Troubleshooting iCal syncing issues (FAQ)
Contents |
Behavior
- Deleting a todo in iCal doesn't delete it in Things. This is a safety measure that prevents other applications that also sync with iCal from accidently removing data from Things.
- If you move a todo to another calendar in iCal that is not synced with Things, the todo is removed from Things.
- If you turn off syncing with an iCal calendar, the todos from this calendar are removed from iCal and now only exist in Things. If you want to keep some of these todos in iCal, move them to another calendar before turning off syncing.
Problem with duplicate todos in Mail (but not in iCal or Things)
- This is a bug in Mail. If Mail is not running and you remove todos from a calendar (either in iCal or via Things), they are not removed from Mail. Later if you add these todos again to that calendar, you have duplicate todos in Mail.
Problem with duplicate todos in Things
- If you're using your Things database on multiple Macs, syncing with iCal can result in duplicates after switching from one Mac to the other. If you open a database that has been modified by another Mac, Things' iCal Sync settings are automatically disabled. If you enable it again, the todos that are already in iCal are imported again. You would have to delete all to-dos in iCal first, before switching on syncing again to avoid duplicates.
- Using other third party applications syncing with iCal can also result in duplicates. Leopard's system-wide to-dos use a unique ID to identify each to-do. It is possible that other applications change the ID of existing to-dos, so Things must assume that these to-dos are "new", hence the duplicates.
Problems with links to emails
- In Mail you can create a To Do from a text selection by choosing File ▶ New To Do (or hitting ⌥⌘Y). Mail automatically adds mailitem-links for such To Do's. Clicking the link in Things should bring up the original email.
Sometimes, however, this link stops working. The problem exists because the link is created by Mail, not by Things. Unfortunately, this link doesn't point to the original email, but to the todo in Mail. If you move the todo in Things to another list so that it's no longer synced with Mail, the todo is removed from Mail. Therefore, the link no longer works.
Problems with IMAP and Gmail
- Using IMAP to sync your todos to Gmail does not work properly.
Help, my todos in iCal are gone!
- If you turn off syncing with an iCal calendar, the todos from this calendar are removed from iCal and now only exist in Things. To bring back your todos into iCal, turn on syncing again. Then move the todos you want to keep in iCal to another calendar that is not synced with Things (you can create a temporary one for that purpose). Now you can disable syncing and the todos will remain in iCal and can be moved back to their original calendar.
