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ActiveGcSync 2 Beta

Introduction:

ActiveGcSync 2 Beta is now available. The major additions to this version are support for multiple Google calendars and synchronization of Contacts.

Keep in mind that this is a Beta version. Although I have spent many months testing and improving it, it is not bug free. Before using this version I would recommend that you read the Settings and FAQ below and also make a backup of your phone’s Events and Contacts using a tool such as SPB Backup.

Settings:

Here are the new settings in ActiveGcSync 2 Beta:

Calendar Tab:

  • Calendars to Sync - Click the Refresh button to get a list of all Calendars on your account. Check off the ones you want to synchronize. The Events tab allows you to customize settings for each Calendar.
  • Default Calendar - This option allows you to define what Google Calendar to synchronize PocketOutlook events without a Category. If this is blank then you will need to assign each event a Category that correlates to a Google Calendar name.
      Important Note: If this option is left blank, any events synchronized by previous single-calendar versions of ActiveGcSync will not synchronize!

Events Tab:

  • Calendar dropdown - Select a calendar to customize
  • Event Label - What to label this event. The label will appear on your device in brackets, for example: [label]. Leave blank for no label.
  • BusyStatus of All Day Google Events - What to set status to for All Day events
  • BusyStatus of Other Google Events - What to set status to for non-All Day events
  • Set Reminder - Whether to set a PocketOutlook reminder for each event. Options are Yes, No, and Outlook Default
  • Outlook Events to send to Google - Which events to synchronize to Google

ContactsTab:

  • Groups/Categories - Click refresh to download contact groups from Google as well as PocketOutlook Categories. Check off any that you want to synchronize.
  • Sync All - Check this box to synchronize ALL contacts, regardless of category/group. Keep in mind that in Google, at least as of this writing, anyone you email will be added to your Suggested Contacts and therefore will be synchronized using this option.
  • Default Group - If this dropdown is not blank, any local contacts will be considered to be a part of this group. This is useful if you do not want to set categories on a local contact in order to synchronize that contact.
  • Default FileAs - This option will set FileAs to either “Last, First” or “First Last” for contacts. FileAs is the format that Contact managers use to display names in.

FAQ:

Why does this version not work on my non-touchscreen Smartphone?
In order to save memory in both versions, I have split out ActiveGcSync into a touchscreen (PocketPC) version and a non-touchscreen (Smartphone) version. I have focused all of my time on the PocketPC version for now. The Smartphone version will be coming soon. If you have a Smartphone and want a Smartphone version soon, then make sure to let me know on the forums.

I have just upgraded from version 1.x and nothing synchronizes any more. Do I have to do something new?
Yes. Version 2 of ActiveGcSync will not synchronize any Calendars or Contacts by default. You must click the refresh buttons on both the Calendars and Contacts tab (as described above in the Settings section) and select Calendars/Contact Groups to sync.

Why is ActiveGcSync asking me to pick a contact from a list?
When initially synchronizing a contact from Google, ActiveGcSync may find more than one local contact similar to the one you are synchronizing. If so, it will use a combination of factors to present to you the local contacts it thinks match up. Check off one contact if it is the correct one and click Done. If you do not check any contacts before clicking Done, ActiveGcSync will assume that none of the choices are correct and create a new PocketOutlook contact.

Which information is presumed to be correct in case of a conflict?
In order to save time during an initial synchronization, ActiveGcSync will assume that your phone has the correct contact pictures and phone numbers. For all other things such as name and emails, Google is assumed to have the correct information.

Do I have to set a category on my Event or Contact in order to have it synchronize to Google?
No. If you use the Default Calendar (for Events) and Default Group (for Contacts) options, your Events and Contacts will be synchronized, assuming that the default you select is being synchronized.

If I add a category to my Event that is another Calendar, will the event get synchronized to both Calendars?
No. Once an event is synchronized to one Google Calendar, it will not get synchronized to any other calendars.

How does a labeled email address (ex: home) in Google synchronize to a non-labeled PocketOutlook email address (ex: Email Address 1)?
Email Address 1 maps to Home, Email Address 2 maps to Work, Email Address 3 maps to Other.

Why is my contact’s photo not showing up on my Google Mail web page?
As of this writing, the Google website does not show photos for contacts without email addresses.

I am getting an error when I run a sync. How do I tell what is going on?
Each time ActiveGcSync runs a Sync process, it writes out details to a file called lasUpdate.log which can be found at \Application Data\ActiveGcSync\lastUpdate.log.

Download:

ActiveGcSync is free and is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

ActiveGcSync v2.0.5 ( README )


16 Comments for “ActiveGcSync 2 Beta”

  1. hi,

    thank you for your nice app!
    I have one question, I keep getting an error msg when the app is autosyncing, it won’t sync, but when I open the app and sync manually it works fine!
    any idea what this is about?

    by David @ December 12th, 2008
  2. What error are you getting?

    by gil @ December 13th, 2008
  3. Hey I have been using this for a bit but I ran into an issue with your beta of 2.0

    Apparently for whatever reason I cannot sync contacts to google, as it will send me an error. I’d be willing to pay for it if you could fix the error being received =]

    all in all excellent work!

    by Shane @ December 16th, 2008
  4. Oh and the error im getting when syncing contacts is this:

    Could not update Contact

    Execution of request failed:
    (long link here)

    The remote server returned an error: (400) Bad Request

    by Shane @ December 16th, 2008
  5. I have seen this error on my own phone recently.. I will investigate. In the meantime, can you take a look at the contact it is failing on and let me know what kind of values are set for it (home phone, email, address, etc) on both your phone and google?

    by gil @ December 16th, 2008
  6. ive actually never used google contacts before because outlook was a needed evil, so when I am syncing I don’t have any contacts google-side.

    One thing I tried doing as a debug step was inputting through the gmail interface a new contact that matched one in my phone. Here is an example:

    google contact:
    Mike
    555-1234

    outlook contact:
    Michael
    555-1234

    activegcsync then syncs my phone to match the google contact, but then fails on adding new contacts to google.

    Also, since I receive emails on my phone feel free to contact me that way and ill help test it as much as I can.

    by Shane @ December 16th, 2008
  7. Hi
    I have tried the beta but have a problem. If I create a new appointment on Google calendar, the ActiveGcSync will delete it when sync. (This happens when I use calendar number 2

    by Simon @ December 17th, 2008
  8. I just installed ActiveGCSync and also getting the ‘400 Bad Request’. The full error msg is:

    Could not insert Contact.
    Execution of request faile:
    https://www.google.com/m8/feeds/contacts/default/full
    The remote server returned an error: (400) Bad Request

    by Arne @ December 17th, 2008
  9. Hi,
    thanks for this great program!
    One problem: Syncing 240 contacts takes over 30 minutes. I’m syncing over WLAN with an HTC Touch P3450 WM 6.1

    by Tom @ January 7th, 2009
  10. Yes I know about the performance issue. I have the same problem when I do my sync. I have thought of a few ways I can improve the speed, so I will be looking into that for the next release.

    by gil @ January 7th, 2009
  11. There seems to be an issue viewing some of the tabs in devices with a 240×240 screens such as a Palm Treo 700wx running Windows Mobile. Everything Else seems to be running beautifully though. I mean the Contact Sync seems to be slow, but it works so it’s all good.

    by JR @ January 14th, 2009
  12. I keep getting an error on recurring events.
    15.01.09 11:18:15: OL: Adding event ‘Presentation Skills’
    15.01.09 11:18:15: Error adding event: Error returned from PocketOutlook.Ap.13: 80070057

    Nonrecurring events are no problem.
    Any ideas on that?

    ActiveGcSync 2.0.1 BETA on HTC Touch Touch Cruise

    by Jochen @ January 15th, 2009
  13. @ Jochen: I got the same error message. I think there is a problem with reoccuring dates. If I add a topic which takes place every week (for example) and where i set no ending date, I get this error.

    by Basti @ January 16th, 2009
  14. Got the error:

    Got full feed
    Error Updating: Error returned from PocketOutlook.Rp.5: 80070057

    Nothing was transferred to Google Calendar (which was empty)

    by Jeroen @ February 1st, 2009
  15. A great application, so i’d like to help you with some bug reports. Here’s an error i got.

    ================================
    Error returned from PocketOutlook.Ap.29: 80070057

    Update Log:
    Starting Calendar sync
    ————
    Syncing calendar Calendar Name
    RequestException for event Fluiten, training
    Error Updating: Error returned from PocketOutlook.Ap.29: 80070057
    ===============================

    Besides this error, i’ve got the same problem as others. The auto-sync option doesn’t work. Manually it worked like a charm. (untill i got the error above).

    by Robin @ February 6th, 2009
  16. I am closing out the comments. Please post all issues to the forums here: http://milow.net/forums/viewforum.php?f=5

    I have just posted a new version, 2.0.2 Beta, that has more debug logging and information in it. I have tried recreating most of these issues and could not so any logs you can send me will be helpful. If you encounter an issue with a specific event, send me the details of the event such as recurring day, recurring pattern, time, etc..

    by gil @ February 8th, 2009