Calendaring software
Encyclopedia
Calendaring software is software that minimally provides users with an electronic version of a calendar. Additionally, the software may provide an appointment book, address book, and/or contact list. These tools are an extension of many of the features provided by time management software such as desk accessory packages and computer office automation systems. Calendaring is a standard feature of many PDA
s, EDA
s, and smartphones.
The software may be a local package designed for individual use (e.g. Lightning extension for Mozilla Thunderbird
, Microsoft Outlook
without Exchange Server, or Windows Calendar
) or may be a networked package that allows for the sharing of information between users (e.g. Mozilla Sunbird
, Windows Live Calendar
, Google Calendar
, or Microsoft Outlook
with Exchange Server).
Personal digital assistant
A personal digital assistant , also known as a palmtop computer, or personal data assistant, is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager. Current PDAs often have the ability to connect to the Internet...
s, EDA
Enterprise digital assistant
An enterprise digital assistant is a handheld computer, born of the personal digital assistant popularity which was adapted for extensive, more robust usage within the SME and Enterprise business applications as a data capture mobile device.Over the years, these business applications have grown...
s, and smartphones.
The software may be a local package designed for individual use (e.g. Lightning extension for Mozilla Thunderbird
Mozilla Thunderbird
Mozilla Thunderbird is a free, open source, cross-platform e-mail and news client developed by the Mozilla Foundation. The project strategy is modeled after Mozilla Firefox, a project aimed at creating a web browser...
, Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Outlook is a personal information manager from Microsoft, available both as a separate application as well as a part of the Microsoft Office suite...
without Exchange Server, or Windows Calendar
Windows Calendar
Windows Calendar is a calendar application that is included with Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. It natively supports the iCalendar file format, and has the ability to publish and subscribe to web-based calendars by using HTTP and WebDAV...
) or may be a networked package that allows for the sharing of information between users (e.g. Mozilla Sunbird
Mozilla Sunbird
Mozilla Sunbird is a free and open source, cross-platform calendar application that was developed by the Mozilla Foundation, Sun Microsystems and many volunteers...
, Windows Live Calendar
Windows Live Calendar
Windows Live Hotmail Calendar is a time-management web application by Microsoft as part of its Windows Live services. It is integrated into Windows Live Hotmail, the way that MSN Calendar was integrated into the MSN Hotmail service...
, Google Calendar
Google Calendar
Google Calendar is a free time-management web application offered by Google. It became available on April 13, 2006, and exited the beta stage in July 2009...
, or Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Outlook is a personal information manager from Microsoft, available both as a separate application as well as a part of the Microsoft Office suite...
with Exchange Server).
Features
Calendaring software will contain one or more of the following features:- Calendar – a calendarCalendarA calendar is a system of organizing days for social, religious, commercial, or administrative purposes. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months, and years. The name given to each day is known as a date. Periods in a calendar are usually, though not...
showing dates and days of the week. An example a simple software calendar is the UnixUnixUnix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
calCal (Unix)' is a standard program on Unix and Unix-like operating systems that prints an ASCII calendar of the given month or year. If the user does not specify any command-line options, cal will print a calendar of the current month.- Examples : $ cal...
command, which simply outputs a monthly or yearly calendar. - Address bookAddress bookAn address book or a name and address book is a book or a database used for storing entries called contacts. Each contact entry usually consists of a few standard fields...
– a list of contacts with information to enable the user to communicate with the contacts. - Appointment attachments – This feature allow users to attached a file to an appointment. If the appointment includes other participants, the attachment is shared with them.
- Appointment calendar – a list of appointments and the attendees for the appointments. This software may include the capability of detecting scheduling conflicts, notifying the participants of the conflict, and suggesting alternate meeting times.
- Appointment reminders – Automatically reminds participants of an upcoming meeting.
- Availability sharing – this feature allows users to share their availability with others (users can select how much detail is shared); thus facilitating meeting scheduling amongst several individuals.
- Calendar publishing – some calendaring tools allow the user to publish select calendar information on a public link.
- Calendar exporting – Users are allowed to export selected calendars into various file formats, including iCalendarICalendariCalendar is a computer file format which allows Internet users to send meeting requests and tasks to other Internet users, via email, or sharing files with an extension of .ics...
standard. - Collaborative scheduling – the capability of the software to check schedules and propose meeting times to all of the participants. This allows the invitees to suggest times that will work best for them, allowing the organizer to pick a meeting time that works best for all of the participants.
- Customization – This feature allow users to customize several available features such as: email appointment remainders, calendar viewing default, workweek and work hours display, etc.
- E-mailE-mailElectronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
– an electronic mail communication system. This can be tied into the appointment calendar to send reminders and notify the participants of issues arising with scheduled meetings. - Group Calendar – a calendar showing dates of groups in addition to individual calendars.
- Multiple calendars – this feature allows users to create separate calendars (i.e. work calendar, children school calendar).
- Multi viewing – this feature allow users to select how their calendar is displayed: one day, one week, one month, or one year.
- PrintingPrintingPrinting is a process for reproducing text and image, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. It is often carried out as a large-scale industrial process, and is an essential part of publishing and transaction printing....
– User may print selected schedule. Usually, this feature allows users to select how she wants to have the printout to look (i.e. include comments, subject only, etc.). - Web-based interface – allow users to access their calendars from any computer or mobile device (including cell phone) without having to solely rely on their work or personal computer.
Examples
- AcePlanner
- Bedework
- Bookeo
- Chandler (PIM)Chandler (PIM)Chandler is a personal information management software suite described by its developers as a "Note-to-Self Organizer" designed for personal and small-group task management and calendaring. It is free software, previously released under the GNU General Public License, and now released under the...
- Citadel/UXCitadel/UXCitadel/UX is a collaboration suite that is descended from the Citadel family of programs which became popular in the 1980s and 1990s as a bulletin board system platform. It is designed to run on open source operating systems such as Linux or BSD...
- ContactizerContactizerContactizer Pro is a contact manager, task manager, event manager, communication manager and project manager developed exclusively for Mac OS X, in Cocoa....
on Mac OS XMac OS XMac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems... - GantticGantticGanttic is a web based planning and scheduling application for organizations focusing on resource scheduling and project planning.Ganttic got its name from Gantt chart. It solves the resource management problems and therefore improves the efficiency of resource usage. Resources like staff members,...
- Google CalendarGoogle CalendarGoogle Calendar is a free time-management web application offered by Google. It became available on April 13, 2006, and exited the beta stage in July 2009...
- iCalICaliCal is a personal calendar application made by Apple Inc. that runs on the Mac OS X operating system. iCal was the first calendar application for Mac OS X to offer support for multiple calendars and the ability to publish/subscribe calendars to WebDAV server....
- iCalServerICal ServeriCal Server is a service included in Mac OS X Server v10.5. iCal Server is based on the CalDAV calendar standard. The iCal Server is a CalDAV standards-compliant server that allows multiple users to collaboratively share calendaring information....
- Microsoft ExchangeMicrosoft Exchange ServerMicrosoft Exchange Server is the server side of a client–server, collaborative application product developed by Microsoft. It is part of the Microsoft Servers line of server products and is used by enterprises using Microsoft infrastructure products...
- Microsoft OutlookMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft Outlook is a personal information manager from Microsoft, available both as a separate application as well as a part of the Microsoft Office suite...
- MyTimeFinder
- Mozilla SunbirdMozilla SunbirdMozilla Sunbird is a free and open source, cross-platform calendar application that was developed by the Mozilla Foundation, Sun Microsystems and many volunteers...
- Netscape CommunicatorNetscape CommunicatorNetscape Communicator was an Internet suite produced by Netscape Communications Corporation. Initially released in June 1997, Netscape Communicator 4.0 was the successor to Netscape Navigator 3.x and included more groupware features intended to appeal to enterprises.- Editions :Netscape...
- Novell GroupWiseNovell GroupWiseGroupWise is a messaging and collaborative software platform from Novell that supports email, calendaring, personal information management, instant messaging, and document management. The platform consists of the client software, which is available for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux, and the server...
- Now Up-to-Date & Contact
- PeopleCubePeopleCubePeopleCube is the producer of Resource Scheduler, Meeting Maker and several other software applications for group calendaring and resource scheduling. The company's headquarters are located in Framingham, Massachusetts, with satellite offices in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Traverse City, Michigan,...
- ScheduFlow Calendar Software
- ScheduleFire
- Sun Java Calendar ServerSun Java Calendar ServerThe Sun Java System Calendar Server is Sun's calendar server. The currently available version is 6.3 which is now part of the Sun Java Communications Suite....
- UbideskUbideskUbidesk is a web-based software that provides an online workspace for project collaboration. Provided as Software as a service, Ubidesk is platform independent and accessible via a web-browser without installing any application on the client side. Ubidesk offers file sharing, document...
- Windows Live MailWindows Live MailWindows Live Mail is a free of charge email client from Microsoft's Windows Live set of products. It is intended to be a successor for Outlook Express on Windows XP and Windows Mail on Windows Vista...
- Teamwork (software)Teamwork (software)Teamwork is a web-based wide scoped project and groupware management tool developed by Open Lab, an Italian software house founded in 2001. It won the 17th Jolt Productivity Award in 2007 in the project management category....
- Yahoo! CalendarYahoo! CalendarYahoo! Calendar is a Web-based calendar service from Yahoo!. It can read calendar feeds and events syndicated from sites that make use of the published Yahoo! calendar programming interfaces. While users are not required to have a Yahoo! Mail account, they are required to have a free Yahoo! ID in...
- Tungle
- eStudio Calendar Software
- TimeBridgeTimeBridgeTimeBridge is a Web-based software application for coordinating and running meetings and collaborating online. TimeBridge's meeting management service works with large groups or one-on-one meetings across time zones and companies and integrates directly with Microsoft Outlook, Google Calendar and...
See also
- CalDAVCalDAVCalendaring Extensions to WebDAV, or CalDAV, is an Internet standard allowing a client to access scheduling information on a remote server. It extends WebDAV specification and uses iCalendar format for the data. The protocol is defined by RFC 4791...
- iCalendarICalendariCalendar is a computer file format which allows Internet users to send meeting requests and tasks to other Internet users, via email, or sharing files with an extension of .ics...
- The Calendaring and Scheduling ConsortiumCalConnectCalConnect, the Calendaring and Scheduling Consortium, is a partnership among vendors, developers, and customers to advance calendaring and scheduling standards and implementations...
- Personal Information ManagerPersonal information managerA personal information manager is a type of application software that functions as a personal organizer. The acronym PIM is now, more commonly, used in reference to Personal information management as a field of study...
- SyncMLSyncMLSyncML is the former name for a platform-independent information synchronization standard. The project is currently referred to as Open Mobile Alliance Data Synchronization and Device Management...
standard - Web Calendar Access ProtocolWeb Calendar Access ProtocolWeb Calendar Access Protocol is a protocol for remote client-server calendar access and scheduling based on the XML, HTTP, iCalendar, and vCard Internet standards. WCAP was created for use with the product that eventually became Sun Java Calendar Server, but is also used by the open source Buni...
- WebcalWebcalwebcal is an unofficial Uniform Resource Identifier scheme for accessing iCalendar files. It is also the name of two web calendar applications written in Perl....
External Links
- CalendarReview - The calendar guru!
- 65+ Online Calendars and Calendar Tools, written in Oct 2007, linked 22.09.2010