Tag Archives: iCal

Mac OS X Lion specialities… may affect Merlin reports or iCal sync

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Lion has some new specialities:
– A mounted disk image (dmg) will be mounted again on Mac re-start
– Per default “Show indicator lights for open applications” are disabled in the “Dock” system preference

So it is possible that…

You may start Merlin in Lion out of your /Applications folder
and a second time out of the mounted disk image, you had downloaded from our website in order to install Merlin on your Mac.
In the dock you don’t see the indicator lights so you don’t realize that it is running twice.

However it will be shown twice in the dock and will be twice listed, should you call Command + Option + Escape

Results for Reports… Continue reading →

Merlin – Start or stop iCal sync

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You can synchronize your Merlin project file to iCal via…
File > Publish > iCal

The dialogue let’s you define the synchronization options and whether or not resources calendars should also be included.

If you like for example that Merlin syncs your project changes as soon as you save, you can enable the option “Auto-synchronize after save”.

If you prefer to choose by yourself when to sync, you can leave “Auto-synchronize after save” disabled and re-sync manually to the already existing iCal calendars via File > Publish > iCal > Sync now

In case you want to stop Continue reading →

Merlin – Creating Milestones out of iCal todos

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With Merlin you can create proffessional project schedules. You can export or sync your tasks to iCal and have them in you calendar application. We have posted an AppleScript showing how one could export the tasks of the current selection.

You also know how to import an iCal calendar as exceptions to your project or resource’s calendar.

Creating tasks out of an iCal calendar is also possible by an AppleScript we wrote and posted here.

But what should you do, if you have entered lots of Todos in your iCal calendar and need these in Merlin? The short answer is: “Use an AppleScript”. The longer – because it contains the script as well – is, you can modify the script we have posted for transferring iCal events as tasks to Merlin so that it additionally handles iCal Todos. As todos have no duration, we decided to define them in Merlin as milestones. To make a long story shorter again, just check the following script:

(*
	This script requires iCal. It prompts the list of your iCal calendars for you to select the calendar out of which new tasks should be created in Merlin. It writes in the top most opened Merlin project.
	Version 1.0
        Written by Vicky Stamatopoulou
	For ProjectWizards
	Nov 3, 2010

	version 1.01
	changed on Jan 17, 2011
	changed by Vicky Stamatopoulou
	info: added support for todos, they will get created as milestones
*)

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Merlin – MobileMe calendars break Merlin’s iCal sync

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header_calendar_20100622If you are a Merlin user and thinking of upgrading to the new MobileMe calendars, please be aware that…

  • It converts your local calendars to subscribed calendars; which means Merlin won’t be able to sync to them
  • According to Apple, it is compatible to Mac OS X 10.6.4 or newer ; if you have any machines running Mac OS X 10.5.x, they won’t fully sync.

Why is that?

Merlin uses Apple’s SyncServices API for syncing with iCal. The new MobileMe calendar data is moved to a new calendar service, which supports the CalDAV standard. CalDAV is an industry-standard calendar protocol that works with the latest Apple iOS devices.

This means. You may sync locally your Merlin projects to iCal and sync with other Macs, but your local calendars won’t get synced to your MobileMe calendars accessed over your iOS devices.

In case you do decide to use the new MobileMe calendars, we recommend exporting your project schedules in local iCal calendars and in a second step into your MobileMe calendars.

Export in iCal

A similar approach is suggested by Apple when resolving problems with duplicate calendars.

You may consider as an alternative sharing your private calendars to be viewed and edited by MobileMe members to whom you have granted permission.

Relevant links

Merlin – Creating tasks out of an iCal calendar

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With Merlin you can create proffessional project schedules. You can export or sync your tasks to iCal and have them in you calendar application. We have posted an AppleScript showing how one could export the tasks of the current selection.

You also know how to import an iCal calendar as exceptions to your project or resource’s calendar.

What should you do, in case you would like to import the events of your iCal calendar as tasks?

You can create tasks out of the following formats:

  • MS Project (.mpx, .mpp, .xml)
  • OmniOutliner (.ooutline, .oo3)
  • OmniPlan (.omniplan)
  • NovaMind (.nmind)
  • MindManager (.mmap)
  • Merlin 1 (.merlin)
  • Merlin 2 (.xml)
  • Text files (.txt, .csv, .tsv)
  • OPML files (.opml)

Unfortunately iCal (.ics) is not one of them, you may however write an AppleScript creating tasks out of events of selected iCal calendars.

To make a long story short… here is such a script…

(*
	This script requires iCal. It prompts the list of your iCal calendars for you to select the calendar out of which new tasks should be created in Merlin. It writes in the top most opened Merlin project.
	Written by Vicky Stamatopoulou
	For ProjectWizards
	Nov 3, 2010
*)

Continue reading →