Running Multiple Instances of OGCS

To sync multiple calendars within the same Google account, the Profile feature available from v2.9.3 now makes it easy!

Profiles also mean that you could share calendar(s) from other Google accounts to the account OGCS is already synchronising with - and then it's no more complicated than adding a new Profile and selecting the newly shared calendar.

However, if sharing them is not an option and you want to sync calendars from different Google accounts directly, you will need to follow the guidance below.

Start OGCS with Command Line Parameters

From v2.7.2, the same install of OGCS can be run multiple times with different configurations. See Issue #481 for further details.

1. Download and deploy at least v2.7.2 - ZIP or Install, it doesn't matter
2. Start > Run > cmd.exe
3. Enter the full path to the OGCS executable, eg: C:\Users\<user-id>\AppData\Local\OutlookGoogleCalendarSync\app-2.7.2-alpha\OutlookGoogleCalendarSync.exe
   1. Provide path to OGCS settings for "Calendar1" /s:C:\OGCS\Calendar1\settings.xml; or /s:C:\OGCS\calendar1.xml
   2. Provide path for OGCS to log to for "Calendar1" /l:C:\OGCS\Calendar1\OGcalsync.log; or /l:C:\OGCS\calendar1.log
4. Hit Enter to start OGCS for Calendar 1.
5. Enter the full path to the OGCS executable again
   1. Provide path to OGCS settings for "Calendar2" /s:C:\OGCS\Calendar2\settings.xml; or /s:C:\OGCS\calendar2.xml
   2. Provide path for OGCS to log to for "Calendar2" /l:C:\OGCS\Calendar2\OGcalsync.log; or /l:C:\OGCS\calendar2.log
6. Hit Enter to start the second instance of OGCS.

Your final commands would look like:

C:\Users\<user-id>\AppData\Local\OutlookGoogleCalendarSync\app-2.7.2-alpha\OutlookGoogleCalendarSync.exe /s:C:\OGCS\Calendar1\settings.xml /l:C:\OGCS\Calendar1\OGcalsync.log
C:\Users\<user-id>\AppData\Local\OutlookGoogleCalendarSync\app-2.7.2-alpha\OutlookGoogleCalendarSync.exe /s:C:\OGCS\Calendar2\settings.xml /l:C:\OGCS\Calendar2\OGcalsync.log

From v2.8.2, there is also a new parameter to append a custom string to the title bar of OGCS: /t:"Some config name"

Start OGCS on Startup

Note, the Start on startup option will only work for a single instance of OGCS, so if you want multiple instances of OGCS to start on startup with different configurations you have two options.

Windows menu Startup folder

1. Start > Run > Type explorer.exe+Enter
2. In the address bar type %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup and hit Enter
3. Right-click > New text document
4. Name it, eg startOGCS.bat - ⚠️ make sure it ends in .bat and not .txt
5. Right-click the new file and Edit
6. Paste in the commands to start your various OGCS instances, eg as per the final commands in the previous section.
   1. To have each instance of OGCS run in parallel, prefix each line with start "" - note the empty double quotes.
7. Save the file and close Notepad

Windows Registry

Manually create your own registry keys:

1. Start > Run > Type regedit+Enter
2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
3. Right-click > New > String Value
   1. Give it a name, eg "Work Calendar 1"
   2. Double-click the new registry key and enter in the string to start up OGCS, eg C:\Users\<user-id>\AppData\Local\OutlookGoogleCalendarSync\app-2.7.2-alpha\OutlookGoogleCalendarSync.exe /s:C:\OGCS\Calendar1\settings.xml /l:C:\OGCS\Calendar1\OGcalsync.log
   3. Click OK
4. Repeat for additional calendars.

Deploy Portable Copies of OGCS

This requires the portable ZIP extracted files to be copied to different locations on your computer

1. Download the latest alpha ZIP release
2. Unzip the contents to two different locations - 1 for each calendar to be synced
3. Start the app and select "Make Portable" under options
   1. Configure it to sync the first calendar
4. Repeat step 3 for the second location the ZIP was extracted to
   1. Configure it to sync the second calendar