Managing appointments and contacts with Osmo
Utilities
Osmo includes a number of utilities that facilitate working with calendars. A date calculator, which you can access by clicking on the Calculator icon in the calendar toolbar or by pressing D, allows you to calculate the number of days between two dates.
With the use of a function that is hidden in the Create annual calendar icon in the calendar toolbar, you also can create an annual calendar, but it is of little practical use because you cannot store or print a calendar that you create in this way.
With Osmo, you can print a calendar in landscape format for a selected month that lacks any notes assigned to the days of that month. In this way, you use the print function to create a blank wall calendar that you can fill by hand. Osmo currently does not support printing of tasks, contacts, and notes; however, the author or the program is working on this feature.
Settings
To meet your own needs, you can customize Osmo with the use of the settings available under the Options tab. Settings are organized by program function. For example, you can specify how the calendar shows days with appointments and tasks, as well as the font type and size (Figure 5).
The bottom part of the Options dialog box for the calendar lets you import files in iCalendar format. As of this writing, the program will only open iCalendar fields for reading; you cannot enter data in a calendar you import in this way. In the future, the Osmo developer plans to integrate SyncML [2] to support the exchange of calendar data with other programs, as well as with devices such as cell phones.
The settings in the Options module also let you set the font or define categories for other modules. One annoying thing about Osmo is that it does not manage categories across the board for all its subcomponents; instead, you have to define categories separately for each of the Calendar, Notes, Tasks, and Contacts modules. This causes unnecessary work and makes it harder to keep track of everything.
File Format Issues
Osmo stores data in its own XML-based file format. The program stores the calendar and notes in multiple files and subdirectories below the ~./osmo directory. The use of a proprietary file format makes it more difficult to exchange data with other programs.
One option for exporting data from Osmo to another program is to export the appointments for a day to an iCalendar file. To do so, select a day in the calendar, right-click the calendar day, select Export to an iCalender file in the drop-down menu, and enter a file name. Mozilla Lightning and Sunbird, Evolution, and the Apple iCal application will all read the iCalender files that you exported from Osmo.
When it comes to contacts, Osmo only offers a CSV-based exchange format. The import function does not always work reliably; importing contacts via SyncML is tagged "experimental" and did not work at all in our lab. The CSV-formatted files exported by Osmo can be imported into spreadsheets and databases without trouble.
Installation
Various current distributions, such as Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, and Slackware, include Osmo in their package sources. Your distribution's package management system tends to be the best approach to installing the software. If you prefer to build Osmo directly from the source code, you will need the libxml2, libnotify, libgringotts, and libsyncml libraries and developer packages.
The source code archive, osmo-0.2.4.tar.gz, is available from the project homepage. After downloading the source code, you can unpack it by typing tar -xzvf osmo- 0.2.4.tar.gz. To configure the source code for building, change to the new osmo-0.2.4 directory created in the last step and type ./configure. Then type make to compile. Finally, become root and give the make install command to install the program files.
« Previous 1 2 3 Next »
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Endless OS 6 has Arrived
After more than a year since the last update, the latest release of Endless OS is now available for general usage.
-
Fedora Asahi 40 Remix Available for Macs with Apple Silicon
If you've been anticipating KDE's Plasma 6 for your Apple Silicon-powered Mac, then you're in luck.
-
Red Hat Adds New Deployment Option for Enterprise Linux Platforms
Red Hat has re-imagined enterprise Linux for an AI future with Image Mode.
-
OSJH and LPI Release 2024 Open Source Pros Job Survey Results
See what open source professionals look for in a new role.
-
Proton 9.0-1 Released to Improve Gaming with Steam
The latest release of Proton 9 adds several improvements and fixes an issue that has been problematic for Linux users.
-
So Long Neofetch and Thanks for the Info
Today is a day that every Linux user who enjoys bragging about their system(s) will mourn, as Neofetch has come to an end.
-
Ubuntu 24.04 Comes with a “Flaw"
If you're thinking you might want to upgrade from your current Ubuntu release to the latest, there's something you might want to consider before doing so.
-
Canonical Releases Ubuntu 24.04
After a brief pause because of the XZ vulnerability, Ubuntu 24.04 is now available for install.
-
Linux Servers Targeted by Akira Ransomware
A group of bad actors who have already extorted $42 million have their sights set on the Linux platform.
-
TUXEDO Computers Unveils Linux Laptop Featuring AMD Ryzen CPU
This latest release is the first laptop to include the new CPU from Ryzen and Linux preinstalled.