Universal search is one of the OS 6 features that I absolutely love. Unfortunately, I'm using a Bold 9700 with OS 5 and refuse to give it up or upgrade the OS. With that said, my one pet peeve is that the Calendar doesn't offer the same search option as OS 6. Since I have numerous appointments, reminders, anniversaries, recurring events, and birthdays, having an integrated search option is better than the method I'm currently using which is go to date, different views, or employing the native search feature just to find that one elusive entry. For those of you who still use OS 5 or just want to add options to OS 6 there is a way, by installing SearchCalendar -The Best Calendar Search (V 1.1.3).
About
SearchCalendar by QuiteSimple is exactly what the name implies: it offers a simple way to search your BlackBerry calendar without scrolling through months of entries to find the one you need. While your BlackBerry already has a search feature installed (under Applications), SearchCalendar integrates into the Calendar application itself so you don't even have to close out to launch an icon. Not only does this save you a few extra clicks, but it includes a filter option so you can find exactly what you're looking for. This is especially helpful for people like me who fill their calendar to the max with just about everything in their daily life.
CrackBerry App Store Rating: 3/5
Using SearchCalendar
The easiest way to access SearchCalendar is by clicking the menu button. You can click on the home screen icon but I find it unnecessary. If you are an OS 6 user, you'll have two search options in your menu. To distinguish between the two, this one will have three dots after it.
- Text to Search - type in or copy and paste the term(s) you are looking for. I prefer to broaden the search just in case I can't remember what I used, so using one term should be plenty.
- Search In - results will be filtered by which calendar field your text is located in. You can choose from Everywhere, Subject, Location, and Note.
- Limit Search to - narrow the scope even more by choosing from All-Day Events, Repeatable Events, and Events Starting after (enter in a specific date). Great way to find future events without having to scroll through older entries if you don't set your calendar to automatically delete.
After you've entered the terms and chosen your search parameters all that's left to do is click on the search button at the bottom to bring up all the matching calendar entries. I have to say this worked faster than my BB's regular search feature even with the filters turned on. Please note that the dates I used are not the actual release dates!
Simply click on the entry to open it in Daily View, Weekly View, or Monthly View. Torch users can just tap the entry.
Pros
- Search through all device calendars not just default
- Instant results
- Integrated in Calendar application
- Support for OS 6
- Free lifetime upgrades
Cons
- Recurring events appear as one entry until opened
SearchCalendar is available at the CrackBerry App Store for $2.99 for all BlackBerry devices and offers a 7-day free trial.
Conclusion
This is a great little application to effortlessly search through your calendar. My calendar is what keeps me going on a daily basis and now I can pinpoint exactly what I'm looking for to quickly edit, remove or modify entries without manually going through the entire calendar or scrolling through multiple entries using the BB search. So if you own a device with OS 5 or lower or just want to supplement your OS 6 calendar search then you can't go wrong with this app. Plus, at 30KB it will barely impact your device memory.
More information and download SearchCalendar - The Best Calendar Search
