All about calendar syncing
Like many people, I have a work calendar and a personal calendar. My work calendar is on Outlook and my personal calendar is on Google calendar. Previously I used the Google Calendar Sync tool to basically sync my work and personal calendars. This was great for several reasons: avoiding clashes, if I made a change on one calendar, I the change would be reflected on the other calendar.
Google announced they would stop support for the Google Calendar Sync tool: Google Sync End of Life. Legacy users were able to continue to use the tool and many alternative programs popped up as well. However, around the same time, my work changed its IT security policy, so no third-party programs could be installed on work computers. This meant, even though I was a legacy user of the Google Calendar Sync tool, my workplace would not let the tool or any of the alternative programs run on my work computer.
On the other hand we are allowed to access our work emails, calendars and contacts via Exchange ActiveSync on our personal mobile devices. This did mean I was able to see my work and personal calendars at the same time on my mobile device (and as they were different calendars, you were able to differentiate between your personal and work events). I could not see my personal calendar on Outlook or my work calendar on Google calendar though.
I then stumbled upon a great solution called Calendar Cloner on the Google Play store. This basically created a clone of one calendar onto another using a rules based approach. So I basically created two rules, the first rule cloning my work calendar on my personal calendar, and the second rule cloning my personal calendar on my work calendar. On my mobile device I deleted the showing of my work calendar (as everything was now cloned on my personal calendar). I am presently using the free version to test it out.
Whilst Calendar Cloner is an awesome solution, it isn’t perfect, it does have a few very minor issues. Firstly, if I want to amend a cloned event, this will not change (so for example if I want to amend a personal calendar event on my work calendar, the change won’t be reflected). Secondly, the service runs on my mobile device, meaning it is a battery drain. Finally, because the app is cloning, there is no way of differentiating between personal or work event (I don’t think was even possible with the Google Calendar Sync tool mind you). More details of Calendar Cloner can be found on the developer's website: Welcome to Calendar Cloner.
The paid version of Calendar Cloner seems to offer a bit more functionality, such as the ability to change events across different calendars. At present, even with its minor issues, I am more than happy with Calendar Cloner, but to support the app developer I may purchase the paid for version.
