I’ve been using Mozilla Sunbird for quite sometime, and just recently noticed that Mozilla is pulling the plug. Sunbird users are recommended to use Thunderbird 3.1 and the Lightning add-on. To access your Google Calendar, you’ll also need the Provider for Google Calendar add-on.
Thunderbird 3.1 (alt DL) is a great email client that gives you IMAP/POP support, a built-in RSS reader, support for HTML mail, powerful quick search, saved search folders, advanced message filtering, message grouping, labels, return receipts, smart address book LDAP address completion, import tools, and the ability to manage multiple e-mail and newsgroup accounts.
Lightning 1.0b2 (add-on for Thunderbird) lets you manage your daily schedule directly within Thunderbird. Allows managing calendars locally or subscribing to network calendars.
Provider for Google Calendar 0.7 (add-on for Thunderbird) allows bidirectional access to Google Calendar. You need an existing Google Calendar account.
So, first you install Thunderbird 3.1 for your email. Then install the Lightning add-on, for you to have the Calendar function. After that, you’ll need to install the Provider for Google Calendar add-on, for you to access your Google Calendar.
Instructions for Adding Google Calendar:
To access your calendar data, you need to retrieve your private XML URL from the Google Calendar UI. If you are not sure how, follow these steps:
- Open your Google Calendar
- Click on the Settings link located in the box at the right of the page.
- Click on the calendar you want to use with Thunderbird Lightning or Sunbird.
- Click on either of the two XML buttons shown at the bottom.
You may now use this url as the Location when clicking File > New > Calendar > On the Network > Google Calendar in Sunbird/Lightning.
If you have more than one calendar in your Google Calendar account, just repeat the above steps for the second account.
Tasks, unfortunately, cannot yet be synced. This would only be possible if Google provides an XML for it.
