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Looking for desktop calendar software that can sync with Google Calendar

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Jibz:
I switched to simply using google calendar in the browser, because of all the programs I tried, it had the best sync with google calendar ;D.

rjbull:
Rainlendar should work; you'd need the Pro version, but it's under $15 at the time of writing.

dr_andus:
I switched to simply using google calendar in the browser, because of all the programs I tried, it had the best sync with google calendar ;D.
-Jibz (September 14, 2014, 01:29 PM)
--- End quote ---

Google Calendar is my main calendar too. However, I want to be able to back up my data regularly offline, as that is the only way to ensure I will have access to that data in the future, should Google change its policies or disappear off the face of the earth (however unlikely that may sound).

I'm already having trouble using the historical data. When I do a search on Google Calendar, it tells me there are 18 results for the particular search term, but it only shows me 6 of them, with no obvious pointer as to how to find the other (presumably older) 12 results. So it is already trying to limit my use of my own data...

app103:
I just recently started using eM Client, and I am really liking it. It's a nice Outlook replacement. The calendar handles events with a date range better than anything else I have tried. (doesn't split where they overlap).  :-*

The free version can sync with up to 2 accounts, and it supports Google Apps (Gmail, calendar, contacts, GTalk).

Pro version, if you want to use it with more than 2 accounts, is $49.95. ($99.95 if you want lifetime upgrades)

It can be configured to display just the calendar (right click and uncheck anything you don't plan on using).

It can also be used with local folders, to set up calendars that don't sync with anywhere. (which is how I am using it)

It has Backup/Restore and Import/Export features, too, although I don't know how much (if any) google data can be backed up or exported. (I am using it with local folders only)

It might be worth it to you to give it a test.

xtabber:
If you want to keep Outlook on the desktop, CompanionLink will do what you want at least as well as Google Sync.  Until a couple of years ago, I used Outlook as a PIM (I never used it for email) and found CompanionLink much better than Google Sync.

Since ditching Outlook, I have used EssentialPIM as a desktop client to keep a local copy of my Google calendar and contacts.  It's a solid program with a few infuriating design quirks, in particular, in how it handles multiple Google calendars.  I have also had occasional problems with synching complex situations, such as recurring events that have been modified both locally and on Google since the last sync.

I recently started using EMclient for its calendar and found it to handle Google synchronization much better than EPIM, but as a desktop client it is nowhere near as sophisticated. 

EPIM can be installed as a portable app and uses a single database file.  You can have as many databases as you want and put them where you want on your system.  You can specify when and where you want backup files created.  This makes it really easy to keep archives and to recover from problems.  It has a Year calendar view that I find useful for finding past events quickly and it seems to have no problem keeping data going back 3 or more years.

EMclient appears to use multiple files and provides no flexibility in where anything is located. While they do provide for automatic backups and export to iCAL or text files, they provide no information about what is what or where they put it, which makes me reluctant to trust them for archival purposes.  While the EMclient calendar is nicely done, the contacts module is, IMHO, too primitive to be useful.
 
When I get a chance, I'll probably give Vueminder a try.

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