QuickCalendar, an application for Android written in Java
Posted by jimblackler on Jan 30, 2009
I’ve just released a simple utility QuickCalendar onto the Android Marketplace.
It’s a simple application that displays the current and the next (or the next two) events on the notification bar of your Android phone.
I wrote it because I miss a similar feature from my last phone, a Windows Mobile device. The trickiest part was getting access to the calendar data. There is a provider for calendar data, but unlike the contacts provider it is not part of the standard SDK. However the functionality can be obtained if you get the source (Android is open source), adjust the exported items and build your own SDK.
I may write an article on how to do this if there is demand. Also I will release the source for the application when I have OKed it with my employer. In the meantime you can use the application yourself by going to the Android Marketplace on your phone and searching for QuickCalendar.
Downloading
Get it from the Market, or here
Update
I’ve had some nice comments and feature requests (always welcome). As a result I’ve fixed some bugs and added some features.
- 0.9.29:
Search button supported on devices that have a hardware search button.
Corporate Calendar supported on Motorola handets.
Widgets refresh immediately when calendar is modified, when preferences are modified, and when the screen is enabled.
Progress indicator for main page.
Widgets to not refresh when screen is off, to save battery.
Refresh rate can be configured in preference screen.
Bug fixed with widget font size. - 0.9.18 : Cupcake version! Gadget for home page available. Colored indicators in task bar. Also: German language support.
- 0.9.17 : Bug fix release (service not starting on phone power up since 0.9.13).
- 0.9.16 : 24hr (aka military time) format not used in category view unless is on in phone preferences.
- 0.9.15 : Bug fix release (preference changes not taking effect).
- 0.9.14 : Context menu selection for time events. Day group headings correct in all time zones.
- 0.9.13 : Now possible to specify any time (up to 999 weeks) to look ahead for notifications and for the main event list. You are not limited to the pre-set durations. New notification icons more in keeping with the Android conventions. New choice of event list format of ‘grouped by day’ or the original classic layout. Events can be shown colored by the calendar color.
- 0.9.12 : Fixed bug introduced in 0.9.11 (time zones didn’t work). Sorry everyone. Daylight savings time should also work properly now though.
- 0.9.11 : Improved progress indicator. Attempted bug fix on calendar preference screen.
- 0.9.10 : Search option – now possible to search calendars! Minor cosmetic improvements.
- 0.9.9 : New icon from Darrel Austin. Another ‘all day’ event fix. Fixed problem with apk size.
- 0.9.8 : All day events sort correctly in all time zones. All day events future day names correct.
- 0.9.7 : Up two four alerts. All day events work in all time zones.
- 0.9.6 : aDogTrack support. Notification icons can be enabled in preferences.
- 0.9.5 : Less obtrusive notify icons. Start service on power on option.
- 0.9.4 : Ability to select/deselect calendars to alert (where you have multiple calendars).
- 0.9.3 : Fixed problem where the notifications stopped updating.
- 0.9.2 : Fixed problem where the time zone was ignored.
- 0.9.1 : The first published version.
fantastic application, exactly what i was looking for since I got G1 two weeks ago…
After latest update, app scans 7 days even after setting it to scan only for 4. Other wise its a very awsome and very useful app. Thanks for very much.
Thanks for the heads up Harry. The search bounds were approximate for various reasons, but it turned out to be very little work to make it exact. It’ll be fixed in 0.9.11, when that’s released.
I love this app, but like Harry see all the events in the coming week even though it is set for 2 days. Can’t wait for 0.9.11
Great app! Works just like ‘today’ for palm.
Wonderful app! Possibly my favorite and most-used since aTrackDog. Clicking through to the full view has become my default method of viewing my upcoming calendar, since I can access it anywhere and it’s faster than waiting for the regular Calendar program to load. 3 requests:
1. Is it possible to add calendar colors?
2. Also, is it possible to make an option to not view all-day events in the notification slider? Or even better to make it an option that can be activated per-calendar?
3. And finally, is it possible to add long-press functionality to the items in both views? (particularly to go straight to Edit mode.)
Thanks again!
Yes, yes and yes. But I’m not sure when as I have another app that I am working on which is taking up most of my time.
[…] Quick Calendar: Laat huidige en toekomstige afspraken in de Status-Bar zien (ontwikkelaar) […]
Dude! {Grin}
You saved my life with the Search function!!! I also missed this from WinMobile, and my small business relied on that function a LOT, and I despaired of ever seeing it.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!! MY mother Thanks you, and all that. LOL
Only two things that I can think of ( and would happily pay for) :
1. Long hold to choose to Edit, Delete, etc
2. Any possibilty of a link to Contacts, like Long hold of a Contact offers choice to create appmnt , transferring the Contact name to a New appmnt. A stretch, I know, but I WOULD GL
GLADLY PAY FOR SUCH AN APP! (Sorry for the double post, composing long msgs on G1 ain’t fun!)
Thanks again, Bob M aka PuterPro2
Thanks for your kind comments.
1. I may do in the next round of development (but I am not currently adding new features).
2. Can you clarify this request for me? Do you mean hooking into the existing contact browser to allow a ‘new appointment for contact’ action?
Hi. Jim!
I see you,re an “old school” guy who actually LISTENS to their customer!
Quite refreshing these days.
1. OK, I had gotten that, but you need to know what people need & want … :)
2. Well … IDEALLY … It’s absurd that a Search company failed to get search right on the G1.
I used to be able to search Contacts & Cal for ANY data – Notes, reverse phone # (can’t type a phone # in Contacts & jump to that person), addresses, etc.
I often searched Calendar notes. So those are my ideal search requests ( not too much, eh? LOL!)
What I referred to was just what you said – a Contacts to Calendar link, pulling contact name from “Add New Appointment” by long press in Contacts. KILLER!
I’m sure there are TONS of people who came from Palm & WinMo that would pay for this. You could have a Quick Cal Lite with current capabilities and a paid version with the added features. I get 10 %. LOL! (Jk)
Thanks for your time, have a great week!
Bob M.
I love the app, great idea, great job! However I liked it better before the update. I would like to be able to see the next 2 or three events regardless of how far away they are. It seems like before 0.9.11 the app worked perfect for me. I’d like to at least have the ability to set the “hours to notify” in terms of days or something. I generally want to see stuff that is coming up a few days from now. I would love to get my hands on the source as well, please let us know if you are able to clear that with your employer.
Hi bryce, I will allow people to scan ahead any amount of time on the notifications and in the viewer screen, this will be in the next version.
Great App! Thanks! Would like to get the source code…
Can I download any older releases? The newest one doesn’t work :-(
What do you see on the screen when you run it, AndI?
The app itself works without problems, but since my last update (I think my previous version was 0.9.2) the notifications in the top bar don’t work. The program shows for example two appointments, “start service” is activated, also tried to check and uncheck the hide notifications icons. Without sucess, no notifications are show in the bar when pulled down. Maybe it could be caused by my android version since I’m from germany.
I would thank you if you could send me previous versions of the app via email or post a link. So I would be able to test which version “broke” the notifications for me.
Thanks!
Andi
Thanks for the useful application, Jim! I, too, would be interesting in seeing the source code.
How do I change the timezone to reflect Arizona, which does not go on Daylight Savings Time? My times say America/Boise. I am worried that when the rest of the country goes on Daylight Savings my times will be off.
OOPS,,,,ignore last comment, I figured it out in the Settings Function on the G1 itself,,,,it was NOT your app. I love the app, just wish it had a bar graph showing the times for appts and events as well.
Hello Jim,
I have not yet tried your application but your application and what I have read is allowing me to atleast consider the G1. I have a Blackberry. the Search feature on it is VERY useful to me. I like to be able to search a keyword, and then be able to have my entire device searched for Contacts (any text within a contacts profile), Calendar, Messages, memopad, tasks. Does your Quickcalendar application allow for users to snooze appointments. Can one Edit results from a search (ie change dates or information right from the search results). Is there a video demo of your application that I can see it at work. The Search feature is key for me and between Calendar entries and Text within emails (not necessarily Gmail)…I use this freature to the maximum.
I am able to select Toodledo as a calendar, but all I get is a bar that says there are tasks, without displaying the tasks. Is there a way to access the details of the daily tasks with this calendar on this program and I just haven’t found it?
I’m hooked on your program, but not on toodledo. If there is another tasks application that will show up on there, I’d like to know which one, so I don’t have to add all my tasks to my calendar. (But I will… if I need to!)
Hi Barbara, I’m not familiar with Toodledo, I will have a look at it and see how it works.
Please please write that article about accessing the calendar data. I want to write an app that uses the calendar data and I do NOT want to use the atom/web API (which is the only thing I can find on google about calendar data on android). If you can’t write that article right away I would appreciate a code snippet from you. Thanks!
Sorry if this is an ignorant question, but can I sync the calendar with my outlook calendar? I am switching from a palm pilot to everything on my G1 and put your app on for my calendar, but I can’t find a way to get all my info from my computer calendar onto the G!. Thank you!
Starr, there’s probably not an easy way to sync outlook directly to the phone, but I bet you would have good luck syncing it to google calendar on the web interface somehow, and then from there it automatically syncs to your phone.
Yo.
I have the same problem as Andi (Feb 28 comment). QC works fine EXCEPT in Notification Bar. It HAD worked for a few weeks; now dead. (I soft-restarted and re-downloaded QC; unresolved).
If fixed, very nice app.
Mdeva
Just wanted to say a simple THANK YOU with no “requests” attached!!!! I’ve been sorely missing this feature on the home page since I was used to my Win Mobile phone previously. I was constantly afraid I was going to forget an appointment, even with reminders and such. My most used download.
First off, great application. Only thing I can’t get to work is the dates on the event list. I have an entry in for 7th May 2009 ( 13 days from now) but it keeps showing up as next Thursday. Is there a way to fix this?
How do we use/access the homepage gadget
First of all i want to thanks you for this really nice application.
Now i have 2 requests:
– I find a bug, i have a date in my calendar for next 25 may (all day), when i check quickcalendar see that they says next monday, and next monday is 18 may (today is 15 may). Could you fix it?
– Whould be great if you could make a best looking widget. (3 blocks of space, like you place, looks perfect for me)
Thanks again for your effort.
fridlack
Thanks for your comments.
The ‘next’ naming system is dropped for the next release. Clearly this means different things to different people.
The widget is redone for the next release. It will still be 3 x 1 in dimensions but it has been redesigned.
Great! i’ll be waiting for the next release! Thanks again for your nice work!
Very nice application, esp. the new widget is perfect.
Just some little wishes for the future. Smaller fontsize if possible. And muti-day events should be visible at all days.
Great and very useful app ! Please, just allow us to adjust the height and number of upcoming events in the widget !
thx! that is a great app!
Hey what an awesome appl. i got it 3 weeks ago and let me tell you is a must heve application on android.
I have maybe an improvment for the next update.
When you scroll down the status bar and watch the week day. How about to put the monthly day too, like:
Tommorrow 23rd june
Wednesday 34th……
I know it can sound silly but there are many people like me who has no idea wich day is leaving on…… :P
Maybe some languaje options for foreigners??
Thanks.
Oscar
Killer App! Search and home screen widget make the G1 calendar much more useful and fill in the main blanks I had with the default app.
Only one minor feature request: The widget shows the current event time as “Since HH:MM” – I would find it much more use to have that as “Until HH:MM”. If something is happening now then when it started is less interesting than when it will finish: if I’m late for a meeting then I don’t need to know how late I am but if I’m in a meeting it’s nice to know when it will finish.
I’m familiar with the basic SDK and happy to help with coding this request if you can release the source.
Find a little bug, it’s not posible to uncheck in options “Enhanced date format” without “show all day events” go uncheck too. This two options go in the same way, allways :P
Would be great if you could fix it.
And sometimes, the widget stay fixed at 1×3 and sometimes it fits letters size. I prefer when it stay at 1×3 size.
Thanks again for this great application!
Ok, when “Enhanced date format” and “show all day events” are marked widgets stays on 1×3, but when i unmark this options fits on letters size.
Just discovered this app and installed it on my phone. Great job! This is exactly what I was missing from my old WinMo phone, the ability to see on my home screen my day’s appointments. If you’re taking suggestions for future updates (at least as far as the 1.5 widget is concerned) I would love to be able to adjust how many appointments I see at a time, instead of the default two (like you can do with the notifications in the bar), and instead of Now: XXX for the all-day events, I’d love to just see those under the Today header.
Also, not sure if this is a bug or not, but on mine, for appointments with time slots, I show 3pm (in 3 hours 8 Except for 1 minute, which shows the (in 3 hours 1 minute) just fine. I’m guessing that ‘s’ is pushing it one character too long? Figured I would let you know!
Thanks for the great app, and I can’t wait to see what you do with it. This is even one I’d pay for if you decided to release a basic free and enhanced paid version.
This app is fantastic, and exactly what I needed/wanted for my G1 – except for me it seemed to kill my battery life?! I haven’t seen any other comments about battery life when using this app, but for me the app took my battery down from the ~ 1.5 days it usually lasts, to about 0.5 days. Uninstalling the app returned my battery life back to “normal” – has anyone else experienced this? Am I missing a config setting somewhere?
Great app ! thanks a lot !
Do you plan to provide a language setting ?
If you need I can help for french translation.
Thanks !
Great app!
Otherwise I agree with Toni.
Awesome awesome app. Thanks !!!
I have a couple of requests :
– have the widget be 3×2, so we can see up to 4 upcoming events
– do not have the widget change sizes depending on text width (fixed width)
– integrate Calendar Tasks with it
Thanks,
Lluís
Thanks for all the comments. I read every one although I only have limited development time so can only do a small number of the requests.
Lluis I would love to do Tasks, there is no public API yet.
Jim
Sweet !
Yet another thought … What about making the widget 4×2 and adding a scroll bar to the right so we could see all the upcoming events within the next 15 days ?
The tasks would be the icing on the cake … I hope they release the public API soon !!
Thanks,
Lluís
Can you please add the 24h time format?
Beautiful app. Well done !
A few remarks here.
1) Would it be possible to be able to hide notifications? I am already hiding the icons and use the widget.
2) On the main QuickCalendar page, event lines are slightly too narrow.
3) I am ready to donate a French translation to your project if you want one ! Please contact me if needed!
Matt