Synchronize Eudora 8 or Thunderbird 2 Calendar with Google Calendar


Many of us want to stay organized and many, when it comes to “schedules” fail to do so. I am for one. I’ve looked everywhere for a better time scheduling and always encounter the reality that I have to setup some complicated systems and buy proprietary software, that is obviously not an option for me (and who would?) At the same time, I want to do edits of my Calendar at the privacy of my home (where I can concentrate and relax), and if needed, “offline”. From there, I want my calendar to be viewable (and editable) via web browser.

There are ways to do it, but you either have to buy something or subscribe to something, or learn something new, which you don’t have time or money. Welcome Mozilla Sunbird/Lightning Calendar and Google Calendar. Will do everything we’ve been looking for. Mozilla Sunbird is the stand-alone calendar system, while Lightning is an Add-On for Thunderbird. In this How-To Guide, I will show you how you can use Lightning for your Thunderbird 2 as well as Eudora 8 (yes, the first GUI email client is back!) and everyone’s favorite – Google Calendar.

You’ll learn here how to synchronize your Eudora 8/Thunderbird 2 Calendar with Google Calendar and do edits 2-way, without needing to buy a PDA, a Laptop, a Mobile Phone with Calc sync, a Wrist-Watch with Calc sync (oooh eyeing on a much expensive solution ha?). All you need in this simplest of method is your handy Home PC with Eudora 8 or Thunderbird 2 and your Google Calendar account.

Are you ready?

Follow up:

Instruction Set I: Preparation

  1. Install the “August 2007 cumulative time zone update for Microsoft Windows operating systems
    • (you need this as there were and are changes in timezones in various places around the world, for example Perth, Western Australia is currently under Daylight Savings Time (DST) experimentation).
  2. Install Eudora 8 or Thunderbird 2.
  3. Install Eudora/Thunderbird Add-Ons:

NOTE: When installing Eudora/Thunderbird Add-Ons, be sure to “Right-Click and Save (File/Link) As…” the download link especially if you are using Firefox or Flock, or have it installed. The Browser and Email Clients use the same file extension of .xpi and by default, it loads the browser.

To install your downloaded Email extension, go to your email client, look for Tools > Add-ons > Click the Install Button. Then just simply select the file you downloaded and restart the client as instructed.

Instruction Set II: Setting your Google Calendar

  1. Go to calendar.google.com and log-in to your Google Calendar
  2. You should be seeing an existing Calendar there (the default/initial calendar created for you), using that as an example, click on the Pull-Down Arrow on its right and click “Calendar Details”.
  3. Select a timezone appropriate for you
    • (choose the timezone you have on your PC, this must be the same [if it is GMT+8 with no DST on your PC then select a similar timezone, example: on my PC I have GMT+8 Singapore, on my Google Calendar it is GMT+8 Manila])
  4. Click “Save”
  5. Repeat Step 2. Then scroll down and click on the button under “Private Address” that says “iCal” (if you want to use XML, you can use it, but know that iCal is the standard format for Calendars), a dialog box will appear.
  6. Right-Click on the link and copy it.
  7. Paste the link on your notepad and save it temporarily.

Instruction Set III: Setup your Eudora/Thunderbird (Lightning) Calendar

  1. Go to Tools > Add-ons > then look for the addon “Lightning”. Select it and click “Options”.
  2. Go to the Timezone tab and select your timezone (be sure that it is the same as your PC Timezone and Google Calendar Timezone settings, if it’s GMT+8 with no DST, then it must also be GMT+8 with no DST). Click Ok.
  3. Go to your Calendar and Right-Click on the empty “Calendar List” sidebar and choose “New Calendar”.
  4. Select “On the Network” and click next.
  5. Select “Google Calendar” and paste the link you copied from the Set II above. Then click Next.
  6. Give it a Name and Color code, then click Next
  7. Input your Google Calendar username and Password and click OK.
  8. Click Finish

Now you can edit your Google Calendar right from your Eudora 8 or Thunderbird 2 email Client!


Enjoy!


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