Five Apps: Free simple desktop calendars

By Jack Wallen September 18, 2013, 8:04 AM PDT

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Five Apps: Free simple desktop calendars

Five free but powerful desktop calendars

This gallery is also available as a TechRepublic Five Apps article.

Most people tend to lean toward either MS Outlook or Googlernfor their calendar needs. But if you need immediate access to a calendarrnseparate from either, or something quick and easy to connect to anotherrncalendar, there are quite a lot of options available. From Thunderbird plugins,rnto full blown PIMS, there’s a calendar tool to meet just about any need.

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But what if you need something simple; something easy to usernand readily available? If that’s the case, you’re still in luck u2013 there arerndesktop calendar apps out there that are ready to serve. Although you won’t bernintegrating with an Exchange server, you can at least enjoy your own personalrndesktop calendar and, in some cases, even link your Google calendar.

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Let’srntake a look at this list of desktop calendar apps and see if any of them offerrnthe features that you need.

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Credit: Images by JackrnWallen for TechRepublic

Rainlendar 1

Five Apps

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1. Rainlendar

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Rainlendarrndoesn’t have the most user-friendly name, but it’s an outstanding entry in therndesktop calendar group. Rainlendar allows you to set up alarms, reminders,rntasks, and events. You can also share your calendar and subscribe to other’srncalendars, import and edit your Outlook calendars, and much more. Rainlendar isrnstandards based, cross platform, and allows you to choose from various layouts.rnThere is also plenty of customization available for Rainlendar with skins. Yourncan even mix and match the skins to create a very unique layout. Rainlendar isrnavailable for Windows, OS X, and Linux.

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Credit: Images by JackrnWallen for TechRepublic

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Credit: Images by JackrnWallen for TechRepublic

WinCalendar 1

2. WinCalendar

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WinCalendar is a well-designedrndesktop calendar that offers the ability to create printable calendars (forrnboth MS Word and Excel), and load by hotkey. You can customize both size andrnfeatures of the calendar, scroll through a perpetual calendar, and copy selectedrndates to the clipboard. There is support for stored daily appointments (up torn20 on free version), and more.

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There are two versions of this app: Free and Paid. The freerndoes have a few limitations (for more information on these limitations andrnpricing for the paid versions, visit this page). The calendar creationrnfeature allows you to create printable calendars with over seventy layouts. Therncalendar creator actually runs through either MS Word or Excel, which makes forrneasy printable calendar creation. WinCalendar is only available for Windows.

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Credit: Images by JackrnWallen for TechRepublic

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Credit: Images by JackrnWallen for TechRepublic

Google Calendar Windows Client 1

3. Google Calendar Windows Client

rnrnGoogle Calendar WindowsrnClient does exactly what you would expect. If you have a Google account,rnyou can add this handy app to present your Google Calendars on your desktop.rnThis app will automatically sync with any Google Calendar (even from multiplernaccounts) and can display all tasks and events. The synchronized calendars canrnbe both displayed on the desktop and saved as a file for offline use. You canrnalso send events to Outlook or export them as vCalendar. If you do opt to usernthe offline access option, do not do so on a public computer as thatrninformation is stored on the computer (meaning someone could access your Googlernaccount). Google Calendar Windows Client is only available for the Windowsrnplatform.

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Credit: Images by JackrnWallen for TechRepublic

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Credit: Images by JackrnWallen for TechRepublic

Desktop iCalendar Lite 1

4. Desktop iCalendar Lite

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DesktoprniCalendar Lite is another “widget” type calendar that lives,rnunobtrusively, in the upper right corner of your desktop. With this handy apprnyou can add reminders, to-dos, events, alarms, subscribe to public Google andrniCloud calendars, change skins and opacity, and more. You can opt to displayrnthree different sections: Calendars, Events, and/or To do. This is the Freernversion of the Pro calendar. The Pro version can sync your own personal GooglernCalendar. Desktop iCalendar Lite has a system tray icon where all options canrnbe accessed. If you’re looking for simplicity and ease of use, DesktoprniCalendar Lite is a fairly smooth candidate. Desktop iCalendar Lite is onlyrnavailable for the Windows operating system.

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Credit: Images by JackrnWallen for TechRepublic

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Credit: Images by JackrnWallen for TechRepublic

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5. OSMO

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OSMO is the only entryrnin the list that is Linux only. OSMO is also more than just a calendar -it is arnpersonal organizer. With this handy desktop tool you can organize yourrncalendars, tasks, contacts, and notes. The calendar tool offers features like:rnDay notes with text attributes, date calculator, full year calendar, compactrnmode, iCal support, integration with Tasks and Contact modules. The one caveatrnwith OSMO is that it does not sync with other computers or other calendars.rnThis is a local calendar only. But if you’re looking for a local desktoprncalendar that offers a bit more than just straight-up calendaring, OSMO mightrnfit the bill. There is an included spell checker and you can even hiderncomponents of the tool so you only see what you need. OSMO runs in thernbackground and does not display a widget on the desktop. A quick right-click onrnthe panel icon will pop up the OSMO window.

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Credit: Images by JackrnWallen for TechRepublic

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Bottom line

rnrnTherernare countless ways to keep a calendar at the ready. Some users rely upon thernconstant connectedness of Google Calendar, while others prefer a morernstand-alone means to keep track of their dates. But no matter what type ofrnuser you are, there is a desktop calendar for you.

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Credit: Images by JackrnWallen for TechRepublic

By Jack Wallen

Jack Wallen is an award-winning writer for TechRepublic, The New Stack, and Linux New Media. He's covered a variety of topics for over twenty years and is an avid promoter of open source. For more news about Jack Wallen, visit his website jackwallen.

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