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Graham Perrin

Q: sidebar missing from iCal in Lion — seeking a third party product to restore lost functionality

Apple has removed the sidebar, the always-on list of calendars that required no click.

 

The shallow popover that appears only when clickedobscuring part of the calendar before disappearing — is to me (and some others) an unacceptable substitute for working with multiple calendars, especially where calendars are grouped across multiple servers.

 

I'm aware of third party alternatives to iCal. (Most full-featured calendar interfaces do have an always-on full-height list of calendars. Probably the best known alternative to iCal is BusyCal.)

 

This topic does not seek alternatives; I do wish to continue using iCal, albeit in a way that is less frustrating than what Apple forces upon users of 10.7.

 

This topic seeks:

 

  • a third party product that will restore lost functionality to iCal.

 

To any developer who reads this topic: please, I beg you, on my knees, submit your iCal sidebar app — or whatever you wish to call it — to the App Store as soon as you can. I'll gladly pay, and more than gladly help to test any pre-Store development version.

 

Other readers please note: whilst I'm extraordinarily frustrated by Apple's design decision, this is not an invitation to rant. Let's gain something constructive from this discussion.

 

If you wish Apple to restore the sidebar to iCal, as an option, then please:

 

    • submit iCal feedback to Apple, with your use case; explain why for you personally the limited disappearing popover is a poor substitute; explain how the sidebar will improve both (a) your productivity and (b) your appreciation of Apple's software.

 

Side note: no category includes iCal, so I file this opening post under Using Mac OS X v10.7 Lion.

 

Thank you

Graham

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7), 8 GB MacBookPro5,2 GeForce 9600M GT

Posted on Jul 21, 2011 8:45 AM

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Q: sidebar missing from iCal in Lion — seeking a third party product to restore lost functionality

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  • by jonnytoto,

    jonnytoto jonnytoto Dec 8, 2011 2:15 PM in response to Graham Perrin
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 8, 2011 2:15 PM in response to Graham Perrin

    Downgraded to Snow Leopard. With iCal unusable, there was just nothing compelling enough to keep Lion.

    Wake me up when they fix iCal.

  • by mulligans missus,

    mulligans missus mulligans missus Dec 8, 2011 2:23 PM in response to mikst
    Level 2 (370 points)
    Dec 8, 2011 2:23 PM in response to mikst

    Again, tell Apple or else it may be a very long sleep

     

    http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html

  • by jonnytoto,

    jonnytoto jonnytoto Dec 8, 2011 2:31 PM in response to mulligans missus
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 8, 2011 2:31 PM in response to mulligans missus

    Done.

  • by mikst,

    mikst mikst Dec 21, 2011 2:20 PM in response to Graham Perrin
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 21, 2011 2:20 PM in response to Graham Perrin

    Hey guys! I am totaly with you on this sidebar issue and I've already submitted my feedback regarding it. Does anybody here have any reason to think that somebody at Apple gives a **** about what we think, write or say about its software?

  • by Graham Perrin,

    Graham Perrin Graham Perrin Jan 13, 2012 12:16 AM in response to Graham Perrin
    Level 2 (259 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 13, 2012 12:16 AM in response to Graham Perrin

    In November 2011, GigaOM drew attention to this topic.

     

    In December, I thanked them but drew attention … what's recommended by GigaOM is explicitly without support for Microsoft Exchange.

  • by Graham Perrin,

    Graham Perrin Graham Perrin Jan 13, 2012 12:50 AM in response to Csound1
    Level 2 (259 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 13, 2012 12:50 AM in response to Csound1

    Csound1, with all respect: the post was in response to your post, and both posts are addressed to the forum, visible to the public.

     

    Whenever I address an individual in a public forum: I prefix or suffix a paragraph with that individual's name, to make clear that I'm not addressing the wider audience. So please, with the passing of time, don't take offence.

     

    I place great value in people who have strong feelings about product quality, and I can see why you value BusyCal — I do, too. I necessarily use BusyCal far more often than iCal, but promoting BusyCal as an alternative to this part of the system is simply off-topic, where the fixes and enhancements must be to iCal.

     

    If one of the things that you love about BusyCal is the sidebar, then I encourage you — please — to give that feedback to Apple.

     

    In your feedback to Apple, be as brutal as you like!

     

    Thank you for listening, and I hope you can stick with us on a path to enhancing iCal.

     

    ----

     

    Everyone: the feedback form is still outdated, so I suggest beginning with a short feedback item that simply requests addition to the form of version 5 of iCal.

     

    Then one feedback item for each troublesome aspect of iCal, each aspect that either annoys you or drives you to use an alternative. Begin or end each item with a note that the trouble is with version 5, in Lion.

     

    Let's make this absolutely clear: wherever Apple's design of this part of the system makes people with a passion turn to alternatives, there's something wrong with the system!

  • by mulligans missus,

    mulligans missus mulligans missus Jan 13, 2012 12:57 AM in response to Graham Perrin
    Level 2 (370 points)
    Jan 13, 2012 12:57 AM in response to Graham Perrin

    Graham Perrin wrote:

     

    Everyone: the feedback form is still outdated, so I suggest beginning with a short feedback item that simply requests addition to the form of version 5 of iCal.

     

    Then one feedback item for each troublesome aspect of iCal, each aspect that either annoys you or drives you to use an alternative. Begin or end each item with a note that the trouble is with version 5, in Lion.

     

    Let's make this absolutely clear: wherever Apple's design of this part of the system makes people with a passion turn to alternatives, there's something wrong with the system!

    Why would a lot of us want to send that sort of feedback when we don't have a problem with it? Different interface, that may change in the future but works as well as always for me, so you do the complaining to Apple. It's your issue. But there is absolutely nothing wrong with the system that I have seen to date.

     

    Good Luck

  • by Graham Perrin,

    Graham Perrin Graham Perrin Jan 13, 2012 1:12 AM in response to mikst
    Level 2 (259 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 13, 2012 1:12 AM in response to mikst

    > Does anybody here have any reason to think that somebody at

    > Apple gives a **** about what we think, write or say

    > about its software?

     

    Yes. I have good reasons to believe that despite the outdated feedback form, Apple has not lost focus on the importance of iCal.

     

    Everyone: now is a very good time to send feedback.

     

    I should not encourage duplicate/repeat feedback, but if (like me) you have tried for six months or more to work with the new interface — and if those months of use have not eased the frustrations with the interface — then it seems reasonable to offer additional feedback to Apple, maybe along these lines:

     

    • … tried working without the sidebar for x number of weeks/months, the problems to me now are as great as they were when I first encountered the new design, because (give your reasons; real world use cases are enormously helpful)
    • (if you use iCloud, or if you see someone else using and enjoying iCloud)sidebar in Calendar in iCloud works well for users of iCloud …
    • … tried alternatives to iCal, in most ways iCal excels but working without a list of calendars is a thorn in the side
    • … and so on.

     

    Please: do not write to Apple every day, that's counterproductive. Less frequently: periodic and honest reviews of your situation should be productive.

     

    The more honest, focused and open-minded your feedback: the greater the chance that Apple will engage with people like you.

     

    Hint: one item of feedback per component of iCal. If your feedback is about the sidebar mini-month, keep that separate from your feedback about the sidebar list of calendars. (These are two separate issues with a previously shared interface, but for coherence and strength of support in Apple Support Communities I have drawn the two together.)

     

    To me, feedback every few months seems reasonable. YMMV.

     

    Thanks again

    Graham

  • by Graham Perrin,

    Graham Perrin Graham Perrin Jan 13, 2012 1:24 AM in response to mulligans missus
    Level 2 (259 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 13, 2012 1:24 AM in response to mulligans missus

    > nothing wrong with the system

     

    Thanks — I fully appreciate that for many users of Lion, many things in the new iCal are beautifully designed. … may be perfect for people who have only a handful of calendars.

     

    mulligans missus, sorry … when I said 'everyone' I meant, everyone who finds trouble with the sidebar missing (the subject of this topic). I don't normally say 'everyone'; in another part of that particular post I was trying to be sensitive to one person's feelings.

     

    Everyone: feedback to Apple that's honest is of great value. I'd never ask anyone to give feedback that they did not honestly feel or agree with.

     

    I realise that this is a relatively long topic … for the benefit of newcomers who arrive at this page six: there's no intention of spoiing the interface of iCal 5 for those who enjoy it as it is.

     

    In a nutshell: I'm seeking an option (a preference) to show the sidebar. When that sidebar is not shown, iCal will appear as usual, with calendars listed in a popover.

     

    It's a preference that many will not choose, but it's needed.

     

    Hope that helps

    Graham

  • by lakaye,

    lakaye lakaye Jan 13, 2012 3:42 AM in response to Graham Perrin
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 13, 2012 3:42 AM in response to Graham Perrin

    I was delighted to see the flurry of conversation about this topic - I hae pretty much given up on Apple doing anything about what they probably consider a pretty minor thing. But, thanks to Graham's suggestions, I will file yet another complaint with Apple (did so several months ago when I first switched to Lion) and keep my fingers crossed. I do very much like your idea to suggest that Apple adds a preference that makes the sidebar viewable to those of us who use multiple calendars.

     

    So I add my voice (again) to this by encouraging all of you who have been missing the sidebar to send your feedback to Apple, even if you have already done so.

  • by Tom in London,

    Tom in London Tom in London Jan 13, 2012 5:25 AM in response to mulligans missus
    Level 4 (1,626 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 13, 2012 5:25 AM in response to mulligans missus

    mulligans missus wrote: there is absolutely nothing wrong with the system that I have seen to date.

    How does that address the topic of this thread?

     

    (which is: "sidebar missing from iCal in Lion — seeking a third party product to restore lost functionality)

     

     

    ?

  • by mulligans missus,

    mulligans missus mulligans missus Jan 13, 2012 5:34 AM in response to Tom in London
    Level 2 (370 points)
    Jan 13, 2012 5:34 AM in response to Tom in London

    Tom in London wrote:

     

    mulligans missus wrote: there is absolutely nothing wrong with the system that I have seen to date.

    How does that address the topic of this thread?

     

    (which is: "sidebar missing from iCal in Lion — seeking a third party product to restore lost functionality)

     

     

    ?

    iCal is part of the system Tom, I think it's also part of the old system you use.

     

    Night

  • by Graham Perrin,

    Graham Perrin Graham Perrin Jan 13, 2012 9:56 AM in response to Tom in London
    Level 2 (259 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 13, 2012 9:56 AM in response to Tom in London

    It might have been me began using the word system, encouraging readers to think of iCal as an essential part of the system. A day of words, this is. Note to self (not to everyone): less colour, Graham.

     

    Now, to everyone with an interest in the sidebar of iCal as a part of the system: think positively and think iCal.

  • by wbossons,

    wbossons wbossons Feb 2, 2012 7:06 AM in response to Graham Perrin
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 2, 2012 7:06 AM in response to Graham Perrin

    Agreed - about the change to the iCal and many of the other changes to Mail as well: it is very frustrating and poor UX design. The desktop or laptop is a much different form factor than the tablet or pad or phone.

  • by Hugh Kremer,

    Hugh Kremer Hugh Kremer Feb 10, 2012 5:42 AM in response to Graham Perrin
    Level 1 (25 points)
    Feb 10, 2012 5:42 AM in response to Graham Perrin

    Yes, add me to the list. Apple's going for eye candy is really getting in the way of usability. If I could sync Outlook Mac with iCloud I would use that. What I hate about iCal

     

    • No sidebar to quickly go to a specific date, week, or calendar
    • Really ugly cowboy leather look. Ugh. At least let me get rid of the Western theme
    • This ridiculous scrolling from week to week. Apple, I am busy, and I just want to get my work done. That wasn't even cool the first time I saw it, and you're making me sit through a several-week scroll every time.
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