How to put Google Calendar on your Windows Wallpaper

Posted on September 29, 2017 by Wayland Bruns

We’ve all done it. Come in on Monday with a fresh attitude, get busy working, and finally open our Calendar, only to see that we missed an important event an hour ago. How about having your online calendar displayed fresh on your computer first thing every day? DejaDesktop Calendar Wallpaper can do that. It is a PC and Mac app that can move Google’s Calendar and Contact to your Windows and Mac screen backdrop. Every day, when you first look at your PC, you will see your updated Agenda.

Download DejaDesktop
Set it to sync your PC or Google Calendar
Automatically updates every day.

“Desktop blotters were a thing for a reason,” says Wayland Bruns, designer of DejaDesktop. “With Google Calendar, you cannot see your schedule until you open your browser. My phone is supposed to buzz, but sometimes I miss that. It is easier for me to have a constant view of my week, so I can see important events coming up. I also plan events in advance, so the look ahead year view makes it easy to see when dates fall in coming months.”

DejaDesktop Calendar Wallpaper is free if you just need the month view with the look ahead months. There is a two-week trial for the Outlook and Google data feeds. The software works by keeping your current schedule on your local PC, and burning today’s calendar into your screen backdrop picture. It will automatically update whenever you change your Calendar.

DejaDesktop can also show key contacts, and your task list. This is handy to have a bit of information that you are constantly search for, always available on your wallpaper. “I have one person I call weekly,” says Bruns. “I have him bookmarked on my cell phone, but I need to dial from my desk phone because it is a business call. It takes three screen taps to bring it up. Having it on my wallpaper means I know right where it is when I dial.”

The data feed for Google is a one-time purchase. You can buy it for one computer for $29.95. For three computers, you get a discount for $49.95. This is a lifetime license with no subscription or renewal fees. DejaDesktop is created by CompanionLink Software, a leader in synchronization tools. CompanionLink is based in the US and offers free technical support for its products. For more information see https://www.dejadesktop.com.

How to sync Outlook to Galaxy Note 8 – Contacts, Calendar, Tasks and Notes

Posted on September 29, 2017 by Wayland Bruns

What we all want, is something that works like Outlook on the phone. Not for email, but for scheduling, task management and mapping.

Try this:

Download DejaOffice on your Galaxy Note 8
Download CompanionLink for Outlook on your PC.
Configure them for DejaCloud Sync
Watch your Outlook Contacts and Calendar appear on your phone.

DejaOffice is Free. CompanionLink runs on a two-week trial.

I’m all up and running on Galaxy Note 8 now. Transition is as smooth as can be using Samsung Smart Sync and DejaCloud Sync.

Install SmartSync and sync all my apps.
1. This works great, but in every app, all the settings are lost.
2. So I make a list, and set them back up one-by-one
Set my DejaCloud login and password
1. DejaOffice synchronizes automatically.

I like the larger screen on the phone. In fact, my main complaint with Galaxy Note 8 is that I’d like the screen to be a bit wider. I do a lot of reading on the phone, and a little more space would be nice. As it is, it is slightly larger than Galaxy S8-Plus and this will work for now.

Special features of DejaOffice:

Time zone management, so when you land your Calendar doesn’t go wonky
Calendar Colors that match Outlook
Templates that save time entering new Appointments and Tasks
Persistent alarms to be sure I don’t miss anything.
Recurring tasks compatible with Outlook
Optional: Franklin Covey task priorities A1, B2, C99
Works same on Android and iPhone, Phones and Tablets.

Check out https://www.dejaoffice.com for more information.

CompanionLink for Outlook

Average User Rating:

Average rating: 4.83 out of 5 based on 659 reviews.

Free 14 day trial. Price $14.95 3-Mo Subs - $69.95 One-time License.

DejaOffice Contact Widget – All your Contacts on your Android Home Screen

Posted on July 9, 2017 by Wayland Bruns

I was talking to my developer about the limits of Android Widgets. A widget uses Android memory to store stock data. Since Android 3.0 we’ve been able to scroll widgets. This allows us to store more data than shows on the screen, allowing you to scroll to see it all.

I asked him what the limit was.

My developer didn’t know.

So I said “Let’s try making a contacts widget.”

“For what contacts?” he asks.

“All of them”, I answer.

So he does!

DejaOffice for Android now gives you an Android Desktop widget that shows All of your DejaOffice contacts. Whether that is 300, or 3000 or 30,000, they are all there.

From the Desktop Widget, you can dial the phone, email or text any contact on your list. All without opening any apps. Give it a try!

From Android Desktop, Long Press to get the menu for Widgets. Select DejaOffice. Select Contacts View 4×4. Place it on your desktop. On most phones you can resize this to be any size you find convenient.

DejaOffice also provides widgets for Month View, Today, Tasks, and Memos.

Sync Galaxy S8 to Outlook without using Exchange

How to Sync Galaxy J3, J5 and J7 (2017) to Outlook

Posted on June 12, 2017 by Wayland Bruns

If you need Contacts, Calendar, Tasks and Notes on your Galaxy J3, J5 or J7 (2017) phone, you can easily and securely sync using the DejaOffice App (free) by CompanionLink Software.

DejaOffice and CompanionLink for Galaxy J3, J5 and J7 (2017)

CompanionLink offers several secure sync methods; USB Sync (most secure), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and DejaCloud sync. You do not need an Office 365 Account to use DejaOffice and CompanionLink. All you need is Outlook and your Phone.

Why you need a Smart Switch alternative

Samsung has a generic utility called Smart Switch, and in the past offered Samsung Kies to sync with Galaxy S5. These are very basic programs that do not work well. You can read about these problems here, here, and here. You can also read about one USATODAY.com editor’s experience using Kies.

If you value your Outlook data, sanity, or just need a solution that works out of the box with the new Galaxy phone, try CompanionLink. It’s been downloaded more than 1.2 million times and is the #1 independent PC suite for Android sync with Outlook.

Why you need an Outlook App alternative

Microsoft now sells the Outlook App. To use it requires a Business license to Office 365. The App is still in it’s early phase. Microsoft just added the ability to Edit a Contact record. With DejaOffice you can add and edit contacts, select categories with colors, and synchronize tasks including recurring tasks.

DejaOffice includes Widgets . A widget is an active screen that sits on your Android desktop. The most poweful widget is the DejaOffice Contact Widget which shows all of your contacts. Now you can scroll and dial without opening any App. The DejaToday widget shows today’s schedule, Agenda and Tasks, so you can quickly see your schedule.

To create a widget for DejaToday on your Android desktop, find an empty space on the desktop, press and hold for about 1-2 seconds.

Tap the ‘Widgets’, select “DejaOffice”, then select between the DejaToday, DejaCalendar, DejaContacts, DejaTasks, or DejaMemos Widgets.

Your options for Galaxy J3, J5 and J7 (2017) Outlook sync

CompanionLink’s configuration lets you choose which Outlook data to sync. Toggle Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, Notes, and Journal. Advanced data such as Categories will also sync so you have the same data sets and view options on your Galaxy as you do in Outlook. Choose from two-way sync or limit it to just one-way transfer. You can even select the sync direction (Outlook > S5, or S5 > Outlook).

If you have multiple Outlook PST files and folders, you can select which to sync. Let’s say you have an iPad and use iCloud to keep it synchronized with Outlook. Your Outlook client will have your default Outlook Contacts/Calendar folder (PST file) as well as a separate iCloud Contacts/Calendar folder (PST file). The iCloud folder is installed by default when you install the iCloud software from Apple. It’s important that you are able to choose the right Outlook folders to sync with Galaxy S5 so you do not accidentally mix data (such as personal data with business data).

You can choose which specific Outlook Categories to sync with S5. Many professionals store leads and clients in the same Outlook Contacts file under different categories. Or, they store Personal and Business data under two categories. It’s important to use a PC sync suite with the flexibility to select which Categories to synchronize with your Galaxy S5.

You can pick how you want to synchronize. CompanionLink allows sync to Galaxy S5 over USB, WiFi, DejaCloud, and using a Gmail account. Each sync method has its merits; click here for a complete discussion on this. No other Android Outlook app offers this breadth of sync options to fit the needs for security and convenience.

Someone to call in case you need help

CompanionLink extends free phone support and email support to Galaxy S5 owners. Visit this page for help if you need to speak with us.

CompanionLink also has step-by-step guides to configure each type of synchronization:

You can also purchase a $49 RunStart package that schedules time with a CompanionLink technician who will log into your PC and set up the synchronization. This guarantees a correctly configured Galaxy S5 to PC sync and the peace of mind knowing your Outlook database isn’t being accidentally corrupted.

Google Sync with Outlook

Posted on June 8, 2017 by Wayland Bruns

Let’s face it. The PC is still faster than the Web! Entering quick info on the PC, will be faster than loading a Web App like Google Calendar every time.I took a phone call today. I need to find a bit of info, and call the customer back tomorrow. So I set a quick reminder on my Calendar for 10am tomorrow to call. How do I get that to my phone?

My phone is my essential reminder tool. I absolutely depend on the alarms there to remind me what to do throughout my day. The phone automatically synchronizes to Google. So it works fine if I made the appointment in Google.

But I didn’t make the appointment in Google. To do that means launching my browser, log into Google, search for Calendar, decide which calendar, and then adding an entry. I don’t have time for that.

The best way to go from Outlook to Google is CompanionLink for Google. It’s easy to set up, and completely automatic. I don’t even press a sync button. Just make the change in outlook, and it is automatically sent to Google. With CompanionLink, you don’t even need to open Google. When I make an appointment on the phone, it moves back to Outlook automatically.

CompanionLink for Google is $49.95. Use the affinity code “BLOG” to get $10 off. You can download it right now and run a two-week trial. The trial has 100% of the features.

Google Sync (the native sync to Android and iPhone) is great for Contacts and Calendar. If you also use Tasks, Category Colors, or Notes, then we recommend using a dedicated App on our phone called DejaOffice. Click on that link for more information.

How to synchronize Outlook Category Colors through Google Sync for your Android and iPhone

Posted on May 9, 2017 by Wayland Bruns

Download CompanionLink for Google
Set it to sync from Outlook
Set it to sync your Google Contacts and Calendar
On Android and iPhone set Google Sync.

I love category colors. As a business person; green appointments mean money, red are urgent, yellow are cautious. I use purples and blues for personal and recreational stuff. When I glance at my day, or my week, it’s the colors that I see, not the text.

We were “in the room” when Google created Google Calendar. That is; we were one of the companies chosen to see the “secret beta” back in 2006. This was months before the Calendar was available to the public. It was a lot of fun to go to Google’s campus and to get the secret information. What was not fun at all was understanding the level of inexperience Google had with PC office calendars.

In 2006, PC Outlook had been out for nine years, Microsoft Schedule Plus for about nine years before that. Polaris Packrat was in full swing back in 1986, and in 1984 I remember Commence had a great Calendar for Windows. One would have thought that Google would take advantage of all these past Calendar products, and base their new offering on them.

Nope! Google is a linux shop! Linux people always seem to want to create everything from scratch. So Google Calendar emerged with its own new way of handling recurring events, folders, and categories. It had few of the capabilities that PC calendars of that era offered. It was a huge up for them to climb to add revision after revision for things that everyone could already do 20 years before on PCs.

One of those things is Category Colors. Outlook ties colors to different categories. So my business appointments are one color, and personal appointments are a different color. Google first tied colors to different calendars, and then added a secondary color attribute.

CompanionLink for Google handles category colors well. If you need your Outlook colors on your Samsung Galaxy Phone, or your iPhone 7, then a great way to move them is with CompanionLink for Google.

While Outlook associates colors with a Category, in Google it simply shows with a color “dot” on our main Google Calendar.

If you want to see colors on your Android phone, or your iPhone, use the Google App on the phone. This will Google Sync from your Google Calendar, and it will include the colors.

CompanionLink for Google is $49.95 and available for download now. You can get set up in about 15 minutes. Thanks for reading!

Wayland Bruns, CTO
CompanionLink Software, Inc.

Secure Contact Sync without Google or Exchange

Posted on May 5, 2017 by Wayland Bruns

This week brought us news of a clever phishing scheme using Google Docs. People received a realistic email from a trusted business associate. The email contained a link to a Google Doc. Opening the document required you go through Google OAuth and entering your Email and Password.

Fortunately, Google OAuth is secure, so the password was not stolen. Unfortunately, the phisher obtained a token that allowed them to access your gmail account, allowing them to send an email to all of your professional contacts.

This attack underscores a weak point in data security. When your email and contact information is stored on a public cloud server, the server becomes a target for obtaining your valuable information. Instead of targeting the billions of computers that are used to store business information locally, phishers target the “big three” who collect the data in complex systems that allow others access to it.

Notwithstanding the phishing attack, Google, Microsoft and Apple reserve the right to farm your data and re-sell it. Google will scan your data and target advertising to you. If you send an email about an Acapulco vacation, you will soon find your browsing full of offers for cheap resorts. Microsoft and Apple are more circumspect about their data scanning. But they still store and mine the data, and work to derive profit from it.

CompanionLink provides a secure alternative to storing your company’s data on a highly public server. If you use our USB, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth Sync, your data is not stored at all. We offer a secure cloud service called DejaCloud. This service is significantly different from Exchange, iCloud and Google Sync. With DejaCloud, we do not derive income from mining and selling the data. Our source of income is product sales and subscription service, and that’s all. We are not a public company and do not have to split our loyalty between our customers and our shareholders.

I remember years ago how proud I was as my customer list grew from 500 contacts, to 600, and then over one thousand. At that time I was using Goldmine, and we sold Add-On products for Act! and Goldmine. Today we have 1.8 million entries in our various databases, and I’m still proud that this list has never been hacked, and will never be stored in a public database.

How to Sync Outlook Contacts, Calendar, Tasks and Notes with iPhone 6s

Posted on September 20, 2015 by Wayland Bruns

There seems no end to sync solutions for iPhone. The problem is; they all devolve into Apple-like simplicity.

Face it. We use Outlook because it is fast, effective, and the whole world supports it. It is forced on us by our business, it runs our mail, it runs our appointments, and the less time we can spend there, the more we can do our jobs.

With iPhone, the best known solutions are feeble, at best. With Apple iCloud, you need to create a different Outlook folder and move your data to it. You need to put up with problems with it, with mail and other things. And then, when it gets to iPhone, you have no Tasks any more just reminders.

With Office 365 and the Outlook App you have a different set of problems. It all gets to the phone ok (except for tasks again) but the only thing that is marginally good with the Outlook App from Microsoft is the email. Hello Microsoft: Email is NOT a problem on the iPhone.

So that’s what CompanionLink and DejaOffice are here to do. Synchronize Outlook Contacts, and Outlook Calendar, and Outlook Tasks to the iPhone. Not only to move them, safely and securely, but DejaOffice provides an Outlook-like ecosystem on the iPhone and Android so that you can continue to do Contacts, Calendar, Tasks and Notes just like your PC. So if you want to schedule an appointment, or make a task for a contact, you can do that in one App on your phone. If you have Recurring Tasks, CompanionLink and DejaOffice is the only solution available that supports them on all platforms.

CompanionLink also works for Outlook for Mac 2011 and Outlook for Mac 2015.

Here’s how to sync Contacts, Calendar, Tasks and Memos:

On your PC or Mac; Download the CompanionLink for Outlook 14-day trial
On your iPhone or Android phone, download DejaOffice for Outlook
Set up USB, Wi-Fi or DejaCloud sync

That’s it! You’ll have your data on your phone. For more information here’s our info page for CompanionLink for Outlook.

Small Business Productivity, Tools and Tips – Android and iPhone Sync

Category Archives: Outlook Sync