Expert’s Rating
Our Verdict
Chances are , you use Mac OS X ’s iCal calendaring plan , the calendaring part of Microsoft ’s Entourage or Outlook programme , or an on-line calendar for your programing want . But how often do you actually require the immense calendar view ? If you ’re at all like me , most of the times you open your calendar programme , it ’s to see what outcome are total up in the next few days or to rapidly create an appointment . And given the convoluted interfaces of these programs , “ quickly ” is often not that quick .
Over the preceding few year , I ’ve covered a number of programs that aspire to take the place of a full - blown calendar program for these types of tasks , including Today , FlexCal , MagiCal , and MenuCalendarClock . Each still works well , but the new kid on the stoppage , Fantastical($15;Mac App Store link ) aims to combine some of the best features of these applications , along with some impressive consequence - creation technology , in an attractive and well-fixed - to - use package .
When play , Fantastical appears in your menu bar as a small calendar image display , by default , the current date ( providing a much - requested OS X feature on its own ) . unluckily , unlike MagiCal , you ca n’t force Fantastical ’s picture to seem at the far - right - hand side of the carte du jour legal community . I hope the developer , Flexibits , includes this potentiality in a future update .
(Image courtesy of Flexibits)
( Image courtesy of Flexibits )
Click the fantastic icon , and a beautiful calendar appears that shows the current calendar month , with the current 24-hour interval circled . Dates with events — based on your chosen calendar programme — display a small bullet , and upcoming events are number below the calendar . get through an outcome to view its full details .
Fantastical works with any calendar you ’ve set up in iCal , Entourage , or Outlook , include MobileMe , Google Calendar , and Yahoo Calendar accounts . If you ’re using iCal , iCal does n’t even need to be running — Fantastical can put across directly with CalDAV servers , which is a feature unique among similar public utility . Fantastical can also read from and write to calendar stored on your Mac ; however , when using Outlook or Entourage , you ’ll require to have that calendar program outdoors , as grotesque communicates with Outlook and Entourage using AppleScript . ( Fantastical will automatically launch Outlook or Entourage if needed . )
(Image courtesy of Flexibits)
antic works with the splendid BusyCal , although with a duo limitations . The first is that new CalDAV effect make in Fantastical wo n’t come along in BusyCal until BusyCal ’s next scheduled sync , and vice versa — so there ’s often a time lag between the time you make or delete an outcome in one program and when that alteration appears in the other . secondly , in edict for Fantastical to “ see ” a newfangled calendar , it must be added to , or created in , iCal — if you add up a raw calendar only to BusyCal , Fantastical wo n’t know it exist . The developers of Fantastical and BusyCal are put to work together to treat these limitations .
( I tested Fantastical with MobileMe and Google calendar and with iCal and BusyCal . )
you may opt whether Fantastical ’s coming - events list displays events for today ; today and tomorrow ; or the next 7 , 14 , or 31 day . instead , you may pick out to show the next five , 10 , or 20 outcome , no matter of the sentence frame . If you have multiple calendars configured in your master calendar programme , you could also choose which of those calendar ’s events appear in Fantastical ; events are color - coded to match their calendar .
you’re able to , of course , browse to any day of the month and clack it to view that particular date ’s events ( along with however many subsequent events , or days ’ Charles Frederick Worth of events , you ’ve chosen ) . Alternatively , if you vibrate the pointer over a escort , that day ’s events are displayed in a tooltip . Fantastical ’s search field of operations let you quickly find events that match your search string , exhibit results in the events list , with the the closest upcoming upshot choose . I wish you could quickly jump to a specific month and class , but you ’ll need to use the next- and previous - calendar month button to surf instead .
Just as useful as Fantastical ’s issue presentation is that you’re able to createnewevents without stimulate to open your main calendar program . you may twice - snap a date to create a new event on that date , manually filling in the case ’s detail , but Fantastical ’s standout characteristic is its raw - words event creation .
Click Fantastical ’s ikon , or urge on the new - effect keyboard shortcut , and eccentric ( in English ) a colloquial verbal description of the event ; Fantastical parses your description to fill in the details accordingly . Press Return , and the new event is create , Fantastical close , and you could get right back to work .
For example , if I typeMacworld Staff Meeting Friday 10a SF power , Fantastical creates a new event withMacworld Staff Meetingas the subject , the approaching Friday as the date , SF officeas the location , and 10 am to 11 am as the clip . ( Events without an ending time are assumed to last one hour ; those without a clock time particularize are assumed to be all - twenty-four hour period events.)Vacation July 5 - 12 Mauicreates an all - day event calledVacation , with the location asMaui , from July 5 through July 12 . Fantastical deftly parses your descriptions , getting the details right the vast majority of the time . It even get it on that “ lunch ” think noonday .
A subtle but useful touch is Fantastical ’s invigoration : As you type your upshot verbal description , your letter and numbers be adrift smoothly from the schoolbook - entry bailiwick to the appropriate fields in the issue - point shape . This makes for cute visuals , but it also let you see exactly where Fantastical is puzzle each bit of data which , over metre , helps you tailor your descriptions to Fantastical ’s text - parsing logical system .
If you admit in your outcome verbal description the name of an Address Book striking , Fantastical will let you add that somebody to the issue ’s invite list and , when the consequence is created , send them an invitation . ( If a contact has multiple e - mail addresses , you ’ll require to opt the address to which you want the invitation direct . ) If you ’re using Outlook , one limitation here is that you ’ll necessitate to manually confirm , from within Outlook , the sending of the invitations .
New events are make in your default calendar , although you could prefer a dissimilar calendar for any result . you could even admit the calendar name in your event verbal description , letting Fantastical pose the calendar for you , by predate the calendar name with/—for example , Vacation July 5 - 12 Maui /personal .
regrettably , you ca n’t edit or erase an case from within Fantastical ; you ’ll need to launch the event in your calendar program , which you may do by doubly - clicking the event in Fantastical . ( Flexibits says issue editing is descend in a future update . )
One other lineament I ’d like to see is the capacity to “ tear off ” Fantastical ’s windowpane and leave it on your screen — Second Gear ’s Today can remain on the covert to display your schedule and tasks , which is a useful choice . you’re able to can lock Fantastical so it stays open in its current location , but this usually leaves Fantastical blocking other window .
Fantastical does n’t include every feature of every other calendaring contribute - on , but it ’s a smashing package that handles — with an attractive interface and some telling options — most of the things you use your “ fully grown ” calendar program to do . And it take in itmucheasier and more convenient to quick make unexampled consequence . I ’ve been using Fantastical for a while now ( I lead off during the program ’s genus Beta period of time ) and the only meter I in reality open iCal or BusyCal — my calendar programme of selection — is when I ’m trying to find a fourth dimension for an event and I need to see a elaborate view of my schedule .
Note : Fantastical ’s $ 15 introductory price is good until June 1 ; the stock price has yet to be decide .
Updated 5/20/2011 , 8:30am , to clarify damage and BusyCal - compatibility improvements .
