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issue155:ubuntu_au_quotidien

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Last month, we got started with the Thunderbird Address Book to help us with basic contact management. This month, we’ll look at managing our calendar using the Lightning extension for Thunderbird. This is all in service of the common New Year’s resolution to become more organized in the upcoming year. Thunderbird’s PIM, or Personal Information Manager, capability can be a big help with that goal.

Basic Calendar Management: Lightning Extension for Thunderbird

A challenge many of us face – as we age and have health issues (or sometimes as just a function of our personal circumstances, rather than age) – is the need to manage our personal calendars for such things as keeping up with doctor’s appointments. Of course, the same principles also apply for work, for anniversaries and birthdays, for personal plans, and for a myriad of other things we might want to keep track of in our personal calendars. Unlike Microsoft’s Outlook on Windows, Thunderbird does not have calendaring built in. Fortunately, the Lightning extension was developed to address this, and is an important addition to Thunderbird’s Personal Information Management capabilities.

Installing Lightning

To install the Lightning extension to Thunderbird, we’ll need to launch Thunderbird first. Go to the Dash (first icon on the Launcher, the strip that runs down the left side of the screen), and type in Thunder. That should be more than enough for the Dash’s search capability to bring up Thunderbird. Click to launch it, and you’ll get your Thunderbird email client.

Go to the Tools menu up top, then click Add-Ons.

If you are on a current version of Thunderbird, click Browse all add-ons. A web browser window will open: Search for Lightning in the search box at upper-right: You can click Download Now to start the installation. Now, I have an older version of Thunderbird and did not find it convenient to upgrade right now, so I had to take an extra step. I went to View older versions on the Thunderbird Add-on web page, and found the version that matched Thunderbird 52.2.1. I then downloaded the XPI format file and saved it to my Download folder. Then, I had to go to Thunderbird’s Add-Ons under Tools again and select Extensions:

Click the Gear icon at the top and select ‘Install add-on from file’. Navigate to where the XPI file was saved and double-click it. The Add-On Manager will now install the add-on. This is good to know for other installations, as XPI format files are commonly used for Add-Ons found outside the official Thunderbird support pages. You will want to click Install Now on the dialogue box that comes up:

Your New Thunderbird Interface

After the installation of the add-on, Thunderbird will prompt you to restart the application. Once you’ve done so, you’ll see a new pane to the right showing your current day’s events and appointments:

Press Keep at the bottom to let Thunderbird know you want to continue using the Lightning add-on. Click the X on the Add-On Manager tab to shut it down and return to the main Thunderbird interface, which will still have the new Lightning pane:

Add new events to your personal calendar by clicking New Event in the upper right and fill in the information for your event as appropriate:

Next month: Connecting Lightning to Google Calendar.

issue155/ubuntu_au_quotidien.1585414416.txt.gz · Dernière modification : 2020/03/28 17:53 de auntiee