OutlookTools: Import/Export from/to iCal/vCard/CSV

[Skysnake]

From vcard-21.doc, my page 17

"In addition to property groupings, a vCard can include other, nested vCard objects."

Thoughts on: Would Outlook be able to parse correctly a single meetandgreet.ics vCalendar object with a nested vCard object?  Or, would it be safer to create to separate files meeting.ics and person.vcf ?

[water]

1 hour ago, Skysnake said:

PS, Why is your test.ics file generated as version 2.0? 

Because I grabbed it from an example on the web. Up to now the version does not matter when importing iCal files.
Seems there is only version 1.0 for iCalendar and version 2.0 for vCalendar.

[water]

11 minutes ago, Skysnake said:

From vcard-21.doc, my page 17

"In addition to property groupings, a vCard can include other, nested vCard objects."

Thoughts on: Would Outlook be able to parse correctly a single meetandgreet.ics vCalendar object with a nested vCard object?  Or, would it be safer to create to separate files meeting.ics and person.vcf ?

I'm sure Outlook wouldn't be able to directly process such nested objects.
My tools will parse the input files, map iCal/vCard properties to Outlook item properties and then create the Outlook items.

My primary goal is to implement the simple and widely used components and properties. Later on (if ever) I will spend some time with those exotic features

So you would b on the safer side to use two separate files.

[water]

Version 0.3.0.0 of the UDF has been released.

 

 

[water]

Does anyone use this UDF?

If yes:

• What have you tried so far? Import events or contacts?
• Does the UDF fit your needs or do you miss something?
• Should I enhance documentation (wiki, inline documentation ...)?

If no:

• The UDF does not provide the function you are looking for. Which one?
• The function you tested does not work properly. Any errors?
• ... Something else ...?

 

[Skysnake]

@water, not operationally, yet.  But I have made a dedicated test folder with some sample scripts.  Once I am comfortable with it I intend to make some widgets which can be placed in various other scripts.

As far as the YES part goes, so far it works for me  (all of it).  I did a lot of reading (referenced in your docs), as I am also learning about this for the first time.

Please do not stop.

[water]

Thanks for your reply! I will do my very best

[Skysnake]

More reading...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICalendar

Quote

In Microsoft Outlook, the SUMMARY corresponds to the "Subject" entry in the "Appointment" form, and DESCRIPTION to the descriptive text below it. In addition, Outlook 2002 and Outlook 2003 demand a UID and a DTSTAMP.

Would that mean use is recommended?

Also

Quote

an event, a to-do list, a journal entry, time zone information, or free/busy time information, or an alarm. Empty lines are not allowed in some versions of usage (Google calendar).

Would you default to "no blank lines"?

===> Journals -- would it make sense to harvest journal items from the iCal and save to a db?

🧐

[water]

1 hour ago, Skysnake said:

Would that mean use is recommended?
...
Would you default to "no blank lines"?

SUMMARY and DESCRIPTION are already mapped to the Outlook properties Subject and Body.
UID and DTSTAMP might be required for a valid iCalendar file but are not needed to create an event item.
My "parser" does not adhere to the different standards, it simply parses the input file and tries to make a sensible Outlook item out of it. Unknown or unneeded input lines are ignored (so are empty lines). To make the debugging output more readable I could exclude empty lines from logging if needed.

Most important: I assume the input file is a valid iCalendar.

To sum it up: The UDF is still beta and has only been tested with a few iCalendar files. So I recommend to call the function with active debugging but without creating an Outlook item. If you feel comfortable with the displayed debugging info (check the list of Outlook properties to be set) then create an item but use a test calendar before using it in production.
 

1 hour ago, Skysnake said:

===> Journals -- would it make sense to harvest journal items from the iCal and save to a db?

I have never seen anyone use journal items in Outlook. But if demand arises it could be added to the UDF.

[water]

Next step:
Export events and contacts to iCal and vCard files.

• The function will export a single event/contact when you pass a single event/contact object or EntryID.
• The function will export a list of events/contacts when you pass an array with event/contact objects or EntryIDs.
• The export will create a single file or a new file for every event/contact in a specified directory.

Anything else you would like to see in this functions?

[argumentum]

On 3/5/2019 at 9:17 AM, water said:

Does anyone use this UDF?

I like what you are doing even if I haven't need it. But surely is a god-sent when is needed. So thank you for working on it     

[water]

Beta 0.4.0.0 of the UDF has been released!

[water]

I have split the documentation into two parts:

• Download page: Just a quick overview of the provided functions. For details it points to the Wiki.
• Wiki: Full details

What do you think?

[argumentum]

14 minutes ago, water said:

What do you think?

Like it !   

[water]

Functions _OLT_iCal_VEventImport and _OLT_vCard_Import read a file into an array, process all rows and create an array with Outlook properties to create an item.
This array is passed to the callback function as read only.

My question is:
Do you think it might be needed to alter the content of this array before creating an Outlook item?

If your answer is "YES", a solution could look like:

• Use @extended to pass the current return value to _OLT_iCal_VEventImport or _OLT_vCard_Import
• Return the modified data array to the calling function
• If the return value is an array then _OLT_iCal_VEventImport and _OLT_vCard_Import overwrite the local data array

Or is there a better way to alter the content of an array passed by

$vReturnValue = Call("callbackfunction", $aDataArray)

?

[argumentum]

On 1/15/2019 at 8:20 AM, Skysnake said:

importing iCal would make my life a lot easier.

I don't use any of these as @Skysnake say to use but yes, it may be welcomed, as one may need to rearrange or rename stuff.
The callback would give the coder more flexibility to do what needs done, as that would be customization. 

my 2 cents  

[water]

Returning data from the callback function has been implemented (where sensible)

Next thing to come:

Exporting contacts as Vcard, Excel or CSV.
Your script runs _OL_ItemFind to grab all contacts to process and then calls the Export function.
A callback function will be implemented fur further flexibility.

Anything else you would like to see in the export function?

Edited July 11, 2019 by water

[water]

Beta 0.5.0.0 of the UDF has been released!

[Skysnake]

I will test over the weekend. Thank you for all of this

[water]

Beta version 0.6.0.0 of the UDF has been released.