iCloud - CalDAV access for 3rd party tools like Thunderbird/Lightning??

[randfee2]

Hi guys,

now that the iCloud is up I was wondering if I can actually use this properly. What I need is to access the calender through CalDAV via Thunderbird Lightning on my work-PC. Mobile me didn't support CalDAV properly anymore, wasn't able to use it in the past 10 months.

How about iCloud? Again, I can't find ANY hint whatsoever on the iCloud page that would point me towards a CalDAV address. All I find is sharing with other iCloud members which is useless for the task at hand!

Does this (me finding nothing) mean that iCloud is just as unusable for multiplatform environments that many of us have to live with?
If I can't access/edit my calender from my work PC this whole thing makes no sense and I have to stick to google calendars!

thanks
Randfee

 

[swiftaw]

Can't you just access them at iCloud.com?

You can share them via webcal (by using Sharing->Everyone), but they will be read only.

Also, if you install the iCloud control panel on a PC your iCloud calendar will be available to view and edit in Outlook.

 

[randfee2]

neither is an option because it's cumbersome. I want to access my calendars quickly together with the ones from work in ONE TOOL OF CHOICE just like everybody can use just any client for their IMAP/POP email!

Besides, I don't use outlook.
CalDAV is a standard, if iCloud calendar is running on CalDAV there is NO reason whatsoever for them not to just offer the users a link which they can use to access it together with their password.

 

[satcomer]

Read the Apple document iCloud: Mail server information.

 

[swiftaw]

For caldav, see this thread: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1249275/

 

[randfee2]

Read the Apple document iCloud: Mail server information.

how does mailserver information help here?

@swiftaw
thanks, but couldn't find any server addresses in the library files.

 

[swiftaw]

@swiftaw
thanks, but couldn't find any server addresses in the library files.

Go to ~/Library/Calendars

You'll see several folders there, one is a whole bunch of letters and numbers that ends with ".caldav"

Open that folder, and you'll see "info.plist"

Open that in TextEdit, scroll down towards the bottom any you'll see
"<key>PrincipalURL</key>"
The line after that will be the caldav server.

 

[randfee2]

well I didn't see them in there until I resetted my iCloud account on the machine.
Anyways, now they're there and it asks me to authenticate but I can't connect to the calendars, at least not via thunderbird lightning which connects to my private CalDAV, Google Calendars or Zimbra Calendars (all CalDAV) just fine. :/

so I guess this adress is either masked or the whole thing is just not CalDAV conform, which would be sad.

 

[muhlba91]

I wrote a script some months ago as iCloud was in beta status that I published here: http://blog.muehlbachler.org/2011/08/how-to-icloud-calendars-with-third-party-software/
There you can find additional information about that script too!