Tag Archives: google sync

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

Posted on by Wayland Bruns
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  1. Download CompanionLink for Google
  2. Set it to sync from Outlook
  3. Set it to sync your Google Contacts and Calendar
  4. 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.

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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.

 

Google Sync vs Secure Hosted Wireless Sync

Posted on by David Z
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When it comes to syncing your mobile phone, some of the options available can be confusing. To help you navigate through the various options, I wanted to answer a common question we get from users trying our software:

“What’s the difference between Google Sync and your Secure Hosted Wireless Sync?”

While they accomplish similar tasks, there are actually quite a few differences. Google Sync allows you to keep your Gmail, contacts, and calendars synced wirelessly and instantly between your mobile device and Google’s servers. When used with CompanionLink, it is possible to sync data from Outlook, ACT!, and more to Google. Google Sync can then sync contacts & calendars to you mobile devices. Google Sync is free to use, and it works well for users who want a simple sync.

Secure Hosted Wireless, on the other hand, allows you to sync contacts and calendars, as well as tasks and memos, directly between your mobile device and your PC. One unique advantage to Secure Hosted Wireless is that we do not actually host your data online like Google. Additionally, we protect your data with AES-256 bit encryption. This alleviates potential security issues, which can be a big concern for business users. Since Secure Hosted Wireless sync is built to work directly with CompanionLink and DejaOffice on your mobile device, we are able to provide you with more advanced control over your data, as well as end-to-end support. Secure Hosted Wireless is $9.95/month and it works well for users who need a more secure, advanced wireless sync.

If you have any questions about the differences between these two sync options, let us know in the comments!

CompanionLink and Highrise – Keeping It Simple

Posted on by David Z
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Recently, CompanionLink added support for syncing with Highrise. Highrise is a popular web-based CRM from 37signals.  It’s different from other CRM tools because it’s focused on simplicity and ease of use, something we’ve grown to expect from 37signals. They’ve cultured the ability to create something powerful, yet simple. This isn’t all that easy to do, especially when you’re developing productivity software. Initially, you want to pack as much functionality in as you possibly can.  While this can result in a powerful program, it is all too often convoluted and difficult to use.

Highrise offers something that is as powerful as it needs to be without sacrificing simplicity. At CompanionLink, we embrace that way of thinking too. Our goal is to make syncing so simple and easy to do that you don’t even think about it.

Syncing with Highrise via CompanionLink is simple and flexible. Use CompanionLink Express to sync Highrise contacts, tasks, and cases directly to your mobile device. It works with a wide variety of devices, including Android, BlackBerry, iPhone and iPad, Palm webOS, Windows Phone 7, Windows Mobile, and Nokia Symbian devices or any Google/Gmail/Google Apps account. Go pro with CompanionLink Professional and you will get real-time Highrise sync with other PC software such as ACT!, Outlook, and Lotus Notes. Get started at www.companionlink.com/highrise/.

Image credit.

Use CompanionLink with Gmail's new phone call features

Posted on by Rushang
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Gmail now has voice calling functionality. You can call any standard telephone number right within Gmail. If you have your contact information stored in Gmail, calling a contact is as easy as just clicking on their Contact record. Small businesses can save hundreds on their phone bills if they use this feature to place calls to people in their Contact List.

The catch is that managing Contacts in Gmail can be cumbersome. Many small businesses use PC software like Microsoft Outlook to manage their contacts and phone numbers. If only there were a way to continue managing contacts on the PC, while having Gmail automatically receive those changes.

Wait – that’s the whole point of CompanionLink for Google!  It will keep your PC software (like Outlook) in sync with your Gmail Contacts. Update a phone number in Outlook and it will automatically update in Gmail.

This tool allows small businesses to take full advantage of their PC contact management software along with Gmail’s new phone call features. For more info on how it all works, and to try it free for 14 days, visit www.companionlink.com/google

PC World Reviews CompanionLink for Google

Posted on by Andy Sheragy
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Yesterday, PC World writer Preston Gralla posted a helpful review of CompanionLink for Google. The review details the dilemma many users have in synchronizing their Android phones with Microsoft Outlook. CompanionLink for Google syncs Outlook contacts, calendar and tasks with any Google, Gmail, or Google Apps Premier account. Google can then wirelessly sync your Outlook data with most smartphones using the free Google Sync service.

Read the PC World article here. You can download a 14-day free trial of CompanionLink for Google at www.companionlink.com/google

Windows Guides reviews CompanionLink

Posted on by Andy Sheragy
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A new review of CompanionLink has been posted over at the Windows Guides site. The review mentions, as posted earlier, that CompanionLink supports sync with Outlook 2010 64-bit. Head on over to https://mintywhite.com/software-reviews/companionlink-enables-sync-outlook-mobile/ to read the review.

CompanionLink launches O2g, a simple app to sync Outlook with Google

Posted on by Andy Sheragy
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CompanionLink is proud to announce O2g, a fast, simple and affordable solution to synchronize Microsoft Outlook with any Google account. O2g delivers complete synchronization of calendar, contacts and tasks between any Google, Gmail, or Google Apps account and Microsoft Outlook 2000 and higher. O2g supports synchronization with the new Outlook 2010 64-bit, in addition to all versions of Palm Desktop.

O2g supports advanced functions such as mapping Outlook contact categories to Google Groups in Google Contacts. If the Google Groups don’t already exist, O2g will automatically create them to match the Outlook categories on the PC. In addition, Outlook tasks can be synchronized to Google Calendar as untimed calendar entries.

Using the free Google Sync service, O2g can synchronize Microsoft Outlook with many popular smartphones, including the Apple iPhone and iPad, BlackBerry, Android, Palm webOS, and Windows Mobile devices. O2g synchronizes Outlook calendar and contact data with Google, and then using Google sync, automatically updates the phone with the latest sync data.

O2g is now available for a one-time cost of $9.99, with a full 90 day guarantee. Support is offered via the official O2g forums, monitored by O2g personnel. For more information on O2g, visit www.o2gsync.com

Tech Tip: Sync your overdue tasks to Google Calendar

Posted on by Andy Sheragy
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CompanionLink for Google has the ability to sync tasks from the PC as calendar entries into the Google Calendar. If the tasks have a due date associated with them, those will map into the Google Calendar at the appropriate time and date. However, many users have been asking, “What happens to overdue tasks?”

CompanionLink syncs all overdue tasks into a single all-day entry on the Google Calendar. This makes it easy to quickly view a summary of all overdue tasks. When that task is completed on the PC, CompanionLink will sync changes and remove that task from the list of overdue tasks.

Overdue Tasks

CompanionLink for Google retails for $39.95, a 14-day free trial is available here.

Urgent: Update available for CompanionLink users syncing their calendars to Google

Posted on by Andy Sheragy
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Google has recently changed the URLs used to access the Google Calendar service. What this means for CompanionLink for Google users is that a software update is required to restore functionality to calendar sync. If you use CompanionLink to sync your calendar to Google (or sync to a phone through Google’s service), you will have to download an update to ensure continued synchronization.

The update is free to all CompanionLink for Google customers. To update your software, visit https://www.companionlink.com/downloads/updates.html to download the newest version of your software.

CompanionLink supports Motorola DEVOUR

Posted on by Andy Sheragy
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CompanionLink Software is proud to support the new Motorola DEVOUR with MOTOBLUR. The Motorola DEVOUR builds on the great features of the popular DROID phone. The DEVOUR runs the Android operating system, allowing users access to the thousands of apps currently available.

With CompanionLink, users can synchronize contacts, calendar, tasks, and notes from popular information management software such as Microsoft Outlook, Lotus Notes, ACT! by Sage, Novell GroupWise, Palm Desktop and GoldMine to the Google account set up with the DEVOUR. Once data is synchronized to the Google account, the integration between Google and the DEVOUR will ensure data is transferred to the phone. CompanionLink is a cost-effective answer to people asking how they can get their desktop data on their DEVOUR in either a wireless via Google or wired USB fashion.

A 14-day evaluation version of the software is available at www.companionlink.com/android.

CompanionLink set to Introduce Business Apps for iPad

Posted on by Andy Sheragy
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With the introduction of the Apple iPad, business professionals have another option to be productive while away from their office or desks.  Apple announced that the iPad is compatible with the thousands of apps that are currently available for the iPhone.

CompanionLink plans to fully utilize the tablet-friendly format of the iPad by launching a suite of business apps to manage large volumes of contacts, calendar events, tasks and notes. Managing this wealth of data will be even easier with voice commands and dictation features that CompanionLink will integrate into their apps.

A sign-up form for updates and announcements about CompanionLink’s new business apps for iPad is available at www.companionlink.com/ipad.

Read CompanionLink’s press release on business apps for iPad here.

Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook works with Premier and Education editions only

Posted on by Rushang
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Google offers a free plug-in for Google Apps Premier and Google Apps Education users.  The former requires you to pay an annual fee for the Google service.  The latter is for schools, universities, and other educational institutions.

What do users with free Google or Gmail accounts use to sync their data with Outlook?

If you’re looking to sync just your default calendar, Google offers a free solution called Google Calendar Sync.  If you’re looking to sync calendar and contacts, CompanionLink has a solution called CompanionLink for Google.  It also supports multiple calendars, sync to separate Outlook categories, and the ability to exclude personal data from syncing with business data.

Here’s a video on how to configure CompanionLink for Google to sync Outlook with Google in less than 4 minutes.

Use Google Sync with ACT! and get free mobile sync

Posted on by Rushang
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Welcome to the new world of free mobile sync, courtesy of Google.  Google has released a free over-the-air (OTA) sync service for phones.  This rivals existing Exchange/BlackBerry Enterprise configurations that are expensive for companies to buy and maintain.  Now, all you need to do is sync ACT! data with Google, and you’re done.  Google will handle the rest.  The great part is that this can work for one user or scale to an entire organization.
How it works:
CompanionLink can sync ACT! data to a user’s Google account.  Once this data is in the Google account, Google’s new sync service will automatically sync the data to the user’s phone, over-the-air.
Data is synchronized to the native address book and calendar application on the phone.  This guarantees that all the alarms, reminders, and basic features like Caller ID work great with your ACT! data.
Also, this sync process works two-ways.  So if the user were to change data on their phone, the data would sync back to their Google account and back to the ACT! database using CompanionLink.
Wait, what’s the catch?
There is none, unless you think setting up a free Google account is a catch.  But, it’s hard to argue with something that’s free.  And it’s hard to argue when you look at the other option: setting up Exchange and BlackBerry Enterprise Server (if your clients are syncing with BlackBerry devices).
What phones work with Google’s sync service?
Google covers over 75% of the phone market, including iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Symbian devices.
What CompanionLink products do I need?
You’ll need CompanionLink Express or Professional if you’re configuring single users.  If you have a site with multiple users, DoubleLook Enterprise is the best solution.  It will run on one PC and sync data for all your users (this is known as a server-side solution).
How do I get started?
1. Make sure you have a Google account set up for the user.
2. Make sure you have a CompanionLink product that will sync with Google.  Configure it to sync the PIM (i.e., ACT!) with the user’s Google account.
3. Visit m.google.com/sync from the user’s phone to configure the free OTA mobile sync with the Google account.
I have questions.  Who can I ask?
Just reply to this email.  We’ll be in touch within 24 hours!

Welcome to the new world of free mobile sync, courtesy of Google.  Google has released a free over-the-air (OTA) sync service for phones. This rivals existing Exchange/BlackBerry Enterprise configurations that are expensive for companies to buy and maintain.  Now, all you need to do is sync ACT! data with Google, and you’re done.  Google will handle the rest.  The great part is that this can work for one user or scale to an entire organization.

How it works:

CompanionLink can sync ACT! data to a user’s Google account.  Once this data is in the Google account, Google’s new sync service will automatically sync the data to the user’s phone, over-the-air.

Data is synchronized to the native address book and calendar application on the phone.  This guarantees that all the alarms, reminders, and basic features like Caller ID work great with your ACT! data.

Also, this sync process works two-ways.  So if the user were to change data on their phone, the data would sync back to their Google account and back to the ACT! database using CompanionLink.

Wait, what’s the catch?

There is none, unless you think setting up a free Google account is a catch.  But, it’s hard to argue with something that’s free.  And it’s hard to argue when you look at the other option: setting up Exchange and BlackBerry Enterprise Server (if your clients are syncing with BlackBerry devices).

What phones work with Google’s sync service?

Google covers over 75% of the smartphone market, including iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Symbian, Google Android, and Palm Pre devices.

What CompanionLink products do I need?

For a single-user license, you can use CompanionLink Express or Professional.  If you have a site with multiple users, DoubleLook Enterprise is the best solution.  It will run on one PC and sync data for all your users (also known as a server-side solution).

How do I get started?

1. Make sure you have a Google account set up.

2. Make sure you have a CompanionLink product that will sync with Google.  Configure it to sync the PIM (i.e., ACT!) with the user’s Google account.

3. Visit m.google.com/sync from the user’s phone to configure the free OTA mobile sync with the Google account.

Sync services by Microsoft, Apple and Google

Posted on by Rushang
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MyPhone: they host your data on the web and sync contacts, calendar and photos with Windows Mobile devices.  This is a free service offered by Microsoft.

MobileMe: they host your data on the web and sync mail, contacts, calendar and photos with iPhone devices.  This is a paid service, currently $99/year.

Google Sync (Beta): syncs Google contacts and calendar (hosted on the web) with iPhone, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile devices.  This is a free service offered by Google.

We’re excited at the introduction of these services!  It gives users a reliable and affordable way to sync to their phones, over-the-air.

So do you still need CompanionLink with the introduction of the services mentioned above?  The answer is Yes.

For example, if you’re using ACT!, Lotus Notes, Outlook BCM, Palm Desktop, GroupWise or any other PIM/CRM that’s not supported by the cloud services above, you’ll need CompanionLink to sync this data.  The cloud services can’t access your data.

While our software can sync directly to your phone and bypass the need for the cloud services above, we’re also looking for ways to work with Microsoft, Apple and Google’s sync services.  This will allow you to use CompanionLink to get data from your PIM/CRM to the services above, and then rely on their push-sync to get that data to your phones.

This is what we’re working on:
PIM/CRM <> CompanionLink <> Cloud services (above) <> your phone

Stay tuned to this blog for the lastest developments and a timetable for when we’ll support these mobile sync services.  In the mean time, if you need to sync your PIM/CRM data with your phones, just use CompanionLink’s direct sync.

CompanionLink works with Google Sync (Beta)

Posted on by Rushang
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This week, Google launched their free over-the-air sync service with iPhone and Windows Mobile devices.  They already offered this for BlackBerry devices.

Google Sync (Beta) allows you to wirelessly sync Google contacts and calendar events with iPhone, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile devices.

CompanionLink fits this puzzle by allowing Outlook, Lotus Notes and other PIM users to sync their desktop data with their Google accounts.  Once this data is in their Google accounts, it’s automatically pushed to their phones using Google Sync (Beta).

So essentially, with one license of CompanionLink for Google (runs you $29.95), you can have a complete two-way wireless sync solution between Outlook, Google, and your phones.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0NzQsyN2Jw]