KOrganizer can store (and retrieve) events, journals entries and to-dos using various methods, and to different locations. Each of these locations is called a calendar resource.
KOrganizer supports calendar files based on standards such as iCalendar and vCalendar natively (adding them as new resources), but you can import the data (merge) into an existing resource and open the file in a new window too. Importing files in the format used by the old ical application is also supported.
You can export your data as a web page, as an iCalendar or vCalendar file. These files are supported by most scheduling applications. The web page can be used to publish your calendar and to-dos list in the web or in the local network.
If you have a calendar containing events of public interest, such as a conference or championship schedule, you can upload it using the get hot new stuff framework. You can use the same framework to check if there are events worth downloading.
In this chapter, we will explain how to manage your calendar, using the resources, import and export actions and the get hot new stuff scheme.
KOrganizer uses a local file, usually
$TDEHOME/share/apps/korganizer/std.ics
,
as its default resource. But this is not your only option: there are several
other resources you can add: groupware servers, journal entries as blogs,
network files, etc.. If you use more than one resource, KOrganizer
can be configured to use the default
resource or ask which resource to use when saving new events, to-dos or
journal entries. KOrganizer will seamlessly merge the items from
two or more resources in the views.
The default resource is a good choice for many use cases, but you may want to use another resource, especially if you use a supported groupware server. Please ask the server administrator for the information required to configure the groupware resource, including free/busy information publishing and retrieving. Access to free/busy information allows an event organizer to take the attendee's calendar in consideration when adding them to the event's attendee list.
Besides calendar storage, groupware servers typically offer contacts, mail and free/busy information storage. Therefore, some of the resources discussed here may be related to other resources from KMail and KAddressBook (the mail and contacts components of Kontact), or to the free/busy settings in the main configuration.
Please note that KOrganizer group scheduling communication is based on a peer to peer email standard. This means that you do not need a groupware server to use it!
A screenshot of KOrganizer's Resource View Sidebar
Procedure 3.1. Adding a New KOrganizer Resource
If the resource view is not available on KOrganizer's sidebar, choose the ->-> menu item to display it.
If the resource buttons are not displayed on the resource viewer, choose the ->-> menu item to display them.
Press the Add... button to add new resources to the list of available resources.
Check or uncheck the resource box to enable or disable it.
Later, if you want to edit or delete a resource, select it on the list and press Delete to remove it or Edit... to modify it.
Alternatively, you can configure the KOrganizer resources (plus all other KDE resources), in the TDE Control Center, using the KDE Resources configuration module.
Among the existing resources, you can find:
Add this resource to view birthdays from contacts in KAddressBook in your calendar. The birthday appears in your calendar as a read only event and without associated time.
Add this resource to be able to read your blogs as journal entries, directly from blog servers, such as blogger and drupal.
Add this resource to load bugzilla open bugs as to-dos. This resource is based on the kbugbuster application, and uses its bug cache information. Bugzilla is an open source bug tracking system.
If you are a developer working on a project that uses bugzilla, you can use this resource to view as to-dos the open bugs of the applications or libraries you are interested in (they are called “products” and / or “components” in bugzilla). This resource is available as part of the KDE Software Development kit.
Add this resource to load a XML Feature Plan as to-dos. The XML Feature Plan is a scheme designed to document the new features of future software releases. It was designed to fit the KDE release schedule needs, but can be helpful for any software project. The information from the XML file can be used to control feature freezes, to report the new features of new release or the status of the new features of a future release.
Add this resource to be able to save (and load) your events,
to-dos and journal entries to a local file. The file can be in the iCalendar or
in the vCalendar standard format. KOrganizer uses this resource by default,
storing your calendar information under
$TDEHOME/share/apps/korganizer/std.ics
.
If you have access to a server that supports the GroupDav protocol, add this resource in order to be able to save (and load) events and to-dos to the server. To add the resource, you will need to know the server URL, your user name and your password. The GroupDav protocol supports the storage of contacts, so you may want to add and configure the KAddressBook resource too.
As of June 2005, the groupware servers that implement this protocol are the OpenGroupware server and the Citadel server. An up to date list can be obtained at the GroupDav website.
If you have access to a Novell GroupWise Server (version 6.5 or later), add this resource in order to be able to save (and load) events, free/busy information and to-dos to the server. To add the resource, you will need to know the server URL, your user name and your password. There is support for storage of contacts, so you may want to configure KAddressBook resource.
The most practical way to configure the access to a GroupWise server is to use the groupwisewizard wizard. You can start it from the command line prompt:
$
groupwisewizard
The wizard will configure not only KOrganizer to use the
GroupWise resources, but KMail, KAddressBook too.If you have access to a server that shares calendar data via IMAP, add this resource in order to be able to save (and load) events, to-dos, free/busy information and journal entries to the IMAP server. To enable IMAP access, you will need to configure KMail first, then add the KOrganizer resource. Also, since you are using KMail to contact the server, KOrganizer will open KMail automatically, and use it to access your data. The “IMAP server via KMail” schema supports the storage of contacts, so you may want to add the KAddressBook resource too.
Most IMAP servers can be used to hold calendar and address book resources, allowing you to use access your data from just anywhere! If you are a user looking for a simple way to access and manage your groupware information, this is a simple and very efficient solution.
To use this resource, it is necessary to configure KMail first. Choose the -> menu item. Click the Accounts icon in the configure dialog sidebar and add the IMAP server as a disconnected IMAP incoming account. Now click the Misc icon in the sidebar and click the Groupware tab to enable and configure the IMAP resource folder options. Only then you can add the KOrganizer (and KAddressBook) resources. For more information on configuring KMail, consult the KMail handbook.
A more complete implementation of this schema is the Kolab Server. This groupware implementation offers additional features for system administrators, such as support of mixed client environments (Microsoft® Outlook(R), KDE PIM and web mail), a web administration interface, shared address book, email server, etc. As of June 2005, the groupware servers that implement the “Kolab 1” and “Kolab 2” protocols are the Kolab server, version 1 and 2, and the Citadel server (Kolab 1 only). An up to date list can be obtained at the Kolab website.
The most practical way to configure the access to a Kolab server is to use the kolabwizard wizard application. You can start it from the command line prompt:
$
kolabwizard
Add this resource to be able to save and load your events, to-dos and journal entries from a local folder. Each calendar item will be saved in a separate file, inside the folder.
Since there is only one file per event, to-do, or journal entry, KOrganizer does not need to parse one big calendar file, sometimes with thousands of items when saving or loading, just one single calendar item. Also, in case of file corruption, you will lose only one calendar item, not the whole calendar.
Add this resource to be able to save and load your events, to-dos and journal entries from a remote file. There are two main advantages of keeping your calendar data in a remote server: you can access your data even if you are away from your computer, and you can let other people (for instance, a secretary) view it. KOrganizer keeps a cache of the data locally.
A screenshot of KOrganizer's Remote File Resource Configuration
You can configure the resource to be read only, keeping the remote file untouched. In this case, you won't need to supply a “Upload to” location, just a “Download from” location for the remote file. If you plan to use a writable remote resource, you will have to supply both locations. The reason to have separate locations, is that some servers may have an upload queue, a place where you need to put the upload file, different from where it will be. In most cases, if you have write access to the remote file, the Upload to and Download from file locations should be the same.
It is important to understand that the remote file resource does not add or remove individual items from the remote file, it simply saves the remote file over local cache when downloading and save the local cache over the remote file when uploading. Therefore, if the resource is read only, it makes sense to set the Automatic Reload option to a Regular interval, but if not (if the resource is writable), it is recommended to reload the file only before starting to edit it, by setting the Automatic Reload option to On startup, and to save it before exiting, by setting the Automatic Save option at least to On exit, or better yet, if you have a fast and stable connection to the remote file, set it to On every change to avoid data loss.
If you add, change or remove events, journal entries or to-dos and reload the remote file, all your local changes will be lost, and the file will revert to its previous state. This can happen in different scenarios (for instance if the system crashes, KOrganizer will reload the remote file on the next start, if you set the Automatic Save to Never, or if you set the Automatic Reload to a regular interval). If you plan to use a calendar resource in writable mode, make sure that your connection is stable, configure the resource to save the file on each change (or at frequent intervals), and do not reload the file at regular intervals.
A related, but opposite problem, is that two users cannot safely edit the same remote file at the same time, because the remote file resource does not offer a conflict resolution mechanism. For instance, if someone else changes (and saves) the remote file, after you loaded it, and a some time later you save the file, their changes will be lost.
If you have access to a SUSE Linux® OpenExchange Server, version 4.1, add this resource in order to be able to save (and load) events, free/busy information and to-dos to the server. To add the resource, you will need to know the server URL, your user name and your password. There is support for storage of contacts, so you may want to configure KAddressBook resource.
The most practical way to configure the access to an OpenExchange server is to use the sloxwizard wizard. You can start it from the command line prompt:
$
sloxwizard
The wizard will configure not only KOrganizer to use the
OpenExchange resources, but KMail, KAddressBook too.If you have access to a eGroupware Server, version 1.0, add this resource in order to be able to save (and load) events, free/busy information and to-dos to the server. To add the resource, you will need to know the server URL, your user name and your password. There is support for storage of contacts, so you may want to configure KAddressBook resource.
The most practical way to configure the access to a eGroupware server is to use the egroupwarewizard wizard. You can start it from the command line prompt:
$
egroupwarewizard
The wizard will configure not only KOrganizer to use the
eGroupware resources, but KMail, KAddressBook too.
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