Transfer Your PalmOS Calendar to Android
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When I converted from my Palm 755P to my HTC Hero over a year ago I quickly figured out how to convert four things. I converted my Contacts, my Memos, my Passwords, and my Ebooks. I never bothered to convert my Calendar entries or my Todo’s. I just started from scratch with these. However, I’ve had a few comments from people asking for a procedure to convert the Calendar and Tasks.
The older procedures I uncovered that involved using Yahoo! Calendar no longer work. This is because Yahoo! has removed the ability to import comma separated value (csv) files. So, after digging around for a bit I came up with the following procedure:
1. Sync your Calendar from your Palm device to the Palm Desktop.
Make sure you use Palm Desktop version 4.x. Version 6.x of the software does not export the proper file for a further step.
You can download version 4.x of the Palm Desktop here: Palm Desktop Software
2. Export your Calendar to a .dba file.
In the Palm Desktop select the Calendar option from the left sidebar. Then choose “File -> Export …” and give a file name for your Calendar export.
In the “Export type:” field choose “Date Book Archive (*.dba)”.
Click Export.
3. Vist the Palm2CSV Website
Click here: Palm2CSV: Convert your Palm Calendar (DBA) or To Do (Tasks) to CSV Format — FREE!.
Follow the directions on this page.
In short you have to upload the dba file you exported in step 2.
Then you create an output .csv file.
You must check the “Suppress End Date” check box in order for the import to work correctly.
4. Import the Calendar csv file into Google Calendar.
Log into your Google account. Choose “Settings” from the left sidebar.
Choose “Import calendar”.
Browse and find the csv file you exported in step 3.
Select the proper calendar and click “Import”.
(Tip: Create a separate calendar and import the csv file into that calendar to make sure the import gives you the results you want. Then do the import into the calendar you sync with your phone.)
Once you have your calendar entries in the Google Calendar account you use on your phone they will synchronize to your hand held.
Let me know if you have any issues with this procedure or have a better way.
Terry.
Please leave comments below. If you have questions feel free to post them our new forum here.
thanks for the migration infos.
there is a very simple way to convert calendar to ical (google compatible format). I just used the linux Jpilot/jdesktop app, which has an ical export option. Then, it works out of the box with google calendar.
hth
Laurent
I just wanted to let you know that DateBk6 itself is now available for Android with the new name “Pimlical” which also has a matching Desktop program if you want one.
Only $4.95 that goes entirely to Wildlife Conservation.
Just google “Pimlical”.
Successfully moved Memo over to my Incredible 2…a happier camper now! Tried Calendar next, but it only handles Desktop ver. 4 and not 6. This is my 3rd day with this Incredible 2. Verizon’s transfer only moved Contact phone # and email addresses. Need to find a way to move addresses and details.
Alan,
You can get install the 4.x Desktop to sync the calendar.
You can get the 4.x version of the Palm Desktop here:
http://kb.palm.com/wps/portal/kb/common/article/37014_en.html
Terry
There is a serious caveat that you should mention here regarding this method:
By using Palm Desktop 4 and the CSV format to copy your data you lose all your repeat rules – this means that a single unending weekly repeat event will be converted into thousands of single events. The CSV calendar format can not handle repeats, so this method will necessarily lose some data.
For some people this may not be too big problem, and it can even be an advantage if you want to clean out everything before a given date, but still need to see current occurrences of an old repeat.
However, the extra data means that syncing with Droid in particular can become very slow, and if you even want to modify/delete a repeat event then you are left having to deal with thousands of single events instead.
Palm Desktop 6 may not have been an improvement in most ways, but at least the data can be converted to a format that preserves repeat rules (using software such as the Palm DTA, my own, or Companion Link…), and then into the standard iCal format.
Thought you would like to know that Palm2CSV now supports Palm Desktop 6 (Palm Desktop by Access). Support for repeating events and some bells and whistles is not yet complete but if you are just looking to dump the raw data into CSV format then this will work. Complete support is coming soon.
Is there a maximum file size allowed? I’m trying to move about 10 years worth of calendar data. I don’t need to move it all but can’t see any way of limiting the .dba download to only, say, the past year or so of events. I could manually cut down the .csv but that’d be pretty laborious given the number of repeating events that originated in earlier years. Thanks!
Sorry – I meant to add that I got error messages when I tried to upload into Google Calendar. Tried a couple of times.
Hi: I eventually got things uploaded from Palm 4.1.4 – I purged old events and manually removed some repeats from the .csv. I didn’t realize that Google calendar apparently does have a daily limit on the events that can be uploaded – its error message was not always visible so it took a few tries before I understood what the problem was.
I wish I’d read the comments above a bit more carefully and would have removed ALL repeating events or simply deleted the repeat command in Palm before converting, because now I get to delete all the duplicates in Google calendar. Live and learn. Anyway, with proper preparation, this conversion worked quite well. Thanks!
Oh my! I cannot tell you how great your advice has been. Had a Palm Centro and since HP bought Palm…no new Palm product is for sale! I have been crazed trying to figure this conversion to my LG Optimus and your site was perfect! I have successfully transferred by calendar…now to try the address book. Thanks again!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Stephanie,
Glad you found it helpful.
Good luck with the addresses.
Terry.
Thanks Terry
one more for you how do i transfer my saved cocuments from palm to android eg docs to go i cant seem to find them on my palm desktop.
also is there a way to save attached docs from the samsung galaxy to the actual phone as a seperate doc.
Thanks again
sam
Sam,
Are referring to Microsoft Documents? If so, your Palm should save your documents on your SD card.
All you have to do is:
Plug in the SD card into your PC.
Copy the documents from the SD card to the PC.
Attach your Android to your PC via a USB cable and mount it as a disk drive
Copy the documents from your PC to your Android.
Terry.
Thanks again keep up the good work
Thanks Terry
it worked
keep up the good work
Hi Terry
just realised that my contacts that were transferred from palm to android did not load all the notes in the contacts why would that be and how can i retrieve them send answer to my email please.
so far all your advice has been spot on i hope u can help me here.
Sam,
Another reader, John has a solution:
http://www.dancingdroid.com/?p=4&cpage=1#comment-32
You can get is application here:
http://www.dancingdroid.com/?p=4&cpage=1#comment-351
Hope this helps.
Terry.
Thanks. Should be noted that non-Latin characters do not transfer using this method.
Thanks for a simple and excellent solution!
Puber,
Glad I could help.
Terry.
Terry, do you know if all your information works for a Nexus 7 (Android)? I recently purchased one and want to transfer all my Palm information into it; i.e. calendar, contacts, memos. Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.
Once you get a CSV file of tasks from the Palm, how do you get these to the Android? It seems there is no import feature in the Google account.
Excellent advice worked first time including moving memos across as well.
I used this conversion with Palm Desktop version 6, for mine and my wife’s Palm to Android conversion, and it worked perfectly. If that’s the version you have, give it a try before downgrading to version 4.
Thanks for this great tool that is very easy to use. Can’t believe Motorola or Google aren’t already doing this to drum up more business, but I guess they just don’t care.
Moved my date book from v.6 and it’s a breeze. Thank you very much for sharing your experiences with us.
I had 10 years of old calendar data stranded on Palm 4.x software. Through http://www.palm2csv.com/convert/ , the DBA was converted DIRECTLY to ICS format, ready to import into a new Google Calendar I created for testing purposes. There were a couple of mistakes with repeating events but they were minor. Now I’ve exported the corrected version of the old data to an ICS and imported that into my own calendar, which now encompasses 14 years. Thanks to KMoser, the developer, for making this software available for free!
Thank you very much for this suggestion. I had one error with a repeat-event. For all the rest, more than 5000 records, it worked perfectly. Congratualations for the idea and the developer.