If I add the Thunderbird calendar app (Lightning?) and if I manage it from
Windows, what's the best way to sync or copy that calendar database over to
an Android phone so I can use it as read-only (or read/write if possible)?

Is there a database file I can just copy over to the Android sd card?
And then is there an Android app that reads the Lightning calendar db?

Beyond the pale wrote:

> If I add the Thunderbird calendar app (Lightning?)

lightning has been built-in to thunderbird for years, nothing separate
to install

Alt-3 should show the calendar.

> and if I manage it from
> Windows, what's the best way to sync or copy that calendar database over to
> an Android phone so I can use it as read-only (or read/write if possible)?

probably best to sync the thunderbird to the google calendar that the
phone is already using ... I don't use that so can't give the exact
steps ... I would expect it to require oAuth2

On Wed, 10 May 2023 10:51:34 +0100, Andy Burns wrote:

>> If I add the Thunderbird calendar app (Lightning?)
>
> lightning has been built-in to thunderbird for years, nothing separate
> to install
>
> Alt-3 should show the calendar.

Thanks. I've never used Thunderbird or Lightning before. Nor calendars.

I tested Alt-3 briefly by adding an event and I noticed this DB was created
thunderbird\profile\calendar-data\{local.sqlite,local.sqlite-shm,local.sqlite-wal}

Copied that calendar-data directory over to the Android phone sd card.

>> and if I manage it from
>> Windows, what's the best way to sync or copy that calendar database over to
>> an Android phone so I can use it as read-only (or read/write if possible)?
>
> probably best to sync the thunderbird to the google calendar that the
> phone is already using ... I don't use that so can't give the exact
> steps ... I would expect it to require oAuth2

No desire to put it on the Internet and don't use a google account.

Installed Simple Calendar Pro to see if it can read TB calendar-data.
https://f-droid.org/packages/com.simplemobiletools.calendar.pro/

Says it supports syncing events via calendars supporting CalDAV protocol.
Any suggestions for the next step in setting up a TB sync on my LAN?

On 2023-05-10, Beyond the pale <invalid@is.invalid> wrote:
> If I add the Thunderbird calendar app (Lightning?) and if I manage it from
> Windows, what's the best way to sync or copy that calendar database over to
> an Android phone so I can use it as read-only (or read/write if possible)?
>
> Is there a database file I can just copy over to the Android sd card?
> And then is there an Android app that reads the Lightning calendar db?

I think Android calendars typically import/export "*.ics" format which, if
correct, means the question is whether or not thunderbird exports ics.

Does it?

On 5/10/23 08:24, this is what Incubus wrote:
> On 2023-05-10, Beyond the pale <invalid@is.invalid> wrote:
>> If I add the Thunderbird calendar app (Lightning?) and if I manage it from
>> Windows, what's the best way to sync or copy that calendar database over to
>> an Android phone so I can use it as read-only (or read/write if possible)?
>>
>> Is there a database file I can just copy over to the Android sd card?
>> And then is there an Android app that reads the Lightning calendar db?
>
> I think Android calendars typically import/export "*.ics" format which, if
> correct, means the question is whether or not thunderbird exports ics.
>
> Does it?
Yes TB does. I use it to backup all my calendar data to a format that is almost system wide/software wide acceptable.
--
Al

On Wed, 10 May 2023 08:43:58 -0400, Big Al wrote:

>> I think Android calendars typically import/export "*.ics" format which, if
>> correct, means the question is whether or not thunderbird exports ics.
>>
>> Does it?
> Yes TB does.
> I use it to backup all my calendar data to a format that is almost
> system wide/software wide acceptable.

That ics format sounds good because the object would be to export that
calendar file from Thunderbird and import that same file on Android.

I'm in Thunderbird right now looking for that export to ics format.
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/exporting-and-sharing-a-calendar

All I want is to export a file from Lightning on Windows and import that
file on Android, without my calendar ever leaving the confines of the LAN.

As suggested by Dave Royal, I just now installed this Thunderbird add on
https://addons.thunderbird.net/en-US/thunderbird/addon/dav-4-tbsync/

But it seems it's not needed in Thunderbird 102 and above because it says
"Thunderbird 102 natively supports CalDAV & CardDAV sync and this
provider for TbSync is technically no longer needed. You can setup your
CardDAV contacts and CalDAV calendars without TbSync."

I guess a "sync" is better than a "mirror" which is better than a "copy"
but if a sync requires so much overhead then I don't want to sync.

I'll be fine with a "mirror" or with a "copy" of the calendar file from
Windows to Android and then using the calendar on Android in the Simple
Tools Simple Calendar Pro that I installed from the F-Droid site.
https://f-droid.org/packages/com.simplemobiletools.calendar.pro/

Dave Royal suggested Google or Microsoft sync but I don't want my data on
the Internet & besides, I don't have nor would I ever want a Google or
Microsoft account. Dave suggested https://thegood.cloud/ but even that
requires an account on the Internet.

Why do I need an Internet "account" just to copy a file from Thunderbird to
Android? I should be able to export from Thunderbird in some format that
the Android phone will accept.

If the ics format is that format, I'm ok with that.
I just have to find that button to export ics from Lightning calendar.

Beyond the pale wrote:

> I noticed this DB was created
> thunderbird\profile\calendar-data\{local.sqlite,local.sqlite-shm,local.sqlite-wal}
>
> Copied that calendar-data directory over to the Android phone sd card.

although lots of android uses SQLite DBs, I don't thing the android
calender app will know what to do with a thunderbird calendar DB

On May 10, 2023, Beyond the pale wrote
(in article<news:u3g7n1$35n0o$1@news.mixmin.net>):

> I'm in Thunderbird right now looking for that export to ics format.
> https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/exporting-and-sharing-a-calendar

When you dig into what that mozilla support document says, it implies you
can't copy a file from lightning to android without a server involved.

According to that support document, lightning requires either a webdav or
caldav server to copy a calender export file from thunderbird to android.

Open lightning, events & tasks, publish, my calendar, http://mywebdav.url
If you don't have a webdav server on your lan you'll need to add one first.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebDAV

To keep it on your lan, you'll need to find out if there is a windows or
android webdav server that you'd want to set up for that calender sync job.

Alternatively that support document says thunderbird can export
Open thunderbird, events & tasks, export, my calender, html ics or csv

You should be able to export directly from windows to the android sdcard.
Or you can even email it to yourself by saving it in thunderbird drafts.

You'll have to find a way to import the calender once it is on android.

Ron, the humblest guy in town.

On 10 May 2023 08:55:06 -0500 Beyond the pale wrote:

>As suggested by Dave Royal, I just now installed this Thunderbird add on
>https://addons.thunderbird.net/en-US/thunderbird/addon/dav-4-tbsync/

I didn't _suggest_ you install that addon. I referred you to it so you
knew it existed - and that it's built in to later versions of TB; you
didn't say what version you have.
>I guess a "sync" is better than a "mirror" which is better than a "copy">

Yes. And you asked "What's the best way to sync or copy..."

>Why do I need an Internet "account" just to copy a file from Thunderbird to
>Android? I should be able to export from Thunderbird in some format that
>the Android phone will accept.

If you want to _sync_ you need a server. Nextcloud is open source. You can
run it on a machine on your LAN if you want. How about on a Raspberry Pi?
Or run it in Windows 10 user WSL. You'll certainly learn a lot.

--
(Remove numerics from email address)

On 5/10/23 09:55, this is what Beyond the pale wrote:
> If the ics format is that format, I'm ok with that.
> I just have to find that button to export ics from Lightning calendar.

Open the calendar in TB.
Pick an calendar in the left sidebar.
The right click that and pick export.

https://i.postimg.cc/NyWcxtx6/export1.png

https://i.postimg.cc/sBBzSx5f/export2.png
--
Al

On Wed, 10 May 2023 16:02:07 -0000 (UTC), Dave Royal wrote:
>>I guess a "sync" is better than a "mirror" which is better than a "copy">
>
> Yes. And you asked "What's the best way to sync or copy..."

Agree. I just want to be able to bring the calendar over from Windows
Thunderbird to Android without needing to put the Internet in between.

I don't care (at this point) whether it's a LAN sync, mirror or copy.
I just want to be able to do it somehow staying on the LAN.

Probably many people do it.
How do they do it?

This link I found searching for servers seems to say it can sync calendars.
https://www.maketecheasier.com/sync-caldav-carddav-android/

>>Why do I need an Internet "account" just to copy a file from Thunderbird to
>>Android? I should be able to export from Thunderbird in some format that
>>the Android phone will accept.
>
> If you want to _sync_ you need a server. Nextcloud is open source. You can
> run it on a machine on your LAN if you want. How about on a Raspberry Pi?
> Or run it in Windows 10 user WSL. You'll certainly learn a lot.

I can't complain then if I won't be able to sync because I don't mind
setting up a Windows or Android server but I'm not going to use WSL or a
Raspberry Pi because that's too complicated, so I'll mirror or copy.

Following the instructions previously sent I was able to get an ics file
out of Windows Thunderbird Lightning by selecting a week and then doing
Events & Tasks | Export | Home.ics

The other way that was suggested requires a webdav server to already exist.
Alt-F3 | Events & Tasks | Publish | https://example.com/webdav/calendar.ics

I didn't find anything for how to set up a caldav server on Windows.
https://www.davical.org/

But I found this which says you can set up a caldav server on Android.
https://www.davx5.com/ & https://f-droid.org/packages/at.bitfire.davdroid/

Looking up how to set up a webdav server on Windows, this might work.
https://medium.odrive.com/how-to-easily-setup-a-webdav-server-on-windows-and-sync-to-it-8469b9259435

And looking up how to set up a webdav server on Android, this may work.
https://www.techrepublic.com/article/add-a-webdav-server-to-your-android-device/

At this point there are a few untested directions so it would be really
nice if someone who has synced, mirrored or copied their Thunderbird
Lightning calendar from Windows to Android can tell me how they did it.

Which method seems like it will be the most fruitful to you?

Beyond the pale wrote:

> That ics format sounds good because the object would be to export that
> calendar file from Thunderbird and import that same file on Android.
>
> I'm in Thunderbird right now looking for that export to ics format.
> https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/exporting-and-sharing-a-calendar
>
> All I want is to export a file from Lightning on Windows and import that
> file on Android, without my calendar ever leaving the confines of the LAN.
>
> As suggested by Dave Royal, I just now installed this Thunderbird add on

You don't need an add-on to export a calendar to .ics,
just use the menu option

Events&Tasks > Export ...

Am 10.05.23 um 03:19 schrieb Beyond the pale:
> If I add the Thunderbird calendar app (Lightning?) and if I manage it from
> Windows, what's the best way to sync or copy that calendar database over to
> an Android phone so I can use it as read-only (or read/write if possible)?
>
> Is there a database file I can just copy over to the Android sd card?
> And then is there an Android app that reads the Lightning calendar db?

Use an CalDAV-Server and connect both devices to it. Then they will sync
automatically.

--
Sent with Betterbird by a Penguin.
Simply better. www.betterbird.eu

Am 11.05.23 um 14:04 schrieb Joerg Lorenz:
> Am 10.05.23 um 03:19 schrieb Beyond the pale:
>> If I add the Thunderbird calendar app (Lightning?) and if I manage it from
>> Windows, what's the best way to sync or copy that calendar database over to
>> an Android phone so I can use it as read-only (or read/write if possible)?
>>
>> Is there a database file I can just copy over to the Android sd card?
>> And then is there an Android app that reads the Lightning calendar db?
>
> Use an CalDAV-Server and connect both devices to it. Then they will sync
> automatically.

Here an example but there are many more of them. You do not have to set
it up yourself.

https://help.yahoo.com/kb/SLN4707.html

--
Sent with Betterbird by a Penguin.
Simply better. www.betterbird.eu

On Wed, 10 May 2023 15:19:37 +0100, Andy Burns wrote:

>> I noticed this DB was created
>> thunderbird\profile\calendar-data\{local.sqlite,local.sqlite-shm,local.sqlite-wal}
>>
>> Copied that calendar-data directory over to the Android phone sd card.
>
> although lots of android uses SQLite DBs, I don't thing the android
> calender app will know what to do with a thunderbird calendar DB

By adding and removing events I noticed more files showed up in the TB
profile calendar-data directory which I copied over to the Android sdcard.
deleted.sqlite
local.sqlite
local.sqlite-shm
local.sqlite-wal

I also exported the ics file to that same common Android sdcard location
Home.ics

On Android I opened Simple Calendar Pro and selected the entry to
Import events from an .ics file

The file manager that popped up saw the sqlite files but they were grayed
out. The only file not grayed out was the Home.ics file, which imported.

Interestingly, when I did a few test, it didn't realize that each event was
unique so every event repeated itself. There must be a way around that.

Then I created an event on Android Simple Calendar Pro and exported as ics
Events_2023_05_10_08_25_58.ics

I got tired of copying back & forth so I added a WebDAV server on Android
so that I could mount its sdcard as a Windows drive letter which Lightning
had no problem with (it even defaulted to that location already for me).

Lightning asked me which events to import and when imported, Lightning
asked me to select where to import the chosen items, giving choices of
Home
Create a new calendar called "Events_2023_05_10_08_25_58"

Then Lightning asked me to start the import and then to press finish.

That resulted in duplicate entries so I have to figure out how to NOT
import what already exists - do you know how to do that import filtering?

On Thu, 11 May 2023 11:01:45 +0100, Andy Burns wrote:

> You don't need an add-on to export a calendar to .ics,
> just use the menu option
>
> Events&Tasks > Export ...

Thanks for that advice which I found out only later was correct. I
appreciate your help because I assume others publish their calendars to
Android using Lightning and I assume they import & export them also.

I apologize that the information below may be confusing because I'm still
working out the details as I haven't found anything on the net that
explains how to do what I want to do which seems like a common need.

I just want to either publish or export the Windows TB Lightning calendar
to the Android calendar, and, if changed - I want to import it back.

I installed two programs on Android based on what I found in searches.
https://f-droid.org/packages/com.simplemobiletools.calendar.pro/
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.theolivetree.webdavserver

That first Android calendar app not only imports/exports ics files,
but it also has buttons for syncing with caldav which don't show errors.
Settings | CALDAV | CalDAV sync = checked (by default)
Enable pull-to-refresh from the top = unchecked (by default)

When I press "Manage synced calendars", the app says it's "synching" ok.
Manage synced calendars | Select calendars to sync |
MY CALENDAR = My calendar = checked (by default)
OFFLINE CALENDAR = Home = checked (this was created by Lightning)

There is no error when I do the above nor when I press the refresh button.
Settings | Refresh CalDAV calendars (this says "Refreshing")

Something is refreshing successfully but I don't yet know what is happening
when I refresh those "caldav" calendars as I don't have a caldav server.

So far, the "Publish" has been a bust but that's because I never heard of
caldav before nor have I ever used the tools so I'm batting blind without
someone who has already synced their Android phone with Windows Lightning.

Luckily the ics export/import worked better than the publish step did.

The calendar app imported the ics file exported by Thunderbird Lightning.
It also exported an ics file that Thunderbird Lightning imported.
There were duplicated entries which I need to figure out how to filter.

I installed a webdav server because a Lightning "Publish" wants a url.
https://www.example.com/webdav/calendar.ics

I always assume someone has already done what I want to do, and as a result
I searched and found that the webdav server also mounts any Android phone
onto Windows as a drive letter so that was a bonus because it saves steps.

I found in a search the syntax to mount Android onto Windows as a drive
net use W: \\192.168.0.25@8000\DavWWWRoot /user:username password

That enables Lightning to export/import directly to/from Android using
Events & Tasks | Export | W:\sdcard\calendar-data\Home.ics
Events & Tasks | Import | W:\sdcard\calendar-data\Home.ics

Once I export the Lightning Home.ics file, Simple Calendar imports it.
Import events from an .ics file | /sdcard/calendar-data/Home.ics

Likewise the Android Simple Calendar app can export to the same spot.
Export events to an .ics file | /sdcard/calendar-data/Home.ics

The only problem I have seen with the ics import/export both ways is at
some point the entries were duplicated - so I need to filter that somehow.

It didn't work as well when I tried to publish instead of exporting.
Events & Tasks | Publish | Publishing URL = ?

I tried to mimic as close as possible the URL that Lightning suggested.
https://www.example.com/webdav/calendar.ics

This looks to me like it should work but Lightning gives an error.
http://192.168.0.25:8000/DavWWWRoot/sdcard/cal/publish.ics

The Lighning error when I try to publish to that webdav server root is
"An error has occurred. Publishing the calendar file failed.
Satus code 500: OK"

If anyone has published to their own webdav server on their LAN, can you
help me figure out what the syntax is for the URL that Lightning wants?

On Thu, 11 May 2023 14:16:51 +0200, Joerg Lorenz wrote:

> Here an example but there are many more of them. You do not have to set
> it up yourself.
>
> https://help.yahoo.com/kb/SLN4707.html

I installed two programs on Android to make the export easier from TB.
https://f-droid.org/packages/com.simplemobiletools.calendar.pro/
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.theolivetree.webdavserver

That first Android calendar app not only imports/exports ics files,
but it also has buttons for syncing with caldav which don't show errors.
Settings | CALDAV | CalDAV sync = checked (by default)
Enable pull-to-refresh from the top = unchecked (by default)

When I press "Manage synced calendars", the app says it's "synching" ok.
Manage synced calendars | Select calendars to sync |
MY CALENDAR = My calendar = checked (by default)
OFFLINE CALENDAR = Home = checked (this was created by Lightning)

There is no error when I do the above nor when I press the refresh button.
Settings | Refresh CalDAV calendars (this says "Refreshing")

Something is refreshing successfully but I don't yet know what is happening
when I refresh those "caldav" calendars as I don't have a caldav server.

Do you have any idea what the sync is doing when it says it worked?

Beyond the pale wrote:

> I just want to either publish or export the Windows TB Lightning calendar
> to the Android calendar, and, if changed - I want to import it back.

I doubt that regular exporting and importing is a common usage case for
most users nowadays, syncing via a google/apple/microsoft online account
is pretty well assumed ... though nothing stopping you running your own
webDAV/calDAV server locally.

On Thu, 11 May 2023 17:43:29 +0100, Andy Burns wrote:

>> I just want to either publish or export the Windows TB Lightning calendar
>> to the Android calendar, and, if changed - I want to import it back.
>
> I doubt that regular exporting and importing is a common usage case for
> most users nowadays

For me, I don't change appointments more than a couple of times a week so
there's no need for 24/7 access to the latest calendar away from home.

With the webdav server I was able to mount the Android sdcard onto Windows
as a drive letter which Thunderbird/Lightning can read and write directly.

Do you know if there is a switch to filter out duplicate imported events?

> syncing via a google/apple/microsoft online account
> is pretty well assumed

A calendar is just a file as I see it (I might be wrong on that though).

On principle alone, there shouldn't be any reason I need to use the
Internet just to get a file from my Windows PC to my Android phone.

> though nothing stopping you running your own webDAV/calDAV server locally.

I think there is "something" stopping me from installing a calDAV server
locally in that I can't find a caldav server for Windows or Android yet.

Do you know of any?

But there shouldn't be anything stopping me from installing a webDAV server
locally for Windows or Android. Here are a bunch, some for Windows.
https://medevel.com/15-os-webdav-servers/

If I add a Windows webDAV server, I'll likely use these instructions.
https://medium.odrive.com/how-to-easily-setup-a-webdav-server-on-windows-and-sync-to-it-8469b9259435

But I got tired of copying the test ics file back and forth between Windows
Lightning and Android Simple Calendar Pro, so I already installed a webDAV
server on Android which I know works because Lightning imports & exports
directly to & from the Android sdcard (as does the Simple Calendar app).

That means I've (almost) solved the (copy) of ics back and forth (with the
remaining issue being a need to find a switch to ignore duplicate entries).

But I'd like to also explore this "Publishing" capability of TB Lightning.

I tried to "Publish" the calendar from Lightning using that webDAV URL.
Events & Tasks | Publish | Publishing URL =
http://192.168.0.25:8000/DavWWWRoot/sdcard/cal/publish.ics

But while Thunderbird Lightning can import/export directly to/from that
Windows mount point, Lightning doesn't treat that as a suitable URI.

Do you or anyone know the correct syntax for a TB/Lighting "Publish" URI?

On 11 May 2023 12:16:36 -0500 Beyond the pale wrote:
>For me, I don't change appointments more than a couple of times a week so
>there's no need for 24/7 access to the latest calendar away from home.

Why do you want to use the Thunderbird Calendar at all? Why not just use
the Android device? What advantage does having a calendar on your Windows
machine bring which outweighs the hassle of merging the two calendars,
since you decline to use a cloud sync-server?

As I mentioned, I sync calendars between an Android tablet - which I use
at home - and an iPhone which I use when I'm out. But only because it's
easy via the cloud. It it weren't easy I'd just have the calendar on the
phone.

Much more useful to me is merging contacts, e.g. email addresses. The
solution - CardDAV and a cloud server - is the same.

I'm impressed that you've actually done all these tests importing and
exporting ical files ... but it's absurd.

Years ago we used to exchange contacts between phones using infra-red...
--
(Remove numerics from email address)

On Thu, 11 May 2023 20:05:29 -0000 (UTC), Dave Royal wrote:

> Why do you want to use the Thunderbird Calendar at all?

The keyboard. The mouse. The big screen. My bad eyes.
Oh, and I'm on the computer all day.

I have a landline home phone right next to the computer.
My cell phone is somewhere - maybe in the bedroom drawer.

The cellphone is only used when I'm away from the computer.
Isn't that how most people who have a landline use a cellphone?

> Why not just use the Android device?

That's the whole point of a mobile phone. Isn't it?
To use it when you're away from your home landline and/or computer.

> What advantage does having a calendar on your Windows
> machine bring which outweighs the hassle of merging the two calendars,
> since you decline to use a cloud sync-server?

The better question is why would anyone put their calendar on the Internet?
On principle alone, that's just not a good idea in any way you shape it.

All you need to do is move an ics file from your computer to your phone.
Why would that require the Internet?

(Be advised I understand why Microsoft, Google and Apple want you to store
everything on their servers, but in principle that's a really bad idea.)

If Thunderbird Lightning requires the Internet just to move a file from
Windows to Android, there's a really big (fatal) problem with the program.

Luckily Thunderbird/Lightning does not need the Internet for ics files.
I haven't figured out how to "Publish" to the Android webDAV server yet.

But it doesn't seem like TB/Lightning (what's the abbreviation for
Lightning?) needs the Internet to "Publish" an ics file either.

So your question is the wrong question to be asking. The right question is
Why should copying an ics file from Windows to a phone require the cloud?

> As I mentioned, I sync calendars between an Android tablet - which I use
> at home - and an iPhone which I use when I'm out. But only because it's
> easy via the cloud. It it weren't easy I'd just have the calendar on the
> phone.

Do you have any idea why Microsoft, Google and Apple make it so easy for
you to put all your data on their cloud servers and why most of the time
their apps don't have import/export capabilities NOT to use their cloud?

In principle, the cloud is the worst place to put data that is private.

If the cloud is needed for Thunderbird/Lightning to copy an ics file from
Windows to Android, then that would be a fatal flaw in the program.

Luckily Thunderbird/Lightning does NOT need the cloud just to copy an ics
file from Windows to Android. My only technical issue with that copy is I
saw duplicates, but I'm sure there is a filter (somewhere) to remove them.

> Much more useful to me is merging contacts, e.g. email addresses. The
> solution - CardDAV and a cloud server - is the same.

Contacts are different but I agree a CardDAV server appears to be more
functional for our purposes than a WebDAV server - but - the problem is I
can't find a CardDAV server for Windows or Android and I can find lots of
WebDAV servers for Windows and Android - so WebDAV it is (de facto result).

> I'm impressed that you've actually done all these tests importing and
> exporting ical files ... but it's absurd.

You shouldn't be impressed because all I accomplished, so far, was
exporting ics from Thunderbird/Lightning directly to Android on the LAN and
then importing on an Android calendar app that doesn't need the cloud.

What I haven't been able to do yet is "Publish" that ics file to the WebDAV
server on Android - as I wanted to see what the difference is in results.

Can someone who has published an ics file from Thunderbird/Lightning tell
me what the DIFFERENCE is between a Thunderbird/Lightning ics file that is
exported versus a Thunderbird/Lightning ics file that is published?

Is there any difference between a published ics and an exported ics file?

> Years ago we used to exchange contacts between phones using infra-red...

Years ago, there were laws preventing people from eavesdropping on us.
Now, everything you put "on the cloud" is fair game to eavesdroppers.

All I'm doing here is copying an ics file from the PC to the phone.
The only two problems I have left to solve which I need help on are

What is the difference between a published ics file & an exported one?
(Because maybe it's not worth troubleshooting the WebDAV URI syntax.)

And is there a switch in Thunderbird to not import duplicate entries?

I need expert help on both those questions, which I hope you can answer.
If not, maybe someone else can answer them as they're important to solve.

On 5/11/2023 4:05 PM, Dave Royal wrote:
> On 11 May 2023 12:16:36 -0500 Beyond the pale wrote:
>> For me, I don't change appointments more than a couple of times a week so
>> there's no need for 24/7 access to the latest calendar away from home.
>
> Why do you want to use the Thunderbird Calendar at all? Why not just use
> the Android device? What advantage does having a calendar on your Windows
> machine bring which outweighs the hassle of merging the two calendars,
> since you decline to use a cloud sync-server?
>
> As I mentioned, I sync calendars between an Android tablet - which I use
> at home - and an iPhone which I use when I'm out. But only because it's
> easy via the cloud. It it weren't easy I'd just have the calendar on the
> phone.
>
> Much more useful to me is merging contacts, e.g. email addresses. The
> solution - CardDAV and a cloud server - is the same.
>
> I'm impressed that you've actually done all these tests importing and
> exporting ical files ... but it's absurd.
>
> Years ago we used to exchange contacts between phones using infra-red...
You asked "Why do you want to use the Thunderbird Calendar". My
cellphone is an emergency communication device that I carry when I go
some where.

My primary device is my laptop, where I spend several hours per day,
doing Genealogy research, email, and monitoring news, and other types of
information sources.

I maintain equipment logs, budget information, etc. on my laptop.

To use the tiny screen on a cellphone is just not practical.

There for I want my schedule on my Laptop in a Thunderbird calendar that
I can send events to other Thunderbird user and users of MS office, and
several other pieces of scheduling software

knuttle wrote:
[..snip..]
> You asked "Why do you want to use the Thunderbird Calendar". My
> cellphone is an emergency communication device that I carry when I go
> some where.
>
> My primary device is my laptop, where I spend several hours per day,
> doing Genealogy research, email, and monitoring news, and other types of
> information sources.
[..snip..]
> To use the tiny screen on a cellphone is just not practical.
>
> There for I want my schedule on my Laptop in a Thunderbird calendar that
> I can send events to other Thunderbird user and users of MS office, and
> several other pieces of scheduling software

And for this you need to synchronize your calendar with your "emergency
communication device"? Although "the tiny screen on a cellphone is just
not practical"?
Think about it.

On Fri, 12 May 2023 02:29:01 +0200, Frank Miller wrote:

> And for this you need to synchronize your calendar with your "emergency
> communication device"? Although "the tiny screen on a cellphone is just
> not practical"?
>
> Think about it.

Think about it.
If you're a frenetic man like the POTUS, then you have handlers and fixers.

If you're a busy man, like a CEO or COO, you need to have full-time 24-7
access to your schedule whether you're in the office or in the men's room.

But if you're a retired pensioner with an appointment a week to worry
about, then it's fine to have that appointment set on the big screen.

Once a week or once a day, you manually save the PC calendar to the phone
just in case you happen to go outside for a walk & forget a doctor's call.

Surely Thunderbird can do that.

On Thu, 11 May 2023 15:52:11 -0500, Beyond the pale wrote:

> What I haven't been able to do yet is "Publish" that ics file to the WebDAV
> server on Android - as I wanted to see what the difference is in results.

Help!

I'm soooooo close... after working on this for hours today... I need help!

I installed the MS Windows WebDAV server today following these directions.
https://medium.odrive.com/how-to-easily-setup-a-webdav-server-on-windows-and-sync-to-it-8469b9259435

I set up everything EXACTLY as they said to in those WebDAV instructions.

I know the Windows WebDAV server is working because Firefox works with it.
https://localhost:4443/WebDAV/

When I point Firefox to that Windows URI, it asks for my username &
password but when I point Thunderbird Lightning to it, it doesn't.

There is a problem with the certificate though, I think, because curl
wouldn't upload to WebDAV unless I added the "-k" (--insecure) option.

This failed.
curl -u user:pass -T testfile.txt https://localhost:4443/WebDAV/

curl: (60) schannel: SEC_E_UNTRUSTED_ROOT (0x80090325) - The certificate
chain was issued by an authority that is not trusted. More details here:
https://curl.se/docs/sslcerts.html
curl failed to verify the legitimacy of the server and therefore could not
establish a secure connection to it. To learn more about this situation and
how to fix it, please visit the web page mentioned above.

Adding -k (--insecure) allowed curl to work with the WebDAV server.
curl -k -u user:pass -T testfile.txt https://localhost:4443/WebDAV/
curl -k -u user:pass -T testfile.txt https://localhost:4443/WebDAV/testfile.txt

But what I'm trying to do is get Thunderbird/Lightning to ask for the
password, or, if the syntax allows, to add the password to the URI.

Alt-F3 | Events & Tasks | Publish |
Publishing URL = https://localhost:4443/WebDAV/publish.ics
Publish | Close

That gives no error but what it should do is pop up a username & password
signin form so that I can enter the Windows username & password.

I tried adding the Windows username & password to the URI like this.
https://user@pass:localhost:4443/WebDAV/publish.ics (Publish grayed out)
https://user:pass@localhost:4443/WebDAV/publish.ics (Publish available)
https://user@pass@localhost:4443/WebDAV/publish.ics (Publish available)
https://localhost:4443/WebDAV/publish.ics /USER:user pass (Publish available)

For those of you who have used the Lightning "Publish" mechanism, where
does your username and password get asked for and entered please?

Does anyone here know the Thunderbird/Lightning Publish URI syntax that
adds the username and password if I can't get Lightning to ask for it?