Database Info

[APP] Due Today Todo/Project Manager

I generally try not to post notifications about my software in other forums, but if anyone is interested, I've created a new todo/project manager for Android 1.5 and later.
If you're interested, please look here:
http://forum.lakeridgesoftware.com/showthread.php?t=16270
Thanks!

looks very nice and GTDish.
but if it doesn't sync to an online service it is pretty worthless for a lot of people.
I for example use toodledo, because I can access it from my Mac at home and from my PC at work...
good luck, anyways, it looks promising.

What if it syncs to a desktop client? Is that worth anything?

of course that helps, but it would still not solve the problem if you can not install apps on your office PC. Thats a problem a lot of folks have due to managed workplaces

So, I've been thinking about this. If I were to set up a ToodleDo sync, some of the extra fields would have to go into the task's notes. Would that be an acceptable alternative?

Very beautiful and promising. I second the need for Toodledo sync, or it will be unusable to a lot of people.
I really liked the looks of it.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

chmckay said:
So, I've been thinking about this. If I were to set up a ToodleDo sync, some of the extra fields would have to go into the task's notes. Would that be an acceptable alternative?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sure. use Toodledoo fields as far as possible, everything else goes into notes.
but what would you save in the notesfield, for example?
I think about developing a GTD app for webOS and am wondering how to do it well myself

Well, after the data is pulled out of the notes field, the remaining text would just be notes. So, those would be placed appropriately (this is when pulling from ToodleDo). When adding to ToodleDo, I would just place the notes after the extra data.
This gets to be a little complex as I have a few options for contexts which have not been added yet (though the fields exist in my database) and ToodleDo doesn't support contexts as anything other than a text string.
Then there's projects vs goals. I would probably go that route as I don't want to make anyone purchase a pro account on ToodleDo.
After doing all this research, I'm still considering using a WebDAV server sync method with a desktop client as I could guarantee that everything would sync properly.

chmckay said:
Well, after the data is pulled out of the notes field, the remaining text would just be notes. So, those would be placed appropriately (this is when pulling from ToodleDo). When adding to ToodleDo, I would just place the notes after the extra data.
This gets to be a little complex as I have a few options for contexts which have not been added yet (though the fields exist in my database) and ToodleDo doesn't support contexts as anything other than a text string.
Then there's projects vs goals. I would probably go that route as I don't want to make anyone purchase a pro account on ToodleDo.
After doing all this research, I'm still considering using a WebDAV server sync method with a desktop client as I could guarantee that everything would sync properly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The software expires today right? Any news on the paid version?

arg! I want to try it.
The biggest thing for me in an app like this is,
Hierarchy: ability to make sub-projects/subtasks (why I love todoist.com)
Widget/cal sync: needs to sync to Pure Calendar or Google Cal
Personally I would not want it to sync to ToodleDo unless the sub-project functionality this seems to have (again can't try it, beta's up) is maintained without needing a pro account of ToodleDo (which supports subtasks)

The beta expired at midnight this morning, so I'm quickly finishing a few things.
What I'm doing right now is adding a few things that make sense with the ToodleDo sync. And, I'm making a few underlying database changes that you shouldn't see if you were using a previous version. Again, this is in anticipation of the ToodleDo sync. The sync won't be available until I release it for the market.
@Hepæstus:
TaskIt has projects and subprojects. Each project and subproject can have an unlimited number of tasks. In the Today view, though, you will only see the tasks. So, when a project comes due, all of its tasks will be added to the Today view (including any subproject's tasks). When you complete the last task, it will mark the project as complete.
As for the syncing, I don't want to make people get a ToodleDo pro account, so I'm setting things up a little differently. The ToodleDo sync will be more of a hack in that the tasks will sync, but any fields unsupported by ToodleDo will be added to the notes field. Projects will be synced with ToodleDo's goals. I know it's not perfect, but I originally designed this app to be synced with a forthcoming desktop client, not an existing web service, so I have a few features that are not supported by either Remember the Milk or ToodleDo.

I forgot to mention that yes, there is a widget. Also, the update will be available later today.

Version 0.9.5 is now up. You can check it out here:
http://forum.lakeridgesoftware.com/showthread.php?t=16286

Hey chmckay, can you see the possibility of syncing with http://my.gtdify.com/ as well? I like the idea of a desktop client, but if I can access my stuff anywhere, that would be even more awesome. I'm eagerly anticipating a paid version.

I'll take a look at that site and see if they have any syncing capabilities.

Instead of using one of those thausands of webservice that offer a gtd-like project/todo-management I would really prefer a sync to my own webspace.
Combined with a simple webinterface, like the one from "Tracks" (which is the base for my.gtdify.com) or MonkeyGTD/mGSD (Tiddlywiki, a dynamic html-File mgsd.tiddlyspot.com).
That would really be great!

@spaboleo:
That was the basis of my wanting to sync to a desktop client: so that you own your data.
However, because very few people are interested in that, I'm looking into ToodleDo and Tracks. Tracks is interesting because you can host it yourself, so that's a plus.
When the desktop client is ready, TaskIt will also have WebDAV syncing so you can sync to your own server and be in full control of your own data.

Ah, ok
I thought that by "desktop client" you ment something like an installable piece of software...which in case would be okay if there is a webclient/webserver-version.
Maybe the installation could be obsolete too by using a portable client.
anyway...thank you for your effort!
sounds really promising!

Actually, I do intend to create an installable desktop client. The WebDAV sync is so that your data doesn't sync via someone else's servers.
The Tracks/GTDify and ToodleDo sync are for those who want web only.

Of course I can only speak for myself, but 70% the software I use is portable and placed on my thumbdrive (even browsers, mail-clients, IM-Tools etc.).
The other 30% include exclusivly larger suites like Office, Graphic-Programs or CAD-Tools.
Mostly an installtion is not really required if you include saved userfiles directly into the programmfolder.
For the less experienced users you could offer a installable version.
But, I would appreciate a ziped version that I can carry around on my thumbdrive, without the need to "make it portable by myself" ;D
I think I'm not the only that prefers portable software.
Best wishes

Duplicate Tasks in Calendar

So the tasks app on the One S syncs with Google Tasks. You can also choose to have Google Tasks show up on your calendar. My problem is every task I enter shows up twice in the calendar. I have tried all different settings in the tasks and calendar apps. This includes hiding all calendars except tasks, and they still show twice.
I'm at a loss as to what is happening. I checked Google Tasks online and there are no duplicates. Is anybody else experiencing this?

I am also having this problem.
I haven't found a fix for it yet, but if I do I will make sure to post back here.

Same problem to me.
The only workaround I found was installing another PIM software (Jorte) and setting Tasks in Jorte only to local. But in this way they are not synchronized with anything.
I don't understand why HTC Sync or HTC Sync Manager synchronizes only calendar and contacts with Outlook and not tasks, this sounds crazy.

Same here
I have the same problem with my HTC one S. I'm contacting HTC, as this appears to be a bug in Sense. Both the duplicate entries appear to be originating as Tasks. When I try to delete one of the duplicates from calendar, both get deleted. Also, this appears to be a problem only with Gtasks; Exchange and Hotmail tasks work fine. Workaround for now is defaulting all new (non work related) tasks as Local. Just installed an update from HTC yesterday and the problem is still there.

Same issue
I have the same issue with on my HTC One S (stock ROM). I'm also hoping this gets resolved quickly.
There isn't a fix for it by tweaking the settings, but I find it strange that for the google account, I can check 2 different calendars.
One is named [my gmail address] and the other is named "Task". Under my gmail address are no appointments, "Task" does contain them.
I have found a temporary fix though for deleting duplicates, you just clear the phone's temporary data (not a factory reset). You can do this under [settings] > [storage] and tap "make more space" under both internal and phone storage. I don't know exactly which one contains the data. *Update* This only seems to work first time round...
This fix implies that the cause of the problem lies in the phone internally. From my intermediate knowledge of programming I suspect that every edit of a task (including creation of it) for google accounts is stored on the phone seperately as a file that doesn't equal (in programmatic terms) the others. Therefore, the calendar will hold every local "version" of the task + the one on google's servers.
As for resorting to alternative market apps, I haven't found any task app that easily lets me set a reminder on any date and time I wish. It's always the same day or the day before at most. The best I've seen is a very limited list of options that goes as far back as a week. Other problems include missing priority settings for tasks or it doesn't sync with HTC's native tasks or calendar app.

Actually I found, that one can only clear data of single process. I don't know its exact english name, because on my system is displayed in polish ("Pamięć kalendarza"), but it should be sth, like "calendar memory".
After clearing its data and opening calendar app, the list of available calendars was empty, but after a while (and clicking refresh, and clicking refresh in Tasks app) the list populated with calendars from google account and with those internal from the phone. And items from the google tasks calendar weren't duplicated any more. At least until they are edited again in Tasks app.
BTW, has anything changed in this topic? Is there any solution for this problem?

Some Questions and possible bugs

I upgraded from a HTC Imagio running Windows Mobile 6.5 to the Samsung Galaxy S3 and it is my first foray into the Android world, so I hope you can help with the following. As you can see, it was a big step up the ladder of mobile operating systems!
1. If I have a name prefix for my contact in the contact list, like Mr./Ms./Mrs./Dr., the name does not autocomplete for that contact from the phone keypad. When I enter the letters of the first or last name on the phone keypad, the contact does not show up. However, if I delete the name prefix and leave it blank, it shows up fine. Is there some setting to have all the contacts show up or is it a bug? Is it happening for others too?
2. On the Windows phone, I had a reminder application which showed a list of all reminders. I could set the reminder to repeat after any number of days/weeks/years. However, in the Android Calendar, when I set an event, I am unable to set the number of days/weeks/months/years it has to repeat. For example, I need an event to repeat every 365 days (calendar with no leap day) but I cannot set it on my phone or in GMail. Also, when the alarm goes off, I would like to be reminded again after a day or a few hours or a few minutes until I dismiss the notification so I can have the remidner go off a few days before the event as a reminder. I don't know if that is possible too. I looked at a couple of apps from the Play Store but could not find one which does everything. Anyone know of a trick to get this to work?
Update: DGT GTD & To-Do List with its recent updates now does what I need. Thanks to the author for adding the features.
3. When I check my gmail in the web browser, I am unable to delete the mails. I touch the trash icon but it stays highlighted but does not delete the mail. Is that a bug or am I again doing something wrong? I have different gmail accounts that I would like to check on the phone without transferring contacts and calendar entries.
Update: Looks like a bug in the stock web browser. GMail works as expected in Chrome browser
4. Is there a clear writeup of how the calendar and contacts sync between gmail and the phone? I had transferred all my contacts from my Windows mobile phone to gmail and they showed up on my S3 when I set up the gmail account. However, they would not transfer to my phone. I had to export the contacts to a file on my phone and then import the contacts into my phone. Maybe I do not need the contacts to reside on the phone? I was worried that if I was in an area with poor or no signal reception, then I may not be able to view the contacts if they were only on my gmail account and not on the phone.
4a. Similarly, I would like to know how the calendar entries from gmail can be pulled on to the phone.
Thanks in advance for your help and patience in reading the above! I have a lot to learn but hope I can get my phone to work the way I would enjoy. If you can suggest any resource for reading other than XDA and Android Central, that would be great too.

Oops. This should have been posted in the Q&A Forum. Mods, can you please move it if that is where it belongs? Thanks!

[APP]ContactSync sync contact information on Android/Blackberry

ContactSync is an Android (also works on Blackberry) app which allows you to sync your Android contacts with local files and FTP, HTTP, WebDAV or CardDAV servers.
Do you want to check out the app? Then just load and install the free test version where you can check out all the feature for free at the Google Play Store, Blackberry World, Amazon Store or directly from my website (link below).
Features:
Using a self-created analyser which supports complex and more features than other contact sync applications.
Supporting vCards in all availbale versions (4.0, 3.0 and 2.1)
Supporting much more android contact fields then other apps (IMPORT and EXPORT).
Contact photos can also be automatically be loaded from the web!
Automatically create appointments for birthdays and anniversaries so that you won't miss them!
Importing contacts stored on the android device (.vcf).
Importing multiple files at once
Fingerfriedly user interface.
Supporting different ways of handling double contacts:Ignoring, Replacing, Merging
Supporting groups (native groups in vCard 4.0 and mapping of categories in vCard 3.0 and 2.1)
Sync statistics
Automatic background sync
Supporting network sources for contact information.
Supporting HTTP/HTTPS (syncing from and to a server (two way sync))
Supporting FTP/FTPS (syncing from and to a server (two way sync))
Supporting WebDAV/WebDAVs (syncing from and to a server (two way sync))
[*]Supporting CardDAV (syncing from and to a server (two way sync))
Supporting (also two way) sync to local files stored on your device
Supporting self signed certificates
Multi-language: Currently english
If you are interested in translating the app in other languages please contact me.
The app handles more contact/group data then other apps e.g.:
address, birthdays, anniversaries, custom events, categories, groups, notes, email, instant messages, name, nickname, organizations, photos (also high res), relations, phonetic names, websites, roles, titles, Apple specific extensions, Mime dir groups, Android specific extensions, self defined custom labels
The app has been sucessfully tested with more then 30 different CardDAV Servers like Apple iCloud or Owncloud. You can find a list here:Sucessfully tested CardDAV Server
Requirements:
Android 2.2 or newer.
Permissions
android.permission.READ_CONTACTS and android.permission.WRITE_CONTACTS
The app is designed to interact with the contacts on the device so it needs the rigths access the contacts.
android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE and android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE
Used to create files on the device e.g. to backup contacts in .vcf files and to read files storing contacts.
android.permission.INTERNET and android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE
Used to access contact information available at server connected by a network like the Internet.
android.permission.READ_PHONE_STATE
For licensing the app needs access to device id.
com.android.vending.CHECK_LICENSE
Needed for google licensing mechanism.
android.permission.RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED and android.permission.ACCESS_WIFI_STATE
For the automatic background sync feature.
android.permission.WAKE_LOCK
For the automatic background sync and to prevent the device to go in sleep mode during operations.
android.permission.MANAGE_ACCOUNTS and android.permission.AUTHENTICATE_ACCOUNTS and android.permission.USE_CREDENTIALS and android.permission.READ_SYNC_SETTINGS and android.permission.WRITE_SYNC_SETTINGS
Used to create and manage android sync accounts to integrate the app in the default contact handling apps.
android.permission.READ_CALENDAR and android.permission.WRITE_CALENDAR
The app has a feature which can be used to automatically create appointments for birthdays and anniversaries at a choosebale calendar so that you wont miss such an event.
If you like my app please donate so that i can develop further improvements.
Download (NO MIRRORING): Contact Sync click here

When for an Open Source version ?
Hi,
You say that this app will be FOSS with the 1.0 version. So, concretely when ??
Thanks :crying:

HLFH said:
Hi,
You say that this app will be FOSS with the 1.0 version. So, concretely when ??
Thanks :crying:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sorry but I think you mean a different app and developer.

just installed it and was disappointed. the post said nothing about money...
and your webpage you dont say how much it is...only to contact you directly
i have a place for software like this, its called /dev/null

androidfan34 said:
just installed it and was disappointed. the post said nothing about money...
and your webpage you dont say how much it is...only to contact you directly
i have a place for software like this, its called /dev/null
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you just want to buy the app then you can easily click the play store link. But if you want to test the app or buy it directly from me then you will have to communicate with me in any way (to find a purchase option which fits your need, informations how to get a (of course free and NOT limited) testlicense, and so on).

I am looking for an app that can help me to import my Palm contacts from my pc, which I can export as vcf.
Can your app handle that?

binser said:
I am looking for an app that can help me to import my Palm contacts from my pc, which I can export as vcf.
Can your app handle that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Basically the app can handle vcf files really well , but in your case I can give you some additoanl details because I had already some users with used my app to transfer palm .vcf contacts and gave me a very good feedback, so yes this can be done with the app.

Birthday Calendar
Hi,
I discovered this app when I was looking for a way to sync my android contacts with my homeserver running radicale.
The app was easy to set up and works quit good, so I decided to buy the paid version for small money
I like the option to put all birthdays and anniversaries from contacts to a calendar and used this option too.
I have three minor things to note in this calendar scenario:
1. anniversaries are not processed, when a server addressbook is newly synced to the pone. It works only, wenn contacts are entered on the phone. I would like an option to generate calendar entries when getting contacts from server. Or perhaps just an option to create calendar entries from already existing contacts so I can create an new calendar even if contact are already on the phone.
2. I have wedding days in my contacts which are called "Hochzeitstag". Here the app generates some strange calender entries with "... name not found ...". Maybe you can fix this.
3. The age of a person in a calendar entry is just in the description, not in the title. Since my calendar widget just shows the title of an entry I would appreciate an option to generate the age to calendar title too.
But I must say, that sync functionality is just great. With little improvements for calendar integration it will be phenomenal!
donny

donny02 said:
Hi,
I discovered this app when I was looking for a way to sync my android contacts with my homeserver running radicale.
The app was easy to set up and works quit good, so I decided to buy the paid version for small money
I like the option to put all birthdays and anniversaries from contacts to a calendar and used this option too.
I have three minor things to note in this calendar scenario:
1. anniversaries are not processed, when a server addressbook is newly synced to the pone. It works only, wenn contacts are entered on the phone. I would like an option to generate calendar entries when getting contacts from server. Or perhaps just an option to create calendar entries from already existing contacts so I can create an new calendar even if contact are already on the phone.
2. I have wedding days in my contacts which are called "Hochzeitstag". Here the app generates some strange calender entries with "... name not found ...". Maybe you can fix this.
3. The age of a person in a calendar entry is just in the description, not in the title. Since my calendar widget just shows the title of an entry I would appreciate an option to generate the age to calendar title too.
But I must say, that sync functionality is just great. With little improvements for calendar integration it will be phenomenal!
donny
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Donny,
thank you for your feedback.
1) Currently there are only appointments generated for contacts synced from the server to the device because those run through the full sync process. So I assume that you want to get the other way?
2)The app uses the FullName vcard field for the displayed name. This sounds (when the tag "name not defined") is displayed that the FullName (FN element) is missing at the contact. This violates the vCard Standard because it has to be present at each vcard at least once. Do you know which system has generated the vcard, you could file in a bug report?
But I think I can add a fallback for structure name and nickname definition in this case.
3) I dont want to get the appointment title too long I think I can add it in a very short fashion.
If you like it and want to support the future development then a nice rating at the play store will be helpful
Regards
Annemarie

Hi Annemarie,
thank u for your reply. Just to clarify:
1. first I tried syncing an addressbook from server to fresh resetted phone and no appointments were generated. Then I cleared contacts and calendars on phone and server. Then in android I imported a file which I exported earlier from standard android contacts app. This created new file on server too. I'm not 100% sure, because I had to do it several times, but I think that was the moment when appointments were generated. If you say, they are created when synced from server, everything is good, but as I remember, it did not. But in addition it would be great to have an function to create these appointments from contacts no matter where they come from, even if they are already on the phone.
2. the wedding day comes from standard android 4.1 contact export / import. It is a contact with to dates, which look like this:
X-ANDROID-CUSTOM:vnd.android.cursor.item/contact_event;2011-04-15;1;;;;;;;;;;;;;
BDAY:1984-01-27
I think, the problem is, that first date has no valid name. The contact has a name, it is just the date.
3. that would be nice.
Regards,
Donny

Hi,
1)Currently the appointments are generated when you import something into your device with my app, the source is not important (so local .vcf files on the device, mail attachments or contacts synced from a server -> all will generate appointments if this is enabled at the settings). But depending on the source my app checks if a import is really necessary, so if you have imported a lot of contacts previously then my app checks on the next sync if something at the contact data has been changed and only will update/import changed/new contacts.
So a reason for your experience can be that you first synced your contacts then later enabled the appointment (contact birthdays, and so on) generation at the settings of the app and then synced again and nothing happens because the old and new data on e.g. the server are the same => Therefore my app detects that nothing has to be synced (which is important to speed up the sync process) because nothing has been changed on eater side.
There is a workaround for such an issue available:
If you are importing local files then you can set the app to overwrite/update existing contacts which have previously imported -> This will lead to an update/import and the appointments will be generated
If you are syncing with a server then you can clean up the WebContact at the Created WebContact list (which will remove all the synced contacts from this specific WebContact on your device) and then start a new sync and all contacts will freshly loaded from your server and imported => appointments will be generated
2) Can you post the full content of the specific contact or send it to me using a private message of you dont want to show it to the public? (Of course it will be deleted as soon as possible afterwards) So that I can take a look on it.
3) I can send you a test version if you want to check it out upfront?
Regards
Annemarie
donny02 said:
Hi Annemarie,
thank u for your reply. Just to clarify:
1. first I tried syncing an addressbook from server to fresh resetted phone and no appointments were generated. Then I cleared contacts and calendars on phone and server. Then in android I imported a file which I exported earlier from standard android contacts app. This created new file on server too. I'm not 100% sure, because I had to do it several times, but I think that was the moment when appointments were generated. If you say, they are created when synced from server, everything is good, but as I remember, it did not. But in addition it would be great to have an function to create these appointments from contacts no matter where they come from, even if they are already on the phone.
2. the wedding day comes from standard android 4.1 contact export / import. It is a contact with to dates, which look like this:
X-ANDROID-CUSTOM:vnd.android.cursor.item/contact_event;2011-04-15;1;;;;;;;;;;;;;
BDAY:1984-01-27
I think, the problem is, that first date has no valid name. The contact has a name, it is just the date.
3. that would be nice.
Regards,
Donny
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Hi Annemarie,
I tested a fresh download from server as you suggested and birthdays were created in calendar. Very fine. Then I noticed, that the corrupt anniversary was already defect in contacts. So I took a look at addressbook on server and found the strange entry there too.
I anonymized it a bit an put it as attachment to this post. But I think the problem is just corrupt data, not your app.
Furthermore I saw, that entry BDAY is always in fomat YYYYMMTT but other dates are in format YYYY-MM-TT, at least on server. May this be a problem?
Now that everything is fine, I'm not sure that I want to experiment with a new version :fingers-crossed:
But if it helps, I will do it.
Regards,
Donny

donny02 said:
Hi Annemarie,
I tested a fresh download from server as you suggested and birthdays were created in calendar. Very fine. Then I noticed, that the corrupt anniversary was already defect in contacts. So I took a look at addressbook on server and found the strange entry there too.
I anonymized it a bit an put it as attachment to this post. But I think the problem is just corrupt data, not your app.
Furthermore I saw, that entry BDAY is always in fomat YYYYMMTT but other dates are in format YYYY-MM-TT, at least on server. May this be a problem?
Now that everything is fine, I'm not sure that I want to experiment with a new version :fingers-crossed:
But if it helps, I will do it.
Btw. I have released a app version which adds the additional birthdays details at the appointment subject.
Regards,
Donny
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Donny,
sorry for the late reply. Somehow I did not get a notification that you posted on the thread. Thanks for the nice feedback.
The standard does not propose or force any date format. So the app supports a bunch of possibilities and also supports the YYYY-MM-TT format. So this is no problem.
Regards
Anneamrie

Hallo liebe Annemarie,
ich nutze nun schon seit einiger Zeit das contactSync auf meinem Android Telefon und bin sehr zufrieden.
Das Telefon wird mit meiner NAS und owncloud gesynct
Nun habe ich meine NAS auf owncloud 6.0.3 upgedatet und festgetellt, daß die
Kontaktsynchronisation nicht mehr funktioniert. Ist Deine App nur bis owncloud 5 kompatibel?
Gibt es hierzu bereits Meldungen?
Viele Grüße Ingo

looking for advice, from dev or anyone
Hi Annemarie,
Just read your GP text and paid straight away, seems just what I'm looking for, hope it works. I'm on Ubuntu Linux 12.04 & a Moto G 4.4, trying to avoid sync'ing via Google, but want to use their field structures, look very flexible & compatible w/ Apple. (Q1) Do you recommend their vCard or CardDav export layout for templating?
Ideally I'd like my "master" storage to be a folder of VCF files one item per (Q2), and I want a desktop editor that exposes access to all the various data field/types transparently (Q3). But of course I will need to handle routine daily maintenance from the phone (Q4).
Finally, (Q5) can you recommend a CardDav server that is simple (if possible) but must handle the flexibility of the custom data field/types. I don't care much about strict RFC compliance, but compatibility among these toolchain apps is obviously critical, which is why I'm starting as a virgin, with your consync at the center.
TIA for your help!

Hi Hans,
Yes the app is also compatible with Apple (also with iCloud if you need such a sync in the future). Basically their format is OK, but depending on the other clients you are using (e.g. Thunderbird or Evolution) you could have problems because they use some none standardized ways to specify details such as custom tags. But that's in general a problem if some application tries to specify details which were not foreseen by the standard.
All the other questions can mostly be addressed with a CardDAV server, e.g. Owncloud is an alternative which can be configured easily and is frequently used especially if you would find that a online web based editor would be useful. Servers are typically storing all data as is without any modifications to unknown/unsupported data fields but on the client side its typically so that only those fields can be seen/edited which are specifically supported so e.g. no custom tag can be added to a phone number and only the default ones specified at the server can be used.
BTW ContactSync supports all this situations also custom tags and preserves all details which are not supported by Android.
Regards
Annemarie
---------- Post added at 06:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:54 PM ----------
Actually Apple isn't an issue for me, I just noticed that **Google**'s "extensions" - field formats for groups, custom types etc - seem to match the way Apple also implements vCard / CardDav.
Therefore I decided to base my "personal canonical format" on Google's implementation, rather than just slavishly following the RFC specs perfectly, since it seems few mainstream vendors do that anyway.
Other (older client) apps that don't have full fidelity with all the information in my "master data store" will just be read-only "consumers" of that data; I won't use them to create / update records.
Thanks for the OwnCloud recommendation (Q5). That seems a bit "heavier" than I'd like for just serving CardDav, but I'll check out the installation process and give it a spin ASAP.
So to clarify my other Q's:
Q1 there are differences between the structures Google outputs when exporting via vCard, as opposed to when they're serving CardDAV data. I plan to choose one or the other as the basis for my "personal canonical" data templating, so my question to you is: *which of the two* would be better?
If you think it doesn't matter that's fine, obviously vCards are easier to deal with, and as I mentioned, I want my "master" data store to be a collection of vCard files, one file per record.
Q2 Can you recommend another CardDAV server that uses such a collection as its "live" data store?
I have found Marten Gadja's "Contact Editor Pro", which seems to be excellent for on-device edits, keeping full fidelity to my "personal canonical" data (Q4 - can you suggest a better editor for Android?), but it's obviously better to do bulk record creation and editing on the desktop.
Q3 Can you recommend a (Linux) desktop client (front-end to vCards or CardDav) that fully supports all those custom gContact/Apple extensions? Ideally with good sorting/ deduping/ merging capabilities as well.
If the best tool is OwnCloud's web-based client then OK I suppose, but I'd prefer something offline if possible.

Local VCF store - two-way not possible?
I've got a "WebContact" setup as a local VCF file on my Android.
No problems if I edit the VCF and then sync.
But editing the contact(s) in the Android account, then sync'ing leads to everything reverting to the previously saved state of the VCF file, even though 2-way is selected.
Any suggestion?

HansBKK said:
I've got a "WebContact" setup as a local VCF file on my Android.
No problems if I edit the VCF and then sync.
But editing the contact(s) in the Android account, then sync'ing leads to everything reverting to the previously saved state of the VCF file, even though 2-way is selected.
Any suggestion?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you have most likely configured a incorrect path to the contact file, for writing the contact file it is important the the path is completely correct when for reading the contact file the app can look at various places until it finds the correct file. How does the path look that you have configured?
At the manual you can find a description how to configure the path:
Sync protocol local file:
Set this to sync my app periodically with contact files which are stored locally on your Android device. These files can then be synced by a Dropbox or other cloud apps. You will have to set the path at the URL box. The app will automatically follow the specified paths starting from /mnt/sdcard/. So for a file which is stored at /mnt/sdcard/testfolder/test.vcf you will only have to enter /testfolder/test.vcf. You can use the .. (used to go back one step at the path hierarchy) command for a file which is not stored below /mnt/sdcard/. So e.g. for following path /mnt/sdcardXX/testfolder/test.vcf you will have to enter /../sdcardXX/testfolder/test.vcf. If you only want only to parse a file sometimes you also can just open it like normal mp3 or pdf file. So just click on it in your preferred file explorer and it will be parsed by my app and then you can import it.

Note - the /storage/emulated/ path will also work to enable two-way sync via the local-text method

HansBKK said:
Note - the /storage/emulated/ path will also work to enable two-way sync via the local-text method
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or you can simply use the built in dialog inside of the app were you can navigate to the file and a valid path is calculated by the app automatically. So theres no need to define a path manually.

[Poll] Opinion about App

I have an application that is about personal finance. I wanted users to be able to use an online service to add and remove data from a specific website. The question that arises is that I have two ways of syncing the data. They are listed below:
1.) Allow people to sync their data online that whenever they add or remove or do anything with their SQLite database, it syncs right that very second. This is slower since the app has to send data online and sync it each time a change is made.
2.) Allow people to Add and Remove Transactions but a manual sync button is pressed to sync data online. Simpler but does a batch sync rather than only doing it once. The only issue is that when a person doesn't press the button the data is not synced.
Each of those have pros and cons but the idea remains the same, being able to sync data to cloud storage and the ability to add transactions from the website. What do you think?

hafridi said:
I have an application that is about personal finance. I wanted users to be able to use an online service to add and remove data from a specific website. The question that arises is that I have two ways of syncing the data. They are listed below:
1.) Allow people to sync their data online that whenever they add or remove or do anything with their SQLite database, it syncs right that very second. This is slower since the app has to send data online and sync it each time a change is made.
2.) Allow people to Add and Remove Transactions but a manual sync button is pressed to sync data online. Simpler but does a batch sync rather than only doing it once. The only issue is that when a person doesn't press the button the data is not synced.
Each of those have pros and cons but the idea remains the same, being able to sync data to cloud storage and the ability to add transactions from the website. What do you think?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Application looks very nice but I don't need personal finance application. Maybe someone to download?

But in your opinion, would you think a person would like the sync button to sync all the transactions all at once or an automatic sync that does it right after a transaction

Anyone? All I need is your opinion?

only sync data when the sync button is pressed..
I've got the feeling that it's the real answer, you know the pro & cons..

emblazonpunk said:
only sync data when the sync button is pressed..
I've got the feeling that it's the real answer, you know the pro & cons..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you say that sync it only when the user selects to sync it. Thats another vote for sync when user calls it.

Best leave it to the user's choice. It's common sense.

I recommend u have both.
1) not every second, but let the user set the interval between syncs.
2) if the user wants to sync before the time is up, the user can easily sync using the button.
Smack that Thanks button if I helped!
KitKat came in on my OmniROM, running on my Note 2.
Sent from a small country called Singapore.
P.S. Time for school, not much time for XDA

app's auto sync function sounds like autosave in word.
better leave an option to user

davidtc said:
app's auto sync function sounds like autosave in word.
better leave an option to user
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am actually planning on rewriting cloud sync functionality.