Year-at-a-glance View in iCal

Thanks Erich for making that super easy. Was just thinking, "Where can I post this as a feature request", and found your post.

I have posted this feedback and I encourage everyone else to do the same. As far as I know Apple do NOT use these forums to find out what features people want. So best to use the form at http://www.apple.com/feedback/ical.html

Cheers,

Jonathan

P.S.
For those without the time to write a message on that form, here is one you can cut and paste:

---
Dear Apple Developers,

I want to make best use of iCal. To do this, I would appreciate having a YEAR PLANNER in iCal because without such a view it makes iCal somewhat deficient and less apt for serious business planning.

It looks like I am not the only one wanting this feature, judging by what I have read in Apple forums and elsewhere. Should we really have to resort to either having NO yearly planner OR finding and using a third party app for this?

It seems like a logical feature to include, yet I see people have been requesting it for a few years now, and still iCal has no year view.

I am hoping that if enough people ask for it, you good folks at Apple will do something about it. Please do, and keep up the great work
---

Message was edited by: InspiredLife

No help except to agree with you; a year view would be great; I am an Windows refugee and am trying to find a replacement for last years Excel template for my music schedule; thought maybe Numbers or iCal but no template in Numbers and no option for year in iCal. Maybe if enough people respond in forums??

I completely agree with you guys! I always use a year planner and they are invaluable to me. I can't honestly believe that Apple continue to overlook the number of peoples comments that are on the web, about iCal's total lack of functionality in this respect. I am no programmer or software designer, but goodness, how complicated can it be to provide an annual view of your life, where you can see major events listed such as holidays, school holidays, relatives visiting.... well everything major you specify to be on it! And then print it out, email it or add it to your website through iWeb.

So, following on from previous posts - why don't we just demand Apple update iCal by bombarding them with requests?

Can't they see how it might even boost sales of Mac's and OS X?

It really is pretty poor that you can get these things for a PC, but the far better Mac... ?

Cummon Apple ... show some loyalty to your fans!

Hi Jim,

Once again, I am filling out next year's year-at-a-glance wall calendar and wish I had this view
in iCal. With today's screens, a year-at-a-glance view shouldn't be difficult to implement and
would be very useful. My favorite layout has 12 rows (one for each month, January at the top)
and blocks for each day running from left to right with weekends shaded.

Sounds interesting and liked the idea. Maybe, you have to forward your feedback [here|http://www.apple.com/feedback/ical.html|iCal Feedback]. Hope Apple would listen you.

Regards,
MCM

well, i have the excel sheet. but i want it to be populated by my ical events (which i can get to outlook via google if needs be). so i just need that software to then spit out the year view. i did google year planners, but all that there are templates which you would then have to fill in - not really a good option. so leon, if you know any specific software, thanks heaps for a hint...

as for apple listening, i doubt they will, since this has been an issue for years it seems...

YES YES YES! me too! since iCal came out i am missing this function! was trying couple of times to find maybe some add ons or plug ins in the past years but did not see any. if somebody knows would be glad to hear of this, but i shall google again to.

but it would be so much better if apple would do it themself in iCal!

i used entourage before, it doesnt have a year view, but you can selcet dates and view them spaning across diferent month, that function would be also nice to have. in the by month view you can only see each month by itself, not for example last week Januar and the next full month.....

ical - busysync - googlecalendar - parallels desktop - xp - outlook - calendar printing assistant is the long path i have now choosen. surely, there must be an easier way than this, but i haven't been able to find it. plus, the outlook calendar printing assistant is not quality easy to use mac software, but microsoft, so you can imagine the pain...

so please, everyone, request the feature with apple!

gurudgo, thanks for the hint, but are you sure that you posted the correct link? thats just a video of a presentation showing off iwork 08 - i scrolled through it and could not see anything about year view for iCal. am i being slow?

I can't believe this, I finally get round to organizing myself and ical doesn't do a year view.

I have hunted online for some way to make this happen and have ended up making a pdf of a printout to be able to see it.

This can only be a temp solution, as my diary changes a lot and printing/pdf is not very elegant or efficient or even that easy to read quickly.

In my online search I have found posts requesting this as far back as 2003, and 6 years is to long to wait for something that surely must be such a simple solution.

I'm also stunned by the lack of plugin/widget/app solutions from 3rd party developers, I would definitely pay a a buck or 2 for something to let me do this well within ical,

And If I want it you can be sure there are at least another 100,000 who would also pay, maybe we could get the guy who wrote the ifart app for iphone to write it for us, about 2000 people a day were buying that at 99 cents a pop in the run up to christmas.

Apple should embarrassed by this.

If anyone knows the solution please post it.

Brin

Yes, I'm as frustrated as everyone else! Can't figure out why Apple have ignored this feature.

I'm a "switcher" too, though a few years ago now. In my opinion by far the best Windows Year Planner was included with the Lotus Organizer software (also in SmartSuite). It is self updating each year and lets you specify events and tasks, change colour-codes and specify how much of a day each takes. It really was my longest-used Windows software (I can still use it in Parallels but rarely do these days purely because of the convoluted procedure) by a long way.

Not only is this functionality missing from iCal and Entourage but it's rarely to be seen, properly implemented, anywhere else in the Mac world. I just thought I was perhaps missing something obvious and which I'd laugh about later when I'd discovered it.... Not so far.

i find it EXTREMELY frustrating that Apple ignores the year view in iCal.

and also incomprehensible as so MANY of their customers are freelancers
who need to plan for sundry projects throughout a year or two.

just being able to VISUALIZE a cluster of projects appearing neaxt Spring in relation to this fall
would be SUCH a help....

one day i'll give up and just go to Entourage.
what gives???

iCal is a fix and important part of my life. I synchronize calendars with my iphone and iPod and I use it together with a Getting-Things-Done-App.
Now what i really miss at least is an optional view for months and for years. I know there is month view, but only with horizontal rows. This is not consequent, because day and week-view are vertical columns.
So i wish there would be 4-5 columns from left to right for months.
And 12 columns from left to right for a year. More important than a view like this in iCal itself would the opportunity to print the monthly view in that way. So i would be able to print 12 DINA4-papers and put them together afterwards.
Purpose: Yearly overview for holidays, jobs, projects, time limits, etc.

Would be very pleased if Apple could help me.
Best regards

I'm very frustrating of using iCal for planning. I'd assume that the core of Mac users are freelancers, individuals and small businesses. The most basic function of anyone using a computer for something more than playing games is to schedule ones time. iCal has never come close to Microsoft Outlook.

Do I need to install Windows and use Microsoft Outlook to make efficient use of my time as freelancer?

Maybe I should sell my Mac and buy a PC????

HELLLOO - somebody there at Apple!!!!!!!
ANYBODY!!! HHHEEELLLLOOOOOOOO

Apple please Address this...

To run and plan for any business using an "Apple" computer we need a "year-at-a-glance" view in iCal.

I have been running businesses on Mac since 1995. I would be happy to be part of a test/focus group of mac business users to provide you and your planners/designers much needed input.

In the mean time please make year at a glance in iCal a top priority. It seems that Apple right now is the only one who has not noticed this feature is missing.

All the best,

Charles

This is by far the most frustrating aspect of iCal. Apple seems to work in annual planning cycles: iphone to iphone, mac pro to mac pro etc.

Here is some news for Apple.......SO DO THE REST OF US.

Apple please get a grip, please lift iCal into the 21st century; give us the year view option, for heavens sake.