KOrganizer Reference Manual: Introduction
Description: A Calendar / Scheduling Program for KDE / Unix / X
Keywords: PIM calendar scheduling C&S vCalendar UNIX X

Next PreviousTable of Contents

### 1. Introduction

KOrganizer is a program for doing several things. It is a calendar. It is a program to keep track of your appointments. It is a prioritized todo list. It coordinates scheduling between different people or groups. In short, it is a program which tries to help you keep your life organized, hence the simple, yet appropriate name. You may have encountered similar programs for both UNIX and Windows such as plan, Netscape Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, and Ecco Pro. All of these programs fall under the same general category of ``PIM,'' or Personal Information Manager, and they all more or less try to do the same things, though often with different angles of approach.

### 1.1 vCalendar Portable Data Format

KOrganizer is the first free PIM for Unix which implements the vCalendar protocol for personal data interchange. This vendor-independent, open standard allows different programs and devices to share/synchronize appointment and calendar information without proprietary standards. The data is stored in ASCII and is easily human-readable. While some Windows programs have implemented a limited import/export ability from their native formats to vCalendar, KOrganizer's native file format on disk is vCalendar, so it bypasses this middle-step entirely. It also allows you to easily access your data without the program itself, in the spirit of other UNIX programs.

### 1.2 3COM PalmPilot Support

KOrganizer also offers even more convenience if you have a 3COM PalmPilot or IBM WorkPad in conjunction with KPilot, a set of pilot-access tools for KDE. With KPilot working in conjunction with KOrganizer, you can easily synchronize your desktop and portable schedules.

You will need to have KPilot installed, and have the "todo conduit" and "vcalendar conduits" configured in order for your Appointments and To Do items to be synchronized back and forth between KOrganizer and your Pilot. However, once this is done, FULL synchronization is supported, including recurring appointments, alarms, attached notes, etc.

Next PreviousTable of Contents