Getting Started, Part 2: Calendars and Contacts

The next two apps that you might want to use are the Calendar and Contacts, often collectively known as “groupware”. The calendar gives you the ability to create and manage events, while the contacts app is able to store phone numbers, e-mail addresses and other personal information about your friends and family. Both of these are able to be synchronized to your desktop computer and your mobile device as well.

Mobile

You can set up your calendar on your mobile device, and use it instead of your iCloud or Google-based calendar. This way your data remains in your control, instead of in Google or Apple's control.

Android

You will need the Nextcloud Android app installed. Then you need to install DAVx⁵, which you can either download from the Google Play Store (for a small fee), or from the F-Droid Store (for free).

With Nextcloud and DAVx⁵ installed, follow the instructions to get your calendar and contacts set up:

1. In the Nextcloud app, open up Settings, More and tap on Sync calendars & contacts
2. DAVx⁵ will open up, and ask you to log into Nextcloud. Next you'll be asked to create an account.
3. Set the account name to your email address so that you will be able to send calendar invitations, and make sure to set the Contact Group Method to Groups are per-contact categories
4. DAVx⁵ normally closes after this, so go ahead and re-open DAVx⁵ so that you can finish setting up your account
5. In DAVx⁵, tap on the account you just created, and grant DAVx⁵ access to your calendars and contacts
6. Optionally, install OpenTasks so that you can manage your tasks in LibertyStratus too
7. Once you've granted access to DAVx⁵, select which calendars and address books you want to use

Now you'll be using your calendar and contacts from LibertyStratus, instead of Google.

iOS

In iOS, you'll need to set up your calendar and your contacts separately.

Calendar

1. Open the Settings app and select Calendar
2. Next select Accounts and then tap Add Account
3. Set the Account Type to Other and then tap Add CalDAV Account
4. Fill in the account details, setting the Server to https://alpha.libertystratus.com, and Username and Password to your LibertyStratus login details.
5. Tap Next

Your LibertyStratus calendars will now be available in the Calendar app.

Contacts

1. Open the Settings app and select Contacts
2. Next select Accounts and then tap Add Account
3. Set the Account Type to Other and then tap Add CardDAV Account
4. Fill in the account details, setting the Server to https://alpha.libertystratus.com, and Username and Password to your LibertyStratus login details.
5. Tap Next

Your LibertyStratus contacts will now be available in your phone's address book.

Desktop

Calendar and contact synchronization is supported on all three major platforms. Below you can find instructions for how to get your accounts set up on your computer, depending on the platform and the application.

macOS

On macOS, you'll need to set up your calendar and your contacts separately.

Calendar

1. Open System Preferences and go to Internet Accounts
2. Click on Add Other Account and click on CalDAV
3. Select Manual as the account type, and enter your username and password in the boxes
4. Under Server Address enter “https://alpha.libertystratus.com” and then click Sign In.

When setting up your calendar, you’ll need to also specify which applications have access to your account. Typically it is Calendar.

Contacts

1. Open System Preferences and go to Internet Accounts
2. Click on Add Other Account and click on CardDAV
3. Select Manual as the account type, and enter your username and password in the boxes.
4. Under Server Address enter “https://alpha.libertystratus.com” and then click Sign In.

Windows 10

1. In your browser, navigate to the Calendar app in LibertyStratus
2. Under “Settings & import”, copy the address using “Copy iOS/macOS CalDAV address” into your clipboard.
3. Launch the Windows 10 Calendar app. Then, click the settings icon (gear icon) and select “Manage accounts”.
4. Click “Add account” and choose “iCloud”.
5. Enter an email, username and password. None of this information has to be valid-it will all be changed in the upcoming steps.
6. Click “Done”. A message should appear indicating the settings were saved successfully.
7. In the “Manage Accounts” menu, click on the iCloud account created in previous steps, and select “Change settings”. Then, click on “Change mailbox sync settings”.
8. Scroll to the bottom of the dialog box, select “Advanced mailbox settings”. Scroll once more to the bottom of the dialog box and paste your CalDAV URL in the field labelled “Calendar server (CalDAV)”.
9. Click “Done”. Enter your LibertyStratus username and password in the appropriate fields, and change the account name to whatever you prefer (e. g. “LibertyStratus Calendar”). Click “Save”.

Linux

Most people using Linux will either be using KDE Plasma or GNOME (or a similar desktop like Cinnamon). Below are instructions for KDE and GNOME.

Kontact / KOrganizer / KAddressBook

If you're using the KDE Plasma desktop, you'll likely want to use KOrganiser and KAddressBook for integrating your LibertyStratus calendar and contacts.

1. In KOrganiser, right click in the Calendars pane (bottom left), and select Add Calendar from the context menu
2. Select DAV groupware resource if it's not already selected, and click OK
3. Enter your LibertyStratus username and password and click Next. If you have set up 2 factor authentication, you'll need to create an app password from the bottom of the Security page in your account Settings
4. Select Nextcloud from the list of servers, and click Next
5. Set Host to alpha.libertystratus.com and leave Installation path blank
6. Click the Test Connect button to check if there are any issues. Lastly, click the Finish button
7. A General Configuration dialog will show up. Customize the name to your liking (e.g. LibertyStratus) and click OK

It may take a few minutes for your calendar to show up in KOrganizer, but once it does, you should also see your contacts in KAddressBook.

GNOME

GNOME has built-in support for Nextcloud, which LibertyStratus is based on.

1. Open GNOME settings, and click Online Accounts
2. Select Nextcloud from the list
3. Enter alpha.libertystratus.com as the Server and your username and password. If you have set up 2 factor authentication, you'll need to create an app password from the bottom of the Security page in your account Settings
4. On the following screen, select which of your LibertyStratus resources you'd like to sync with your GNOME desktop. Then click the close button in the top right corner (not the big red Remove Account button!)

Now you should be able to see your LibertyStratus stuff in various GNOME apps.

Credit

A lot of this is based on the extremely detailed instructions in the Nextcloud documentation.