[Kde-pim] Kontact and Groupware - features

[Tobias Koenig]

On Sat, Aug 25, 2007 at 04:44:31PM +0200, Roland Wolters wrote:
> Hi,
Hi Roland,

> The main question is: where does Kontact store the Groupware configuration 
> data?
Since Kontact consists of all the single PIM applications, each
application stores the data in its own configuration/data directory.

KMail:
  Config: $HOME/.kde/share/config/kmail*
  Data: $HOME/.kde/share/apps/kmail/
        $HOME/Mail or $HOME/.Mail (depends on the distribution :/)

KOrganizer:
  Config: $HOME/.kde/share/config/korganizerrc
  Data: $HOME/.kde/share/apps/korganizer/std.ics

KAddressBook:
  Config: $HOME/.kde/share/config/kaddressbookrc          (app settings)
          $HOME/.kde/share/config/kaddressbook_addrconfig (contact specific settings)
          $HOME/.kde/share/config/kabcrc                  (global addressbook settings, e.g. 'who am I' entry)
          $HOME/.kde/share/config/kabldaprc               (ldap connection settings)
  Data: $HOME/.kde/share/apps/kabc/std.vcf

The other PIM applications follow a similar approach, just take a look
at these directories.

> Imagine an admin who wants to alter some options or the configuration, 
> where does he/she has to look, how can these data be accessed and altered?
The config files are standard KDE config files, so all mechanisms of
KConfig (e.g. KIOSK mode) apply to them.

> And of course, which data can be managed there, which are tricky to manage and  
> what is impossible - allfrom the point of view of an administrator?
Hmm, explaining all this would fill the whole article already ;)

Lets make it short:

  KMail: Don't touch the index files in $HOME/Mail, if they get
  corrupted, KMail will have a problem.

  KOrganizer: The data are stored in standard iCal format, so you can
  edit them with a text editor.

  KAddressBook: The data are stored in standard vCard format, so you can
  edit them with a text editor as well.

> Also, how is the current, real state of the Groupware connection? I guess 
> really interested people should only use the Enterprise branch and I read 
> that there is the Scalix connector development going on at the moment. Also, 
> there is of course the Kolab connector and quite some hotos around describe 
> eGroupware and Kontact. So, the question is how well do all these connectors 
> work in real life, how well are they integrated?

Best integration has Kolab with the following features:
  - Support for Events, Todos, Notes, Contacts, EMails
  - Support for shared calendars, address books, note books
  - Support for FreeBusy functionality
Also take a look at the kolab.org site for more information, they are
up-to-date so far.

The next better integration will have the Scalix connection, as it is
based on the Kolab connection.
  - Support for Events, Todos, Notes, Contacts, EMails
  - Support for shared calendars, address books, note books
  - Support for FreeBusy functionality

Both groupware connections offer a wizard for easy setup of the
Kontact.

The eGroupware connector doesn't really work, you should use the 'Remote
Network Resource' in KOrganizer together with the eGroupware icalserv
functionality instead.

The OpenGroupware connector should work so far (never tested myself).

> And what are the technical differences between the connectors? While Scalix 
> and Kolab work with IMAP e-mail attachments (as far as I understood it) what 
> about the others?
eGroupware uses an XML-RPC based approach, OpenGroupware uses a webdav
based protocol, where iCal/vCard files are stored.

Ciao,
Tobias
-- 
Separate politics from religion and economy!
The Council of the European Union is an undemocratic and illegal institution!
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