Radicale/user_documentation.rst

====================
 User Documentation
====================

:Author: Guillaume Ayoub

:Date: 2009-07-21

:Abstract: This document is a short description for installing and using the
 Radicale Calendar Server.

.. contents::

Installation
============

Dependencies
------------

Radicale is written in pure python and depends on the following librabry, that
must be installed first:

- ``python-twisted-web``

On a Debian-based systems, you can install this packages with the following
command, with superuser rights::

  apt-get install python-twisted-web

Other Linux and \*BSD distributions should provide Twisted packages too.

For Windows and MacOS users, please install Python [#]_ and Twisted [#]_ thanks
to the adequate installers. Version 2.6.\* for Python is a good choice.

.. [#] `Python download page <http://python.org/download/>`_.
.. [#] `Twisted download page <http://twistedmatrix.com/trac/wiki/Downloads>`_.

Radicale
--------

Radicale can be freely downloaded on the `project website, download section
<http://www.radicale.org/download>`_. Just get the file and unzip it in a
folder of your choice.

CalDAV Clients
--------------

At this time Radicale has been tested and works fine with the latest version of
Mozilla Sunbird (version 0.9+). More clients will be supported in the
future. However, it may work with any calendar client which implements CalDAV
specifications too (luck is highly recommanded).

To download Sunbird, go to the `Sunbird project website
<http://www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/sunbird/>`_ and choose the latest
version. Follow the instructions depending on your operating system.


Simple Usage
============

Starting Server
---------------

To start Radicale CalDAV server, you have to launch the file called
``radicale.py`` located in the root folder of the software.

Using Sunbird
-------------

After starting Sunbird, click on ``File`` and ``New Calendar``. Upcoming window
asks you about your calendar storage. Chose a calendar ``On the Network``,
otherwise Sunbird will use its own file system storage instead of Radicale's
one and your calendar won't be remotely accessible.

Next window asks you to provide information about remote calendar
access. Protocol used by Radicale is ``CalDAV``. Standard location for a basic
use of a Radicale calendar is ``http://localhost:5232/radicale/calendar``.

You can now customize your calendar by giving it a nickname and a color. This
is only used by Sunbird to identify calendars among others.

If no warning sign appears next to the calendar name, you can now add events
and tasks to your calendar. All events and tasks are stored in the server, they
can be accessed and modified from multiple clients by multiple users at the
same time.


Complex Configuration
=====================

.. note::
   This section is only for Linux users. Windows and MacOS advanced support
   will be available later.

Installing
----------

You can install Radicale CalDAV server with the following command, with
superuser rights::

  python setup.py install

Then, launching the server can be easily done by typing as a normal user::

  radicale

.. note::
   Radicale has no daemon mode yet. Please use external programs (such as
   ``screen``) to use Radicale as a resident program.

Configuring
-----------

The server configuration can be modified in ``/etc/radicale.conf``. Here is the
default configuration file, with the main parameters::

  [server]
  # CalDAV server port
  port = 5232
  
  [encoding]
  # Encoding for responding requests
  request = utf-8
  # Encoding for storing local calendars
  stock = utf-8

  [support]
  # Folder for storing local calendars
  folder = ~/.config/radicale
  # Default calendar path
  calendar = radicale/calendar

This configuration file is read each time the server is launched. If some
values are not given, the default ones are used. If no configuration file is
available, all the default values are used.