The concept of calendar combined with computers goes way beyond displaying dates and the days of the week. It is a truly powerful tool, which allows us to organize our lives in a very simple manner, so we can focus more on what we’re doing and less on remembering when we have to do it.
Calendar Magic is a free, great application that contains pretty much everything you need to organize your schedule, set up alarms, view and compare multiple calendar systems plus a wide range of additional tools that will make your life a lot easier.
Installation & Requirements
The install process is really fast, however it’s not a surprise since the setup file is less than 5 MB in size. The only aspect you can configure is the installed folder’s location, but a prior information window notifies users that for Windows Vista, 7 and 8 it cannot be placed in c:\Program Files or c:\Program Files (x86).
Calendar Magic is such a small, lightweight program it doesn’t have hardware requirements. All you need is one of the supported operating systems: Microsoft Windows Me, 98, 2000, XP, NT, Vista, 7 or 8.
Interface
When you open the program for the first time, an individual window containing the “Tip of the day” will appear. While you might find out useful features and tweaks you weren’t aware of, the window can be disabled so it will never bother you again. Calendar Magic’s interface will probably disappoint you in terms of looks: it completely lacks style, even if you can customize its color scheme. However, such a program should focus more on providing a readable, organized layout which it does.
The GUI has only one menu, located at the top, from where you can access all of Calendar Magic’s features. Even if the program has an endless list of features, they are logically divided into relevant categories.
Calendar Magic comes with an impressive collection of calendar systems and a few related tools such as “Calendar Comparison” accessible from the “Calendars” category. An equally comprehensive list is available under the “Dates” category: from there you can perform date conversions, view Easter dates, New Year days, Observed days and a few other useful tricks such as the “In Which Months?” function that allows you to find out in which months a certain date will appear for the selected year range.
Time related features provide various tools from the basic Time Calculator to Alarm Clock, Countdown Timer and Reaction Timer. Also, 15 sheets are waiting to be filled with Sheet Notes and there are other tools available, not necessarily related to organizing schedules or calendars but very useful. These are divided into Maths Utilities and Other Utilites.
Maths Utilities contain multiple types of calculators such as Expression, Scientific and Fraction and Other Utilities provide a useful collection of calculators and tools such as Average Speed, Fuel Consumption, Global Distances, Currency Converter, Unit Converter and many more. While most of these tools are quite easy to find individually, the fact that you can find them all within a single application is priceless.
In terms of functionality it is quite easy to browse through the application’s features as most options are open in a separate window that can be closed by a “Main Screen” button besides the standard “X” button.
Pros
– Contains a large number of calendar systems and related functions such as the Calendar Comparison.
– Other useful scheduling tools for Date, Time, Reminders and Quick Notes are provided.
– The program also has a comprehensive collection of calculators.
– The Help option provides decent support for beginners.
– Adware-free.
Cons
– The Reminders cannot be setup with specific times for audio notifications.
– The program cannot be minimized to the system tray.
– There are no options for synchronization with online calendars.
Alternatives
Calendar Magic is a truly amazing application since it comes packed with lots of useful tools, otherwise hard to find as a collection, but users may turn away from the program because of its rigid interface and a few missing functionalities such as minimizing to system tray. Although lacking Calendar Magic’s array of calculators and calendar systems, Desktop iCalendar Lite and Rainlendar Lite are two free calendars with solid planning features you should definitely take a look at.
Conclusion
Calendar Magic might not be the best event and task planner, but its unique collection of calendar systems and calculators make it a must-have for people from all around the world that wish to stay organized.
