link that you paste in: &compat=br

   For example: http://ical.uical.uic.edu/uicalbin/uicalTOical?c=566861224616075&compat=br

5. The calendar will be added with the default name being the URL. To change the name to something more reasonable, click either Settings link on the left hand side.
   
6. Click on the name of the calendar you just added. This is, by the way, where you delete calendars; click on the trash can at the end of the calendar's description.
   
7. Change its name, and click Save.
   
8. And this is what it looks like. This is a read-only calendar; you can't modify or add events to this calendar. You can add reminders.
   
   
   
9. If you are having trouble with missing repeating events, add the following to the end of the UICal iCal Web link you are syncing with: &compat=br

   For example: http://ical.uical.uic.edu/uicalbin/uicalTOical?c=566861224616075&compat=br

Or do this, which creates a calendar that you can modify, but can not be automatically refreshed. Remember that if you are having trouble with missing repeating events, add the following to the end of the UICal iCal Web link: &compat=br

For example: http://ical.uical.uic.edu/uicalbin/uicalTOical?c=566861224616075&compat=br

1. Open iCal, Control-click or Right-click on the name of your UICal calendar and select Delete from the menu. Select Delete again from the dialog box.
2. Open your favorite Web browser and paste in the address box the URL from the final step of 1. Make a UICal iCal Web Link above and press Enter. Remember that if you are having trouble with missing repeating events, add the following to the end of the UICal iCal Web link: &compat=br

   For example: http://ical.uical.uic.edu/uicalbin/uicalTOical?c=566861224616075&compat=br

3. A download dialog box will open for the file with the name yournetid.ics, or for Grace Hopper, gmhopper.ics. You can either
   • Open with iCal.app or
   • Save File to someplace easy to get to and then double-click on the file's icon to bring it into iCal.
     
4. Select New Calendar on the Add Events dialog box.
   
   
5. You may receive an error message about dangerous alarms. Do what you want with this.
6. And that's it. If you click on any of the items in this calendar, you will be able to open and edit it.
   
   

-- Then Sync iCal on Your Mac with iCal on Your iPhone

Got an iPhone? After you get your UICalendar information into iCal, all you have to do is sync your iPhone using iTunes and your UICal calendar will be on your iPhone also. Though if you have iPhone Version 3.0 or higher, you can subscribe to the iCal Web link directly on your iPhone.

1. Select your iPhone from the DEVICES list.
2. Click the Info tab.
3. Scroll down to the Calendars section; click the Sync iCal calendars box.
4. Either click the radio button beside All calendars or beside Selected calendars and check UICal calendar.
5. Click Apply. This will start a sync, and will save these options for future syncs.

1. Create a file holding your calendar:
   1. Open your favorite Web browser and paste in the address box the URL from the final step of 1. Make a UICal iCal Web Link above and press Enter. Remember that if you are having trouble with missing repeating events, add the following to the end of the UICal iCal Web link: &compat=br

      For example: http://ical.uical.uic.edu/uicalbin/uicalTOical?c=566861224616075&compat=br

   2. A download dialog box will open for the file with the name yournetid.ics, or for Grace Hopper, gmhopper.ics. Save the file to someplace easy to get to.
      
2. Open your Google Calendar.
3. Create a calendar to import your calendar data into: click Create in the My calendars box on the left.
   
4. Give the calendar a name and fill in whatever else you wish, then click Create Calendar.
   
5. Click the Add link in the Other Calendars box on the left hand side.
   
6. Select Import Calendar.
   
7. Click Browse... and select the yournetid.ics file that you downloaded.
8. Select the name of the calendar that you want your UICal items imported into.
9. Click Import.
   
10. It will tell you how many items it imported.
    
11. And this is what it looks like. This is a this is a read-write calendar; you can modify and add or delete events in this calendar. You can also share it. But it will not be automatically updated.