Email & Calendar Help/Recommendations

[scottsel2]

Hello All,
New to the site and new to Android HTC One X after a frustrating 6 months on iPhone (very unimpressed). I'm LOVING the form factor, but still getting used to using it correctly. I use my phone for business a lot and have a local installation of Outlook that I would like to sync w/the phone. Afer reviewing the threads a bit I installed K-9 for Mail and have my Yahoo Business account configured there - problem is I can't open any attachments and can't respond to any calendar invites. Anyone know if i'm doing something wrong or if there's a better app I should be using?

Regarding the calendar, after trying on my own and reading a few posts, aparently it's not possible to 2-way sync an Outlook Calendar (kind of ridiculous if you ask me). So, my work around was to sync my Outlook w/my Gmail Calendar which, in-turn, syncs to the phone. Is this my only/best option at this point, or is there an app that will do a 2-way sync that i'm not aware of.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[loraque]

You need to be on Exchange to get the two way going with Outlook. For local installation, using Googlesync is the option I have my wife using also. What you need to do in your head though, is switch from thinking your Outlook calendar is primary, and Gmail is just there to sync. It is the other way around, Gmail is now primary and Outlook just copies what is there. Meaning, you need to start updating the Gmail calendar and having it sync down, which should give you the calendar invite functionality back. If the calendar invites are not going to your Gmail address, and are going to your Yahoo one, I don't think Googlesync will do the trick for you. I am not an expert, just have the wife on similar setup.

In all ways, Android works better when dealing with Gmail, Google Contacts, and Google Calendar. I believe your root cause of not getting invites. is that your Gmail account is not getting the invite, it is being added backdoor through the sync. If you are stuck with Yahoo, I do not know of a better way. Forward everything to Gmail? Probably get the invites that way, but not sure if there would be unwanted side effects. Would have to be careful to mask your Gmail address perhaps when responding to invites.

Outlook often has issues like this, in terms of interchangeability. Microsoft doesn't give that right away. Just my $.02, but you probably don't want your calendar on a local copy of Outlook anyway. It is safer in the cloud. Outlook can just as easily view a web calendar, as run a local one. I think your task would get easier, if you changed Outlook into viewing an online calendar (Gmail or whatever). The problem is Yahoo. I haven't had that wrinkle, so can't fit that in.

 

[icebike]

Can't open attachments in K-9 is because there is nothing that knows how to deal with that attachment.
Go get an office package or what ever you need for that from the App store.

Basically, I've found no problem opening attachments from k-9.

I agree with Loraque, get Google Calendar syncing with your Outlook and then just have your phone sync with google.

I love Biz Calendar but it is strictly a Google Calendar sync as is the Calendar that came with the phone.

There are apps that Sync with Outlook and Exchange, but these are not always allowed in the corporate world.
Take a peek at DejaOffice

 

[scottsel2]

Thanks for the quick responses. Is there a way to make my Google Calendar my default calendar in Outlook? I see in Tools/Account Settings, there is an Internet Calendar tab, but can't seem to get that working. Unfortunately I can't get away from Yahoo as mail, but I don't have a problem using Google for Calendar as long as I can still view everything in Outlook.

 

[icebike]

Thanks for the quick responses. Is there a way to make my Google Calendar my default calendar in Outlook? I see in Tools/Account Settings, there is an Internet Calendar tab, but can't seem to get that working. Unfortunately I can't get away from Yahoo as mail, but I don't have a problem using Google for Calendar as long as I can still view everything in Outlook.

Google is your friend here, as far as finding how to make Outlook use Google Calendar. I've done this for others, but its been awhile. Some searches will find many articles on how to do it.

K-9 is the best way do deal with yahoo too. The Yahoo app is crapp with a capital C.

(By the way, you do know that Gmail can be set up on the web to fetch mail from yahoo don't you? It will fetch it and put it in a separate folder for you and that means you get IMAP capabilities for all your mail, which includes instant notification without the need to poll (check mail).
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But there is no reason you can't continue to use K-9 for both Yahoo and any other accounts as well as for Gmail. My K-9 handles 4 different accounts, including a Linux mail server, Yahoo, and two secondary Gmail accounts.
The Gmail app handles my primary Gmail account, because Android just works better that way.

You can even set up K-9 to use IMAP on Yahoo, which is supposed to get you instant notification of mail arrival, (but its not always instant). Does give you off-device mail storage, which is nice.

 

[loraque]

With Calendar sync, your Outlook calendar already sort of IS your Gmail calendar. You can do something like this if you want Outlook to just VIEW a web calendar-

View Your Google Calendar in Outlook 2007 - How-To Geek

But I think you will lose the ability to import appointments by entering them in Outlook like you are now. I think Calender sync like you have is the way to go for less impact to your current "way of doing stuff". The trick is getting the invites to pop up so you can reply. Can you see the calendar invites coming in on your phone, or do they just not show up? If they do show up, what happens when you try to do stuff with them? Hopefully someone with K9 + Calendar experience can help out. I am concerned that calendar invites coming in on a yahoo address, will not be able to be added to a gmail address calendar without forwarding something.

EDIT- I am not sure how Apple did this so easily on the iPhone. I am thinking they must have been leveraging their licensing agreements with MS and knew the API's to get bidirectional working with local Outlook copies. Or maybe it was just sending ical stuff back and forth and Outlook was handling it. Either way, this was something that I still scratch my head on.

EDIT EDIT- What are Yahoo's forwarding options? Can you only forward certain things, or must it be everything? If it is everything, you can setup the Gmail app to not do notifications of email, and forward everything so you receive the calendar invites. You will want to change your reply address from there however to reflect your yahoo email, so your gmail one doesn't escape on accident. I am thinking there is probably a better way though

 

[icebike]

Don't forward your yahoo mail, just have Google go fetch it for you.

Sent this up on your computer using the gmail settings pages.

You can send the mail making it have a yahoo reply to address, but why bother?

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

 

[Gekko]

1. Jorte Calendar
2. Documents To Go
3. Stock Mail App with Yahoo Settings

 

[scottsel2]

Will Jorte sync w/local installation of Outlook and let you send calendar invites from HOX?

Can't seem to get stock mail app w/Yahoo settings to show HTML pages - am I missing a setting?