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Hi,
I recently purchased a HTC Desire Android phone and I'm looking for a way to keep a simple, basic contact list updated and synched with my Gmail account.
The problem with the default way on my phone is that it will sync every contact on my Gmail. This is a problem as I only want to have contacts from my phone book synched to one gmail group and vice versa. There is an option to "disply only contacts with numbers" but I still don't like the idea of having every contact on the phone. There is also the problem of the extra empty groups I won't be using, can these be gotten rid of?
I basically just want one list and it to be my default list with all contacts and not have to go through an array of menus to get to that one list on the phone. I don't want that list to be populated by contacts who I may have only emailed once and will never email again. I don't want any gimmicks in between, no gtalk contacts, no facebook contacts, no default gmail contacts and I want to be able to then export this group to a CSV file to use with spreadsheets etc.
This seems to be possible on Android stock and even on HTC Hero Sense UI according to here: androidheadlines.com/2010/04/tidy-up-your-contact-list-with-a-custom-sync-group.html
but in the Desire Sense UI, when you go to people/groups/menu, it only gives the option to delete or add.
Seems this guy is having the same issue, he has the sync group option but his friend doesn't, both using the same phone
androidforums.com/htc-droid-eris/47533-no-sync-groups-option.html
There are reports from this thread that some users have had this same problem. Some have a "Sync Groups" option when they go to People>Group Tab and click menu, most don't have this option however and I'm yet to hear from a desire user with this option. Also from this thread (google.com/support/forum/p/Google+Mobile/thread?tid=0ff2b08f98943ccb&hl=en) one user reported that a "hard reset" gave him the "Sync Group" option. I tried this but had no luck, still the same menu as before.
I've been trying to sort this for days and have asked on multiple forums. Hopefully somebody here can help and I'd appreciate any feedback at all!
If anyone has any idea please share, I've posted this on 5 different websites to try and get it resolved but still no luck. Would it even be possible to use the android "contacts" app as opposed to the HTC DESIRE "people" app at all? I still have my sim card in my old phone until I sort this out and need the phone for work so would really appreciate any help!
If you use exchange to sync your google contacts it will just sync my contacts and not all contacts
Thanks for the reply. I haven't tried exchange yet. Is that a separate system to Google or what is it? How does it have access to Google?
I actually want another group I've made, not "My Contacts" synched witht he phone. Would this still be possible with exchange?
No need for all that.
Go to HTCs program "PEOPLE". Press the hard menu button. Press the soft VIEW menu. Click "only contacts with phone numbers".
Your welcome !
Thanks PauloJ5, I know of that option already but it's still not suitable for my needs. I need the "Sync Group" option that's available on other android and HTC sense systems unfortunately and it just doesn't appear to come on the Desire system
Just a quick, hopeful bump
So according to this thread: http://android.modaco.com/content-page/305926/htc-desire-root-update/page/120/#entry1253966 it seems the MoDaCo founder has rooted the Desire. I wonder will this help at all in being able to resolve this issue?
In the sync options in Android, there is an option for exchange sync. Google servers support exchange sync, so you can add your google account. In the options, put in your google email as username, along with your password. Put m.google.com as server.
I would then disable google contact synchronization, and enable exchange contact sync. You might want to delete all the google contacts on your phone that have been previously stored to get rid of them (use the view option in the people manager to select just these). Not sure what this will do to your google contacts on the servers so I would back them up first (use export in google contacts on the web). Then do an exchange sync.
This will just sync your "my contacts" and not "all contacts". It won't let you sync specific groups.
Thanks again sawfoot, but if it can only sync mycontacts and not other specific groups I choose then it's not a solution for me unfortunately
It's just funny that the solution I need has been on other versions of Sense UI and also on the Android Stock but they seemed to have taken the most important function for me away from the phone I decided to go with
Just thought I'd give this another quick bump since the Root method and instructions for the desire have now been released. Perhaps a solution can be had
Just thought I'd give this another hopeful bump in the off chance of somebody who may have solved the issue on the desire (now that it's been rooted) seeing it I'm still waiting on HTC to get back to me too!
So with the extensive help of partyatmygaff over msn, I was able to root my desire and I finally got the contacts app working on it! I saved the chat transcript as it may be helpful for anyone else wanting to install from Windows XP. This is an ultra dumbed down version. I made sure to ask as many questions as possible, even if I was 99% sure of the answer myself
Some of the files were sent to me over msn like the market enabler etc, but these should be easily found online anyway. Also, the program I use for the commant prompt is called "command prompt here" I think, but you can just type in the address of the folder in DOS if you know how anyway!
You can see the transcript here: http://www.vantasks.ie/xpdesireroot.html
There is a good bit of filler, but it really covers absolutely everything you need to know so once you get to the bottom of the page, your desire should be rooted and ready to go
So I got the contacts sync thing working anyway, I can now sync with my chosen group from Gmail, but I can't believe it, if I have this group selected and I save a new contact, it wont save to that group, but just the "all contacts" group even though that's not selected
Always something! The guy in post 10 here: http://androidcommunity.com/forums/f9/add-or-edit-contact-groups-12668/ seems to have got it going, but as you can see in my reply, post 11, it's not saving to the desired group for me!
Gang,
Full disclosure - I've lurked here for the past few months, but have only just been stirred to register to try and resolve this issue. I'm thinking that if anyone can help me resolve this, it's you guys. That said, I hope to be able to contribute some myself going forward.
OK, now that I've got that out of the way...
Recently, I've been having problems with recurring meetings from Exchange on my Incredible's ActiveSync calendar. Specifically, the problems seem to start whenever I modify one instance of a recurrence (move one to another day, for example) inside Outlook on my PC - (not on the phone). What seems to be happening is that although that particular changed instance shows up on my HTC calendar in its new spot, the rest of the recurrence disappears and - even worse - I can no longer get ANY recurring meetings to sync to the phone, even if I create new ones.
If I remove the ActiveSync account, delete Calendar Data (Settings > Applications > Manage Applications > Calendar Storage > Clear Data and ...Calendar > Clear Data) and re-add the account, I still have the problem and - what's worse - ALL my recurring meetings are gone (but any exceptions to them remain - WTF?!).
Before anyone asks, all recurrences have end dates (I've read plenty about recurrences w/o end dates causing problems).
To date, the only way I've found to completely fix this is to do a factory reset (yuck). Of course, the minute I modify an instance of a recurring meeting, the problem starts all over.
Anybody else see this? Provided there's no fix, is there a better way to fully flush calendar data to see if I can avoid resetting the phone? There's GOT to be something I'm missing in terms of cleaning out the calendar data, because a factory reset fixes it. Like I said above, I clear out two spots in Manage Applications: Calendar and Calendar Storage.
It's killing me. I'm clearly not doing enough by clearing data for Calendar and Calendar Storage, but I'm thinking a factory reset HAS to be overkill. Anybody know how to more fully flush the calendar data?
Thanks in advance to anyone with ideas. I'm pulling my hair out over here.
-K
I've had this problem as well, except with Google Calendar as I personally don't use Exchange.
Clearing Calendar and Calendar Storage fixes my problem, but I think the issue is that HTC had to bridge the gap left by Eclair to sync with Exchange servers. So, my thought is to perhaps try clearing the Sync Service or Sync Feeds (tired brain has trouble with memory recall) in addition to Calendar and Calendar Storage.
Good news is reports indicate that the FroYo update contains a fix baked in by HTC.
Hope that was in any way helpful.
Thanks for the advice. Tried it, but to no avail.
That said, I'm an avid Tasker user and happened across a new thread in the Tasker Google Group that sounded awfully familiar. Did some troubleshooting and was able to prove that if I have a profile that monitors my calendar (whether this profile is enabled OR disabled), the recurring meeting problem crops up. Sucks, because I really liked my "Don't be a Jerk!" profile that automatically put my phone on vibrate when I had a meeting with "1:1" in the title.
Go figure!
That is interesting to learn! I'm a fellow Tasker and couldn't live without the program.
Hmm... I wonder if a usb sync via HTC Sync and Outlook would be a temporary fix to "reset" your calendar when it goes haywire? It's rather left field, but worth a shot.
I have the same issue and not only with recurring appointments. sometimes the reminder doesn't show up -and sound- even if it's not a recurring appointment.
the funny think is that it happens only with the appointents that I created... it's becoming really frustrating.
I never connect my phone to my PC to synch it
Known issue. Reported and confirmed by HTC along time ago. They "hope" to have it corrected in new release. Work with all recurring events from outlook or OWA, don't attempt to alter, move or do anything to them from the INC.
If you use Google connector and sync to google you are OK, but pretty lame for a phone that was suppose to be exchange compatible. HTC said it's due to the "Sense" interface and the way it connects to the phone's database.
MLT2004 said:
Known issue. Reported and confirmed by HTC along time ago. They "hope" to have it corrected in new release. Work with all recurring events from outlook or OWA, don't attempt to alter, move or do anything to them from the INC.
If you use Google connector and sync to google you are OK, but pretty lame for a phone that was suppose to be exchange compatible. HTC said it's due to the "Sense" interface and the way it connects to the phone's database.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So HTC has confirmed there's an issue when you modify appointments from the phone? Not a big issue for me, because all I ever do is accept others' invitations and MAYBE set up a quick meeting here and there. All my calendar work is in Outlook directly. Thanks for the heads-up, though. Seems silly that a UI layer would introduce issues in database connectivity. Sounds like some of the projects that go on at work - LOL.
Wow, I just now realized that I have a similar problem: ANY recurring appointment disappears from my calendar. Regardless of how I make it recurring (on the phone, on my PC, OWA, etc.) This is positively infuriating.
I actually have the recurring meetings on my phone; however the reminder is gone and the phone is not reminding me that is very annoying. for corporate users this is an awful limitation.
I'm trying to manually add the reminder to the appointment (on the phone) and see if it helps.
xmkgenzo said:
I actually have the recurring meetings on my phone; however the reminder is gone and the phone is not reminding me that is very annoying. for corporate users this is an awful limitation.
I'm trying to manually add the reminder to the appointment (on the phone) and see if it helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried creating the recurring appointments on the phone, which is a pain and you have extremely limited options for recurrences. The second I saved the appointement, it disappeared from my phone, but appeared on my exchange calendar online... I'm thinking about attempting to just export my recurrences from exchange to my google calendar...
ValhallaSky said:
I've had this problem as well, except with Google Calendar as I personally don't use Exchange.
Clearing Calendar and Calendar Storage fixes my problem, but I think the issue is that HTC had to bridge the gap left by Eclair to sync with Exchange servers. So, my thought is to perhaps try clearing the Sync Service or Sync Feeds (tired brain has trouble with memory recall) in addition to Calendar and Calendar Storage.
Good news is reports indicate that the FroYo update contains a fix baked in by HTC.
Hope that was in any way helpful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Clearing those two items worked for me!
I setup all my appointments with my laptop; using the phone just screws it up. then the meetings appear on the phone without reminder.
MLT2004 confirmed it's a known issue.
for me it's mainly an issue with the reminder (VERY annoying for me since I rely on it a lot) but should I need to setup meetings on the phone I would be in trouble.
I always thought it was and activsync problem. I had this problem for 2 years with my Moto Q. Haven't had my Incredible long enough to see if this one is doing it too. Then again since I don't have to use Activesync with this phone I don't. Maybe it's the Activesync that's causing all this.
So now I seem to have a new problem, and I don't mean to hijack the thread (i'll happily start a new one if the OP prefers, but I suspect taht these issues aer related): All of my exchange appointments show up perfectly in my calendar. Even my recurring appointments. The problem is, my exchange calendar is not showing up, ie, the phone seems to realize that these appointments exist, but does not seem to "see" the exchange calendar. If I open an exchange appointment, I can see that it is, in fact, in my exchange calendar. However, if i go to "more" under calendar, I can see my gmail calendar, "My Calendar," "PC Sync," and "US Holidays." If I uncheck them ALL, my exchange appointments remain, but again, I cannot "see" the calendar, to add appointments, etc.
Hi,
my search through the forums didn't yield anything about this particular problem so I would like to ask all of you whether you have this problem or not.
I successfuly updated to Froyo, everything was ok for a few weeks. Then litteraly from one minute to another I lost all my calendars except for the main one.
I use my google account and sync with google calendar. I have my main calendar and I also subscribed to my wife's calendar and created one additional private one.
Since yesterday (with no apparent reason) every calendar expect the main one has disappeared from my Desire and refuses to sync them. They are not listed in the other calendars in Desire app.
I can still see the calendars on Google web but I am unable to get them to Desire. I tried modifying an event, deleting an event, creating an event, renaming the calendar... but nothing helps. This morning I did a hard reset (which I was planning to do anyway) but even that doesn't help.
So to sum up: I can only sync one calendar despite the fact that on Google's server I have 3 of them. I would like to stress that I didn't change a thing that would cause any problems with calendars.
I hope some of you will be able to help me.
Thank in advance.
Ah, forget it... I just didn't realize how stupid Android can be sometimes.
Just for info - for no apparent reason all of my calendars have been removed from Desire. And the Calendar->Settings option had to be explicitly told (via the MENU button) to add the remaining calendars...
Stupid stupid... but at least I got them back - until the phone decides again by itself that is time to hide them. Meh
I've done my due diligence (searching for HOURS on end), so I know this has been discussed many times but I still have not seen any sort of solution or progress on how to fix the issue.
Here is the issue: Gmail/Google accounts in WP7, when you press the Trash-can icon to delete your email(s), it does not actually move the email to the 'Trash' folder (or how Gmail understands it, the 'Trash' label). It simply removes the 'Inbox' label but still keeps the message under 'All Mail'.
I've tried everything - set up my email account as an ActiveSync account and tried deleting, going to my Gmail (or any other of my email accounts that resides on Google Apps) account settings via the web browser and try fiddling with the Advanced IMAP options, but nothing.
Does anyone have any solution for this? Unfortunately, this is pretty much a dealbreaker for me with WP7 - I just purchased the HTC Trophy. I want to really love the OS/device (and I do love the OS) but being able to properly delete my Google/Gmail emails is crucial.
I've heard some people, as a temporary stop-gap, to just use the "Move to Folder" and move the email message to [Gmail]\Trash, but I don't see that folder in WP7. Any ideas on this?
Any help or insight in this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
There is no solution (as in setting you can change in WP7 or on google.com) that changes this behavior. The only real option is to occasionally log in to your email account on the website and purge old mail from all mail. That's what I do about once every couple of months.
Thanks for the response. That's a real bummer. Do you or anyone know if this is something Microsoft plans on fixing? Basically it just entails making the Delete/Trash Can -> Remove Inbox Label + Add Trash Label to the message.
Also, do you know how I could view the [Gmail]\Trash folder/label? When I try to browse All Folders, it doesn't show up. Any ideas?
Thanks.
Avazee said:
Does anyone have any solution for this? Unfortunately, this is pretty much a dealbreaker for me with WP7 - I just purchased the HTC Trophy. I want to really love the OS/device (and I do love the OS) but being able to properly delete my Google/Gmail emails is crucial.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should be able to change imap settings in gmail. There's a few articles I found, but they're a bit old, and I'm apparently too new of a member to link. I've gone ahead to write a few instructions.
1. Go to settings in your gmail
2. Go to the "Forwarding and POP/IMAP" tab
3. In IMAP access, under "When I mark a message in IMAP as deleted:" select "Auto-expunge off"
4. In IMAP access, under "When a message is marked as deleted and expunged from the last visible IMAP folder:" select "Move the message to the Trash" or "Immediately delete the message forever"
I'm still trying to figure out how exactly the behavior works on my own device. From my understanding, by doing this, you'll send deleted message to the trash rather than archive. It appears that you lose the "instant" server update (so you might have emails that you delete on your phone stay in your inbox as unread for a while).
**edit for further research - It appears that your message will only be deleted if there are no other labels for it. Apparently [gmail]all mail counts as a label. So what the heck did I tell you to do?
Thanks for the reply. I don't understand what your last part meant..the part about your edit for further research. Please clarify. Thanks.
Sent from my mwp6985 using Board Express
bver100 said:
It appears that your message will only be deleted if there are no other labels for it. Apparently [gmail]all mail counts as a label. So what the heck did I tell you to do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This, and it's the same for IOS, not a WP7 issue.
I read numerous guides looking for a solution but there isn't one. If an email exists in another view, i.e. "All Mail" then it won't be deleted.
After using IOS and WP7 this was one of the main reasons for moving to Android. It may seem a bit extreme but I hate having email I don't need. Everything gets read and deleted.
What you say is true in a technical sense, but it misses the underlying issue. Gmail has one label, Gmail/Trash, that is special. Any email that is sent there automatically has all other labels removed. However, it is up to an email client to apply the label. For example, the Thunderbird email client on Windows does just that. If I read an email in my Inbox, and then click the Delete button, Thunderbird sends and IMAP notification to Gmail to apply the Gmail/Trash label to the message, and it is instantly gone from both my Inbox and All Mail. And the Gmail/Trash label is automatically purged after 30 days.
The problem with WP7 and iOS is that they don't (and possibly can't) send the same notification. All they currently do is notify Gmail to remove the Inbox label. And, as has already been noted, the fact that the email is still in All Mail causes it to be retained on the server.
Thanks for the info, guys. I realize and understand that the culprit is the WP7 mail client, not Gmail.
As a temporary workaround (I am seriously hoping they fix this.. you guys should visit http://windowsphone.uservoice.com/f...eting-email-in-gmail-really-delete-?ref=title to vote for adding this feature), I created a new label called "WP7 Trash". From now on, when I want to "delete" mail, I simply move to to that folder/label in the WP7 mail client, and then anytime down the road I can log into my accounts and just delete all the mail in that folder/label.
Kind of kludgy, but it's the only thing I can think of...
Let me know your thoughts.
After futzing around a bit more on the internet, i've found that some people are able to get the desired "trash button = delete" action if you add your gmail account as an Exchange account instead of as a "Google Account". I haven't tried it yet, but since it isn't dealing with Gmail's odd IMAP implementation, perhaps you will get better results.
Setting up your Gmail account as an Exchange/ActiveSync account doesn't work - I've tested it several times and nothing. I do have my accounts set up as Exchange/ActiveSync because I've heard that it uses less battery than using the "Add Google Email Account" option in WP7.
The only temp-solution I've found is the create a WP7-Trash label and move messages to that folder (for later deletion once you log into the Gmail web interface).
If anyone CAN get the Delete = Trash working on ActiveSync/Exchange setups, by all means let us know!
Smart Notice
I'm trying to figure out how to get it to show me Birthday reminders (I have a Google calendar dedicated to birthdays, titled "Birthdays" just to make it obvious to the phone.). The option is ticked under settings, but nothing from the phone.
What am I doing wrong?
In Google Calendar, go to Menu>Settings>Birthdays (you will see a tab marked "Birthdays" a couple of lines above settings, but that just toggles birthdays on/off). There you will be able to choose which accounts and behaviors you want to use.
However, that just shows a notification the day of that person's birthday. I have not found a setting to show you a reminder say a week in advance without setting up a specific event.
jlbattagli said:
In Google Calendar, go to Menu>Settings>Birthdays (you will see a tab marked "Birthdays" a couple of lines above settings, but that just toggles birthdays on/off). There you will be able to choose which accounts and behaviors you want to use.
However, that just shows a notification the day of that person's birthday. I have not found a setting to show you a reminder say a week in advance without setting up a specific event.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right. And my Birthday's calendar is toggled in, and I created the birthdays in 3 formats:
1. My 'default' Gmail calendar - created an event titled "Fake's Birthday"
2. 'Birthdays' calendar - created an event called "Fake"
3. 'Birthdays' calendar - created an event called "Fake's Birthday".
All 3 are all-day events.
All 3 lead to the same result: The phone won't even read the name of the 'person', and just shows that it's a friend's birthday.
(see attachment.)
http://imgur.com/ZtAwFs9
My girlfriend has a G4 as well, and hers will automatically notify her 6 days in advance that it's someone's birthday (with the correct name/ date/ time) and that you set time aside for celebrations. I tried her calendar settings too, and can't seem to figure it out.
We may have been looking at this from the wrong direction. If you go to Google Calendar settings on your computer, instead of your phone, there are more options available. One is to set a notification "X" number of days before an all-day event. I don't know if your girlfriend is doing it that way, but it would be a way to accomplish what you want.
jlbattagli said:
We may have been looking at this from the wrong direction. If you go to Google Calendar settings on your computer, instead of your phone, there are more options available. One is to set a notification "X" number of days before an all-day event. I don't know if your girlfriend is doing it that way, but it would be a way to accomplish what you want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think it's that. I've created multiple events in different formats under different calendars, and the only one that seems to trigger the Smart Notice is if it's under the "xxx's birthday" format. Also, the event must be there 7 days prior (and Google Cal sync that far back) for SN to read it, irrespective of notifications under Google Calendar on the computer.
So anyway, I tried that - and here's what I got today.
Notice how SN reads that it's a birthday from a week before in Calendar, but still doesn't read the name properly again. (slightly different problem!)
http://imgur.com/djyO2UZ
So having a calendar dedicated to Birthdays is useless unless the format of the event is essentially "xxxx's birthday." Wonder if it works for Anniversaries as well.