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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

    Reply
    124 replies

    Jul 23, 2011 10:24 AM in response to gonzalol

    Re: |There is no way to set a default either (that I could find).


    Gonalol:


    While I STILL really hate the new GUI for iCal, I do need to correct the comment you made about the default calendar... If you go in to iCal's Perfs, under "General" there is a drop down menu where you can set a "Default Calendar".


    On another note I have been playing with BusyCal... any while I am not in love with it I think it might just be the way to go. If anyone else has some suggestions I am open to almost anything (except Outlook/Entourage).


    Suggestion anyone?!

    Jul 23, 2011 10:47 AM in response to drbroom

    Thank you drbroom!

    That was rather obvious when I saw it (embarrassing too).


    I agree that iCal is trying not only to reinvent calendar software but also the calendar!!!


    Every paper calendar had the month displayed somewhere - this is very useful. I understand the compulsion to unclutter but this might be going a little bit too far.

    Jul 23, 2011 11:20 AM in response to gonzalol

    Just db will do <heh>


    Your very welcome and no need to be embarrassed... As frustrating as this update has been it is an easy miss!


    BTW I couldn't agree more about the "next months" display! It is one of the things I miss too. I used it almost every other day when planing my clients deliverables. It's not that easy to look at the start date and count out the days till delivery unless you change to "Year View". Why should I have to do that?


    If I didn't have to update I would have stayed with SL! As a developer (and a Apple developer since the ||) I am completely unhappy with the new UI and even left that feedback while Lion was still in beta. So I am not surprised by the reaction we are seeing from users.


    Oh and just so no one thinks I'm a Apple basher... I still bleed in six colors! <http://technorati.com/technology/article/steve-jobs-on-what-it-means/>

    Jul 23, 2011 6:38 PM in response to Gauroch

    Gauroch wrote:

    the new way

    Many things in the new iCal are beautifully designed. I am certain that the new iCal will be enjoyed by people who use the new multi-session screen sharing for Mac OS on iOS (that should be a separate topic).


    iCal's aqua popover default may be perfect for people who have only a handful of calendars.


    Critically


    The new design fails completely to offer an always-on full-height list of calendars — invaluable when working with more than a handful of things.


    The screenshot below, taken whilst evaluating BusyCal, shows a subset of my list of calendars (more than the average user, that's why an always-on list is so valuable). In shot: three accounts on a CalDAV server. I have other, lesser used accounts on other CalDAV servers. Also some use of Exchange servers. My own case is extreme but there's a guiding principle for a variety of use cases:


    some users need to see the list of calendars all the time.


    What's exmplified below has become impossible in iCal 5.0 (1535) in Mac OS X 10.7 (Build 11A511).


    I plead with Apple, or a third party developer, to restore the sidebar list of calendars to iCal.

    User uploaded file


    Apple's limitation is acceptable when the user has only two calendars —


    User uploaded file

    — but for some other classes of user, completely inappropriate.


    The percentage of users troubled by the loss of functionality may be less than the percentage enjoying the popover, but that in itself does not reduce the trouble, the frustration.


    The sidebar was present in 10.4, removed in 10.5. Many users of 10.5 complained.


    The sidebar reappeared in 10.6. Removal in 10.7 is almost completely dumbfounding.


    I would like to say, "give it time — the more you use it, the more it will be appreciated" but for me this is not true. For some weeks I tried to work with this build of iCal and the more I used it, the greater the frustration. I grew to avoid iCal.


    In most ways the feature set of iCal is unequalled. Support for many standards is excellent. The removal of the sidebar is a blight on this brilliance.


    I plead with Apple or a third party developer to fix this at the earliest opportunity. I want Apple iCal — but user-friendly, not crippled.

    Jul 23, 2011 9:09 PM in response to Graham Perrin

    Wow! I thought my calendar situation was bad. However, after seeing yours, the dozen or so calendars for different research groups that I deal with is paltry by comparison. Anyhow, I can see for some "light" users, the popover is just fine. However, for others it simply is not. I notice in the new version of Mail there is an option to revert to classic view if one does not like the new look. I briefly went back to classic view but am now using the new look. This brings me to two questions:


    1. Why is it not possible to offer the same sort of option with iCal?

    2. How do we point/push Apple in that direction? I have posted comments on this to Apple's product feedback page, as I suspect others have too. Is that sort of information sufficient to "light a fire" on this issue? Do discussions in this forum shape decision making? Hopefully someone with experience in the Apple development process can shed some light on this.

    Jul 24, 2011 7:30 AM in response to Joe Gramm

    When the pop-up shows my calendars, I can click on the one I want, but when I enter a new event it always reverts to the default calendar. I believe this is a glitch that is easily fixed.


    I also miss the mini month in the weekly view. It does show in the daily view.


    I also agree that the pop-up covering the calendar is annoying. I miss the sidebar.

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

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