sync won't work for Google Calendar or Apple iCal

Discussions about the Calendar Tool at lds.org. Questions about the calendar on the classic site should be posted in the LUWS forum.
david.dunston
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sync won't work for Google Calendar or Apple iCal

#1

Post by david.dunston »

I've been trying for weeks to get the sync to work with either Google Calendar or Apple iCal but I just can't get it to work. (I have an apple desktop computer for work, a laptop, and a home desktop.) Every once in a while I can randomly get one computer to work, but eventually, even the one that seemed to work won't refresh, even when forced.
russellhltn
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#2

Post by russellhltn »

Note that your sync is throttled. Your collection of devices can not collectively sync more often then every 9 minutes. Make sure your refresh frequency is long enough that all three can get in without hitting that limit.
Have you searched the Help Center? Try doing a Google search and adding "site:churchofjesuschrist.org/help" to the search criteria.

So we can better help you, please edit your Profile to include your general location.
david.dunston
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#3

Post by david.dunston »

Well, that makes sense, and I'm sure that my computers have tried to access the subscription within 9 minutes of each other, but it does not solve the problem or explain all of the symptoms.

For instance, since my post this morning, I deleted my subscriptions from my Google account, and then waited and hour. I then regenerated my URL link and tried to subscribe to the new address (only one computer).

After trying to add the subscription, this is the error message I received. "Settings Error - Failed to import calendar from "http://www.lds.org/church-ca...(full address hidden for post)".

This result seems to be typical for the many times attempted over the past few weeks.

Any other thoughts? - I truly appreciate your help.
russellhltn
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#4

Post by russellhltn »

Someone else reported sync problem in the Issues Synchronizing Calendar thread that has not yet been resolved. The only thing I could find different is his "id" was 32 characters long. Much longer then mine which does work.

You may want to try some of the troubleshooting in that thread (such as manually downloading the file then importing into Google) and see if yours is exactly the same.
Have you searched the Help Center? Try doing a Google search and adding "site:churchofjesuschrist.org/help" to the search criteria.

So we can better help you, please edit your Profile to include your general location.
david.dunston
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#5

Post by david.dunston »

Interesting. I have seen an associates url that did work, and his character length was less than mine too. (You would think that wouldn't matter, but I thought I would mention it just to add to the technical trial.)
lajackson
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#6

Post by lajackson »

david.dunston wrote:I'm sure that my computers have tried to access the subscription within 9 minutes of each other, but it does not solve the problem or explain all of the symptoms.

But it will keep you from syncing. So if any of your computers/devices are trying to sync more often, sync will not be successful.

Remember that it is the attempt to synchronize that starts the clock, whether or not you are successful. So, for example, if your work desktop is going out every 5 minutes to try to update the calendar, you are out of luck. Be sure to check those settings on each device.
david.dunston
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#7

Post by david.dunston »

Well, I have done tests, and I am not experiencing problems syncing because of the 9 minute throttle. I have tried to sync several times after waiting over 9 minutes and it just won't sync. I utilized an iCalendar Validator and it verified that something is wrong with the calendar.

This is the error it gave me...

http://www.lds.org/church-calendar/services/lucrs/ical/subscribe/<key>
Your calendar is using an invalid newline format. Make sure to use \r\n to end lines rather than just \n (RFC 2445 §4.1).
Sorry, your calendar could not be parsed.
Error: Error was: Error at line 1: Expected [-3], read [-1]

(I will leave this calendar url active for a brief time.)
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aebrown
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#8

Post by aebrown »

david.dunston wrote:Well, I have done tests, and I am not experiencing problems syncing because of the 9 minute throttle. I have tried to sync several times after waiting over 9 minutes and it just won't sync. I utilized an iCalendar Validator and it verified that something is wrong with the calendar.

This is the error it gave me...

http://www.lds.org/church-calendar/serv ... ribe/<key>
Your calendar is using an invalid newline format. Make sure to use \r\n to end lines rather than just \n (RFC 2445 §4.1).
Sorry, your calendar could not be parsed.
Error: Error was: Error at line 1: Expected [-3], read [-1]

(I will leave this calendar url active for a brief time.)
It's not wise to publish your URL on a public forum, especially for this purpose, so I removed the key from your sync URL in your post. For one thing, it makes public items on your calendar that you have no right to make public. But the biggest problem is that anyone can hit the URL at any time, so you then have no control over the throttling limit.

As for the specific error, that's what a validator will typically report when it is given an empty file, which is what is generated when you run up against the throttling limit. So I don't think you've proven anything.

If you want to determine if there truly is bad data in the iCal feed from your sync URL, then I'd recommend that you enter your sync URL in your browser's address bar at a time you are sure the throttling limit has passed since your last access of the sync URL. Then save the resulting file. At your leisure you can then pass that file to a validator to determine if there really is a problem with the data.
Questions that can benefit the larger community should be asked in a public forum, not a private message.
russellhltn
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#9

Post by russellhltn »

david.dunston wrote:This is the error it gave me...

http://www.lds.org/church-calendar/services/lucrs/ical/subscribe/<key>
Your calendar is using an invalid newline format. Make sure to use \r\n to end lines rather than just \n (RFC 2445 §4.1).
Sorry, your calendar could not be parsed.
Error: Error was: Error at line 1: Expected [-3], read [-1]
Note that if you fail to wait 9 minutes from the last attempt, you'll get that same exact error. It sucks, but the validator has a very convoluted way of saying "it's a blank file".
Have you searched the Help Center? Try doing a Google search and adding "site:churchofjesuschrist.org/help" to the search criteria.

So we can better help you, please edit your Profile to include your general location.
david.dunston
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Joined: Wed Oct 03, 2012 10:43 pm

#10

Post by david.dunston »

aebrown wrote:It's not wise to publish your URL on a public forum...

Yes. I understand. Sorry. That's why I mentioned that I would only have the url remain active for a brief moment, but I understand I still shouldn't do that.
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