Hi,
I've got a DAViCal server with calendars and contacts. On my Android tablet, I run CalDAVsync and CardDAVsync (paid versions).
For the calendars, I use Business Calendar and it works fine.
For the contacts, the built-in Android app is too limited, so I'm looking for a better contacts app, much like the contacts app on iDevices.
Browsing the app store I see many contacts apps, mostly concentrating on making phone calls, which is not my concern.
Can you suggest a good contacts manager for Android, one that plays along nicely with the DAViCal server?
Thanks,
Hi Johan,
this is a bit off-topic, since this is the mailing list for CardDavMATE and CalDavZap. Anyway, which Android version do you use? What exactly is the problem with the stock contacts app? I'm not familiar with iOS so I don't know what you're after. Btw. the contacts app doesn't matter when it comes to compatibility with the server. There are well defined interfaces between the contacts app and CardDAV-Sync (i.e. the contacts contract on Android) and between CardDAV-Sync and the server (i.e. CardDAV) so any contacts app that supports the contacts database on Android should work.
cheers
Marten
Am 30.12.2013 19:58, schrieb Johan Vromans:
Hi,
I've got a DAViCal server with calendars and contacts. On my Android tablet, I run CalDAVsync and CardDAVsync (paid versions).
For the calendars, I use Business Calendar and it works fine.
For the contacts, the built-in Android app is too limited, so I'm looking for a better contacts app, much like the contacts app on iDevices.
Browsing the app store I see many contacts apps, mostly concentrating on making phone calls, which is not my concern.
Can you suggest a good contacts manager for Android, one that plays along nicely with the DAViCal server?
Thanks,
Marten Gajda marten@dmfs.org writes:
this is a bit off-topic, since this is the mailing list for CardDavMATE and CalDavZap.
Sorry for that. I must have been misled by the name 'davclients'...
Anyway, which Android version do you use?
Samsung Note 10.1 (N8010), Android 4.1.2.
What exactly is the problem with the stock contacts app?
Most notably, it doesn't seem to handle notes and user defined fields. I can add a Note field, but this does not reflect what's in the notes field on the server.
Also, it lacks configuration capabilities to control display of addresses. E.g., it insists in putting the zip code after the city name, while in our country the zip should come before the city name.
... so any contacts app that supports the contacts database on Android should work.
That's what I expected. But as I said, I'm missing the Notes and user defined fields.
But probably I'm doing something wrong?
BTW: Many thanks for CalDAVsync and CardDAVsync!
-- Johan
Do you use CardDavMATE on the server or do you use any other client? Notes should sync well. By "custom fields" do you mean labels of phone numbers and email addresses? Or do you mean real custom fields with custom content?
To overcome the address field issue you might want to try an alternative editor app like "Contact editor free" or "Contact Editor Pro". They use a structured editor instead, which means you enter all values into separate fields.
cheers
Marten
Am 30.12.2013 23:53, schrieb Johan Vromans:
Marten Gajda marten@dmfs.org writes:
this is a bit off-topic, since this is the mailing list for CardDavMATE and CalDavZap.
Sorry for that. I must have been misled by the name 'davclients'...
Anyway, which Android version do you use?
Samsung Note 10.1 (N8010), Android 4.1.2.
What exactly is the problem with the stock contacts app?
Most notably, it doesn't seem to handle notes and user defined fields. I can add a Note field, but this does not reflect what's in the notes field on the server.
Also, it lacks configuration capabilities to control display of addresses. E.g., it insists in putting the zip code after the city name, while in our country the zip should come before the city name.
... so any contacts app that supports the contacts database on Android should work.
That's what I expected. But as I said, I'm missing the Notes and user defined fields.
But probably I'm doing something wrong?
BTW: Many thanks for CalDAVsync and CardDAVsync!
-- Johan
Marten Gajda marten@dmfs.org writes:
Do you use CardDavMATE on the server or do you use any other client?
Yes, albeit not on the server (the DAViCal server is a separate system).
Notes should sync well.
Well, as far as I can tell, they don't. None of the contacts on the tablet show notes. Notes enteren on the tablet do not appear in CardDavMATE.
Does it matter that the contacts database was originally created and maintained using the free version of CardDAVsync (that synchs less fields)?
By "custom fields" do you mean labels of phone numbers and email addresses? Or do you mean real custom fields with custom content?
Yes, real "X-Foo" fields.
To overcome the address field issue you might want to try an alternative editor app like "Contact editor free" or "Contact Editor Pro". They use a structured editor instead, which means you enter all values into separate fields.
I'll give these a try, but I'm afraid this is still not the 'better contacts app' I'm looking for...
Is it possible to scratch the contacts db on Android and load it completely from the DAViCal server?
Regards, Johan
Johan Vromans jvromans@squirrel.nl writes:
I'll give these a try, but I'm afraid this is still not the 'better contacts app' I'm looking for...
This is what I did:
1. Add a new contact on iPad, with data in "Notes". 2. New contact appears on the DAViCal server and is visible in CardDAVMate, including the "Notes" data. 3. New contact appears on the Android tablet but no "Notes" data.
Using Contacts Editor to inspect the contact makes no difference.
-- Johan
Did you uninstall the free version yet? It sounds as if the contacts are still synced by the free version instead of the paid version. I recommend uninstalling the free one, remove the account and set it up again with the paid version. That will ensure all contacts are resynced properly.
The "X-Foo" fields are not supported yet. The major problem is that Android doesn't support custom fields very well (you can store those values, but no contacts app can view or edit them).
cheers
Marten
Am 03.01.2014 16:06, schrieb Johan Vromans:
Johan Vromans jvromans@squirrel.nl writes:
I'll give these a try, but I'm afraid this is still not the 'better contacts app' I'm looking for...
This is what I did:
- Add a new contact on iPad, with data in "Notes".
- New contact appears on the DAViCal server and is visible in CardDAVMate, including the "Notes" data.
- New contact appears on the Android tablet but no "Notes" data.
Using Contacts Editor to inspect the contact makes no difference.
-- Johan
Marten Gajda marten@dmfs.org writes:
Did you uninstall the free version yet? It sounds as if the contacts are still synced by the free version instead of the paid version.
That turned out to be the case! Thanks for the final hint.
Now the synch is working, including the Notes.
The "X-Foo" fields are not supported yet. The major problem is that Android doesn't support custom fields very well (you can store those values, but no contacts app can view or edit them).
Yet another reason for an improved Contacts app...
Thanks for your support, and the splendid tools!
-- Johan
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Johan Vromans -
Marten Gajda