CalDAV Calendar on Synology DSM5: Locally sync Baikal with Windows eM Client

In my previous post, we set up the Baikal calendar package and added some users and blank calendars. Now let's sync it with a CalDAV client over the local home network. In my case, I will be using eM Client on Windows 7.

I don't have Outlook, and am more interested in eM Client, which seems to be one of rather few alternative standalone mail/contacts/calendar clients for Windows. For purposes of simply viewing and editing a calendar, it is overkill given all of its features, but it is easy and convenient to set up and use while troubleshooting this setup. My eventual goal is to sync the calendar hosted on my Synology box with my cellphone.

Once eM Client is installed, go to Tools -> Accounts -> New Account. From here, go to the "Calendar" dropdown, and select "CalDAV":

Fill in your info as was set up during Baikal's installation. Note that the account address URL does not contain a port number, and that the user ID that should be used is not any existing DSM user, but instead a Baikal user that was set up during the package's installation:

If all went well, you should see... absolutely nothing!:

This is because we have yet to add any info to our blank calendars. I am planning to import my Google Calendar here, so let's go grab that real quick. Select from your desired Calendar, and go to its settings page:

Here export your calendar as ICAL format by conveniently clicking the green button (don't get to say that often, lol), and then right-clicking and "Save Link As..." in the pop-up:

It's probably not a bad idea to rename the default name from basic.ics to something more meaningful, especially if you have multiple calendars to export. This will help keep track when importing them via the now-connected eM Client to our NAS. Back in eM Client, go File -> Import, and select "Import events from iCalendar (.ics)":

Once the import is complete, you should now see your previously existing Google Calendar events here. Congratulations, you just severed the tie with Google, and now have a completely private calendar that you can access over your local network! In the next post, we will sync our private calendar with a mobile device, becoming fully self-reliant.