- Quick specs
- Price: Free
- Operating system: Windows 2000/XP/Vista
- Date added: September 25, 2008
- Total Downloads: 32,445
- Downloads last week: 639
- See full specifications
- CNET editors' rating: stars
- Average user rating: stars out of 29 votes
See all user reviews
CNET editors' review
Reviewed by: CNET Staff
Lightning makes Thunderbird soar above Outlook for home use, and places it on nearly equal ground in the office. It includes an overhauled interface with easy-to-use buttons for jumping between email and your calendar, LDAP directory support for event invites, and Sun Java Calendar Server support.
Work on the plug-in is now handled by Mozilla as they prepare to integrate its code into Thunderbird for the big version 3 update coming later this year, but that doesn't mean the plug-in isn't ready for prime-time now. A menu bar for switching between mail and calendar views can live either above or below the folder tree on the left. On the right side of the main pane is a new panel for quickly viewing and managing events and tasks. Option-heavy, it can show only events, only tasks, both, or hide the pane completely, as well as make changes to and create new events and tasks.
Events are searchable at the calendar top. Just below it is a hideable pane showing upcoming events in a spreadsheet format. There are built-in presets for the next seven, 14, and 31 days, and they can be arranged by start date, end date, title, location, and calendar. Lightning supports multiple calendars, including iCal, and has bidirectional support for Google Calendar with the Provider for Google Calendar plug-in.
There is also support for Exchange servers, although for enterprise use fans of Thunderbird/Lightning will likely have to talk to their tech support teams to get the servers configured properly. That, of course, is the biggest drawback compared to Outlook. Old bugs relating to timezone management and invitation responses have been eliminated, though, making this add-on an absolute requirement for all users, both at home and in the office.
Publisher's description
From Mozilla Calendar Project :Lightning is an extension for Mozilla Thunderbird that adds an integrated calendar to the e-mail client. It is based on the standalone Mozilla Sunbird calendar application. Lightning includes the Daylight Savings Time (summer time) changes passed by the U.S. legislature in 2005.
Version 0.9 includes calendar views (day, week, multiweek, month) have been given a visual overhaul, when reloading a remote calendar a progress indicator is now shown, the today pane can now be displayed in calendar mode and task mode as well, improves stability and memory consumption, and other improvements.
What's new in this version:
Version 0.9 includes calendar views (day, week, multiweek, month) have been given a visual overhaul, when reloading a remote calendar a progress indicator is now shown, the today pane can now be displayed in calendar mode and task mode as well, improves stability and memory consumption, and other improvements.
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User reviews
- Average user rating: 3.3 stars out of 29 votes
- My rating: 0 stars Write review
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Showing 5 of 6 user reviewsSee all 6 user reviews
This software version | All versions -
Version: Mozilla Lightning 0.9
"Nice add-on calendar for Thunderbird"
Pros: Similar to Outlook Calendar
Cons: So far, I have not found out a way to sync this calendar with my BlackBerry Desktop software!
Summary: I added the calendar feature to Thunderbird and it worked integrated without any problem.
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Version: Mozilla Lightning 0.9
Pros: Small footprint and clean interface, both of which likely result from a lack of features and utility.
Cons: Lacks a great many features I require in a plausible task organizer and scheduler.
Summary: Still a sophomoric stab at an Outlook alternative. I've been looking for years for an Outlook replacement, but this ain't it.
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Version: Mozilla Lightning 0.9
Pros: Manage your daily schedule
Cons: None as yet
Summary: I like to keep track of birthdays, other events and tasks, and this is a great way to do it while I am checking my email. It also allows them to be displayed in various colours based on the category the events belong to.
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Version: Mozilla Lightning 0.9
Pros: Better than Outlook calendar and simple to operate
Cons: Plain and simple
Summary: Bit hard to see all entries
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Version: Mozilla Lightning 0.9
"Did not survive the first Thunderbird upgrade 2.0.0.17"
Pros: worked well
Cons: T'bird automatic update decreed it incompatible and turns it off
Summary: does not work
- See all 6 user reviews Write review
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