LAST UPDATE: September 29, 2004

Contents

General
Requirements
Working with Microsoft Exchange
Privacy

General

Q: What is Groupcal?

    A: Groupcal allows you to use iCal to share or view calendars seamlessly with coworkers running Outlook and Microsoft Exchange. With Groupcal, iCal becomes an Exchange server client. Manage your calendars and sechedules using your existing Exchange servers all from with iCal just like Outlook. Groupcal can cost-effectively enhance productivity, integration and reduce support costs for employees using Apple OS X.

Q: How much does Groupcal cost?

    A: Groupcal is currently available for purchase from Snerdware here. A Single User License is $65 USD and 5 User License Packs are $260 USD. Larger volume pricing and site licenses are available. Snerdware also offers educational, government, and non-profit organizational discounts to qualifying parties. For more information please contact .      

Q: Where can I get support for Groupcal?

    A: Currently, Snerdware products come with 1 year of free email support.  If you do not find what you are looking for here, please try our forums before sending email to [email protected].  We do not guarantee a response time. Enterprise customers wishing to purchase maintenance contracts that include, but are not limited to, access to private .X releases, guaranteed response time and individual bug fixes should email . Maintenance contracts are 18% of the license cost per user per year subject to negotiation based on volume. We will post additional or common questions to this FAQ from time to time.

Q: Are versions of Groupcal available for operating systems other than Apple OS X?

    A: No. Currently Groupcal is only available for OS X.

Q: Will Groupcal support Microsoft Entourage?

    A: We have no plans to support Entourage at this time. Currently Groupcal is only designed to work with iCal 1.5.1 (or later) on OS X.

Q: Will Groupcal support Communigate Pro or Exchange clones?

    A: We have no plans to support Communigate Pro or Exchange clones at this time. Currently Groupcal is only designed to work with iCal 1.5.1 (or later) on OS X.

Q: How can I change my Exchange Server settings including my password?

    A: By clicking on the "Exchange" icon and selecting the account which you would liek to change. Once you have made your changes clicking "Apply" will check your new settings to ensure that Groupcal will work correctly.

Q: Do I need to be at work to use Groupcal?

    A: If you can reach your mailbox with Outlook Web Access you can use Groupcal from that location. If you can access Outlook Web Access via the Internet, you can also use Groupcal from anywhere you have an Internet connection.

Requirements

  • Groupcal:
    • Mac OS 10.2.8 (or greater)
    • iCal 1.5.1
    • A valid Exchange email account Network access to your Exchange server

  • Exchange Server
    • Microsoft Exchange Server 2000 or 2003
    • Latest Service Packs
    • WebDAV (Outlook Web Access) enabled
    • HTTPS (strongly recommended)

Q: Can I use other calendar programs with Groupcal besides Apple iCal?

    A: No. Currently Groupcal is only designed to work with the Apple iCal 1.5.1 (or later).

Q: Do I need a Microsoft Exchange Server 2000 or 2003 email account to use Groupcal?

    A: Yes.

Q: Do I need a valid Microsoft Exchange Server 2000 or 2003 Client Access License (CAL) to use Groupcal?

    A: Yes.

Q: What versions of Microsoft Exchange are compatible with Groupcal?

    A: Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server with Service Pack 3 (or greater) or Microsoft Exchange Server 2003.

Q: Do I need to install anything from Snerdware on my Exchange Server?

    A: No.

Q: What Exchange Server configuration options will I need?

    A: WebDAV (Outlook Web Access) must be enabled on the Exchange server.

Q: Which Exchange Server authentication scehemes is Groupcal compatible with?

    A: Groupcal can access Exchange using Windows Intergrated (NTLM), Negotiate, Digest, Basic, Kerberos, or MIT kerberos Authentication. Groupcal also supports Forms-Based Authentication for Exchange 2003.

Q: Does Groupcal support Windows Integrated or NTLM authentication?

    A: Yes.

Q: Does Groupcal support Digest authentication?

    A: Yes.

Q: Does Groupcal support Basic authentication?

    A: Yes.

Q: Does Groupcal support Kerberos authentication?

    A: Yes.

Q: Does Groupcal support Exchange 2003 Forms-Based Authentication?

    A: Yes.

Q: Will Groupcal work with Microsoft Exchange 5.5?

    A: No. Groupcal is designed to work with Microsoft Exchange 2000 or 2003. Exchange 5.5 does not contain the WebDAV support necessary for Groupcal to function properly.

Working with Exchange

Q: Is there a fast and easy way to tell if Groupcal will work with my Exchange 2000 or 2003 Server?

    A: Yes. After installing Groupcal you will need to test your configuration settings. If you are able to successfully test your configuration, you can use Groupcal.

Q: How do I enter the location of my Exchange server?

    A: Groupcal provides several ways to enter the location of your Exchange server based on your company's network configuration. This is the same location that you use when accessing Outlook Web Access (OWA) via a web browser. You may want to contact your system administrator if you are unclear what the location or URL of your Exchange server is.

When you enter the server name or IP address of your Exchange server Groupcal will attempt to reach an Exchange server at "[your server]/Exchange/"

If your Exchange server is not located at "[your server]/Exchange/" you may enter the full location of your Exchange server instead. Groupcal will attempt to contact the Exchange server at that location.

For Example, entering "[your server]/Email" or "[your server]/Email/Exchange2000/" will cause Groupcal to attempt to reach an Exchange server at the exact location you entered.

If your Exchange server is simply located at "[my server]" with no additional path information you must add "/." after the server name when entering it into Groupcal. Please note the "." after the "/"

When you enter the location of an Exchange server Groupcal will first attempt to contact the server via a secure connection (HTTPS). If Groupcal cannot establish a secure connection and "Use a secure connection" is not selected, it will then attempt to reach the server via standard HTTP connection.

You may choose to override this behavior be specifying the connection type to use explicitly. Adding "http://" before the location of your Exchange server will force Groupcal to only attempt to connect via a standard HTTP connection. When "https://" is added before the location of your Exchange server Groupcal will only attempt to contact the server via a secure HTTPS connection. This has the same effect as selecting "Only use a secure connection"

In some network configurations Groupcal may take an extremely long time when attempting to establish a secure connection to an Exchange server that does not support HTTPS. This same effect can often be observed when using Apple's Safari browser to connecting to OWA via HTTPS. In these cases, it is recommended that you add "http://" before the location of your Exchange server. Please be aware however that by adding "http://" you will not be using a secure connection when communication with Exchange.

Q: When I synchronize I do not see an error but events I created in iCal do not appear in Exchange. What is going on?

    A: By default, Exchange servers allow the WebDAV PUT method. In order to successfully write events to Exchange, Groupcal requires the WebDAV PUT method to be allowed on the server. If your Exchange server or hosted Exchange solution has disabled the WebDAV PUT method, writing events will not function properly. Please contact you IT Administrator to have them enable the WebDAV PUT method for your Exchange server.

Privacy

Q: What information do you collect to download Groupcal?

    A: We collect your name, email address, and contact preferences. For more detailed information concerning privacy please review our privacy policy.

Q: Does Groupcal transmit any information to Snerdware?

    A: No.

Q: How you store my network password?

    A: Your Exchange server network password is stored securely in your OS X keychain.

Q: What is your privacy policy?

    A: A copy of our privacy policy can be found here.


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