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Google Notifier update brings 'Quick Add to Calendar' right-click menu
A recent update to the official Google Notifier app has added a slick (and apparently Mac-only) feature that should make it easier to add events to Google Calendar while you work. A new "Quick Add to Google Calendar" contextal menu item does exactly what you might think - it allows you to right-click a selected piece of text in most Cocoa apps and create a new event in gCal from it, set for the specific time you used said option. Now this might not offer the flexibility of the Google Calendar Quicksilver module we mentioned, but it's a really handy way to rapidly fire off events based on information and text you're already dealing with throughout the day, and you can easily visit your Google Calendar to organize and manage their specific details at your convenience.There only way I caught this update, however, was downloading what I perceived to be the latest Notifier from Google on a new machine. Strangely, upon first running the Notifier, I was prompted to download an update which is what brought on this new feature. If you haven't been prompted yet, try restarting your Notifier to see if it kicks the update process into gear.
Quicksilver plug-ins for Google Calendar and Gmail
While tinkering in Quicksilver's plug-ins panel this morning I came across two new plug-ins that should fit right in with my new Borg Google-infused daily activities: a Gmail Module and a Google Calendar Module. Both are actions that allow you to type in a string of text, then select either of these modules as an action, and off you go.The Google Calendar module seems to use their Quick Add syntax for adding events. For a quick tutorial on this: invoke Quicksilver and then hit period so you can begin entering plain text. Enter something like "Apple Store Opening Saturday 10 am," then hit tab to move to Quicksilver's second pane to chose an action. If you have the Google Calendar module installed, the action is titled "Google Calendar Event" (using 'gcal' works just fine for me). Hitting enter will send the event, and for bonus points, if you have Growl installed and Quicksilver using it to give notifications, you'll receive a Growl alert upon successful completion.The Gmail module (pictured) allows you to compose a message (or at least part of one) using the same method as both the Google Calendar and Mail.app compose actions. Once you type some text, tab over to chose the Gmail action, you'll receive a 3rd pane that allows you to specify an Address Book contact to send to. Hitting enter will create a Gmail compose window with all the information you chose from Quicksilver already inserted. Awesome.
Firefox Quick Add extension for Google Calendar
Elias Torres has put together a most excellent Google Calendar Quick Add extension for Firefox. If you aren't familiar with gCal's Quick Add feature, it's in the upper left of gCal (or just hit 'q' on your keyboard), and it's great: you can create a new event simply by typing it as a sentence, such as: "dinner with Jane May 1st 6 pm." No tabbing or clicking around to chose numbers and fields. Nice.Elias' Firefox extension does a great job of enabling this slick Quick Add ability from any other window/tab in Firefox, and so far it works flawlessly, though I have a couple of tips for you. First, make sure you've already opened gCal at least once during your browser session for this extension to work; it re-uses your session cookie instead of prompting for your password. Also, if you open this Quick Add window but decide you don't need to enter an event for one reason or another, simply hit esc to get rid of the window, as its close button doesn't work.[via Hawk Wings]
