Update: Here is the best way to sync Google Calendar & Thunderbird. Works like a charm.

Getting Things Done (GTD) is very popular these days and people are always looking for an easy way to save another minute. With that in mind, I’ve found a simple way to view my Google Calendar in Thunderbird.

Step 1: Go to your Google Calendar page, click on the down arrow next to the calendar you want and choose ‘Calendar settings’. If your calendar is shared, right click non the blue HTML button in the Calendar Address area and copy the link location. If your calendar is not shared, right click on the blue HTML button in the Private Address area and copy the link location.

Step 2: Open Thunderbird and go into the Preferences (Mac) or Options (PC) and click on the General button. Paste the Google Calendar URL you copied from Step 1 into Thunderbirds Start Page location.

That’s it.

Now, when you start up Thunderbird, your Google Calendar will show in the message area. You can also access it by going to Go -> Mail Start Page.

Unfortunately, there is no editing, just viewing. You could also install Lightning and subscribe that way, but I think this is easier. Thunderbird also doesn’t support cookies so you can’t just login to your Google account from your start page. That’d be pretty sweet though.

It’s also be great if the Google Calendar Quick Add extension worked for Thunderbird. That’d give us the ability to quickly add events without leaving Thunderbird. While I’m wishing, the Google Calendar Notifier extension is another one I wish would work for Thunderbird to help better tie Google Calendar into Thunderbird. 🙂

There you have it, one simple way to get Google Calendar into Thunderbird. Actually, this tip will work with any public calendar, not just Google Calendar. Enjoy!