[HOWTO] Sync iCal and Address Book with Google and Pre

[johnny b goode]

It took me a while to figure out how to sync my mac's contacts and calendar with my pre via gmail so I'll share what I have worked out so far.

Contacts:

How to:

• Since Mac OS 10.6 there's an option for syncing with google - that's easy.
• Add your google account on your Pre.

Known issues:

1. Google does a poor job in joining address book's and its own database if you didn't manage your contacts by hand before.
2. Google confuses names and titles now and then and forgets a few birthdays.

Workarounds:

1. Delete all unimportant contacts from google before you sync. In my case google automatically generated a few doubles (~30/250) again but it is good in finding them over the web interface and curiously enough it does a good job in joining them if you tell it manually.
2. Adress book will prompt you for the first changes as they are likely to be over 5% of your database so there will be nothing lost without your permission. It didn't take me more than ten minutes to get everything done.

Calendar:

How to:

• Export every calendar in iCal as *.ics.
• Generate google calendars and import the *.ics files.
• Delete every calendar in iCal (having a backup of course).
• Go to iCal>Preferences>Accounts and generate a google account.
• In the 'delegation' setting of your account check the boxes of your other calendars if you have any.
• Add your google account on your Pre.

Known issues:

1. If you use multiple calendars only one will be visible under your gmail account on iCals left side, the others will be there too but beneath the point 'delegation'.
2. My Pre did not set the same colours as my Mac and Google did.

Workarounds:

1. None.
2. Change colours manually.

I am not sure about the syncing interval of both solutions and if they both do it automatically. I am not using ToDos very often so I don't know if I will set up a synchronization for that. But I found solutions for that and for iTunes sync here which I didn't for calendar and contacts as I wanted it. Tell me what you think and if you found improvements.

[threestain]

thank you! good tutorial...

seems a bit of a faff though, with known problems

Is missing sync any good?