8.5 Calendars from Microsoft Entourage X

The Mac OS X version of Microsoft's Entourage email, address book, and calendar program also works with the iPod, but its calendar events pose a bit of a challenge.

While Entourage kindly offers a File Export Contacts command, theres no similar Export Calendars command. You can drag each calendar event out of the Entourage window and into the iPod's Calendars folder one at a time, but your great-grandchildren will have to finish the job for you.

8.5.1 Solution 1: iCal

Weirdly enough, one way to solve the problem is not to use Entourage at all. Instead, send your data on a detour to iCal (Section 8.2). Within iCal, choose File Import; youll be offered the opportunity to import your Entourage calendar. From there, proceed as described on Section 8.3.2.

8.5.2 Solution 2: iPod It

If you have your heart, soul, and desktop neatly organized in Entourage and don't have the patience for a side trip to iCal, consider iPod It ($15 shareware available at http://www.missingmanuals.com; see Figure 8-8). The program can convert and synchronize Entourage X events, contacts, notes, and tasks with an iPod. If you're attached to Apple's Mail, Address Book, and iCal programs, iPod It can sync those, too.

Figure 8-8. The iPod It program gives you, the Entourage aficionado, a quick way to get your Entourage contacts and calendars moved over to the iPod. The program can also add to the iPod news, weather reports , and even driving directions with just a click of the Sync button.