Manage updates with the Download AppCNET Editors' review
You know the TV ads for prescription drugs that warn of side effects "including blindness or death?" Something similar can happen when you forget the wrong birthday. That's why Google Calendar is one of the most popular Google Apps: People all over the world rely on it to remind them of those birthdays and events it's unwise and even unhealthy to space out on. Google Calendar Windows Client is a free tool that lets you use Google Calendar without opening Chrome or any other Google application. You still need a Google Account to use it, though.
Google Calendar Windows Client is portable freeware, so it runs from any folder or directory without needing to be installed, even from portable devices such as USB drives. Most of the time, this tool sits in the System Tray, displaying pop-ups as needed, though it also has a compact calendar view that hugs the notification area when it's open. This compact window displays a scrolling calendar in the top half and selectable Events beneath. Three buttons fill out the view: Refresh, Hide, and Preferences. We opened the program's preferences, which included a choice of calendars to display, basic housekeeping like pop-ups and offline mode (including a wise warning never to save offline files on a public computer) and an About page with an update link. The default list of holidays includes everything from Mother's Day and Tax Day to Cinco de Mayo, though we could add, edit, and delete as may different calendars as we cared to from the Preferences page. We could also send calendars to Outlook and export them as vCalendar files.
The only fault we could find with Google Calendar Windows Client is the misspelling of "Discard" as "Discart" on the button to discard changes made to the Preferences. It's hardly worth mentioning. We're surprised we couldn't change the program's background color, too. But there's always room for improvement, and Google's always changing things too. If Google Calendars helps keep you out of trouble, try this free tool: It just might help you avoid certain complications!
Publisher's Description
From Mount White Technology Solutions:
A small "Green" (and portable) Windows client that can retrieve events from multiple Google Calendars, and display them on your PC. No installation needed, simply extract the .zip file and run the executable. Configure your own calendars, and press the "Refresh" button. Once the information is retrieved, it can be saved for offline use when your internet connection is not available. There are no minimum requirements, this application will run fine on Windows XP to 8. Additional features include popup reminders, and the ability to export individual events to Microsoft Outlook or to any vCalendar compliant application, and to display the QR code for events for quick-add to your mobile device.
What's new in this version: Now features an improved and wider event list, and the ability to generate QR code for events for quick-add to your mobile device.
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All versions:
3.0 starsout of 2 votes
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Results 1-2 of 2
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"Okay, but, only shows 1 appt and 1 day at a time."
Version: Google Calendar Windows Client 2.1
Pros
Works with Windows 8
Cons
Only shows 1 appointment and 1 day at a time, 1 appointment at a time. What about tomorrow??
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"Nice little app withsome UI problems and crashes"
Version: Google Calendar Windows Client beta
Pros
First off, it doesn't install anything on your system, change any registry settings or otherwise muck around with your computer. That's key for me.
Lightweight client that sits in the system tray when the browser is closedCons
- User interface is funky.
- No popup reminders as far as I can tell.
- stability issues (on Vista, of course)Summary
So the main thing I want - popup reminders without having to have my broswer open, doesn't seem to be available with this application. It's an open source app at Google Code, so I guess if I want that to happen, it's up to me! No complaints.
I had a number of crashes quite quickly. The first time I open a calendar after I change the number of days to look ahead, it crashes (repeated a few times). After that, no issues.
And then there's the UI. It's simple, but I found it confusing. You have an existing calendar, for example and you want to change the settings. You "clone" the entry and then you choose "Close and save" and nothing saves. That's because you need to "Add" the clone entry, delete the original, and THEN close and save.
