Science and technology

Get organized on the command line with Calcurse

Do you want advanced, feature-packed graphical or net purposes to get and keep organized? I do not suppose so. The proper command line instrument can do the job and do it effectively.

Of course, uttering the phrases command and line collectively can strike concern into the hearts of some Linux customers. The command line, to them, is terra incognita.

Organizing your self on the command line is simple with Calcurse. Calcurse brings a graphical feel and appear to a text-based interface. You get the simplicity and focus of the command line married to ease of use and navigation.

Let’s take a better have a look at Calcurse, which is open sourced underneath the BSD License.

Getting the software program

If compiling code is your factor (it is not mine, usually), you may seize the supply code from the Calcurse website. Otherwise, get the binary installer on your Linux distribution. You would possibly even be capable of get Calcurse out of your Linux distro’s bundle supervisor. It by no means hurts to examine.

Compile or set up Calcurse (neither takes all that lengthy), and also you’re able to go.

Using Calcurse

Crack open a terminal window and kind calcurse.

Calcurse’s interface consists of three panels:

  • Appointments (the left facet of the display)
  • Calendar (the highest proper)
  • To-do record (the underside proper)

Move between the panels by urgent the Tab key in your keyboard. To add a brand new merchandise to a panel, press a. Calcurse walks you thru what you have to do so as to add the merchandise.

One fascinating quirk is that the Appointment and Calendar panels work collectively. You add an appointment by tabbing to the Calendar panel. There, you select the date on your appointment. Once you do this, you tab again to the Appointments panel. I do know …

Press a to set a begin time, a length (in minutes), and an outline of the appointment. The begin time and length are elective. Calcurse shows appointments on the day they’re due.

Here’s what a day’s appointments appear like:

The to-do record works by itself. Tab to the ToDo panel and (once more) press a. Type an outline of the duty, then set a precedence (1 is the best and 9 is the bottom). Calcurse lists your uncompleted duties within the ToDo panel.

If your job has a protracted description, Calcurse truncates it. You can view lengthy descriptions by navigating to the duty utilizing the up or down arrow keys in your keyboard, then urgent v.

Calcurse saves its data in textual content recordsdata in a hidden folder known as .calcurse in your house listing—for instance, /dwelling/scott/.calcurse. If Calcurse stops working, it is easy to search out your data.

Other helpful options

Other Calcurse options embody the power to set recurring appointments. To do this, discover the appointment you need to repeat and press r within the Appointments panel. You’ll be requested to set the frequency (for instance, every day or weekly) and the way lengthy you need the appointment to repeat.

You also can import calendars in ICAL format or export your information in both ICAL or PCAL format. With ICAL, you may share your information with different calendar purposes. With PCAL, you may generate a Postscript model of your calendar.

There are additionally various command line arguments you may go to Calcurse. You can examine them in the documentation.

While easy, Calcurse does a strong job of serving to you retain organized. You’ll must be a bit extra aware of your duties and appointments, however you’ll focus higher on what you have to do and the place you have to be.

Most Popular

To Top