Program Details

MagiCal is free software, and is supplied without warranty of any kind, implied or otherwise. Charcoal Design will not accept responsibility for any damage caused by any defect of any kind in the software.

How do I install/un-install MagiCal?

Simply drag the MagiCal program into your Applications folder to install it. To remove it again, drag it from your Applications folder into the Trash. There is no installer or un-installer program.

How do I make MagiCal launch every time I start up my computer?

If you want to keep MagiCal running all the time, even after a restart, there is a checkbox in the MagiCal preferences under "Misc" that will add MagiCal to your login items. If for some reason this doesn't work for you, you can add MagiCal to your startup items manually by doing the following: Go to System Preferences and select the "Accounts" pane. Click on the "Login Items" tab and you will see a list of applications. Click the "+" button and locate MagiCal to add it to the list. It will now launch whenever you log in.

Help! MagiCal has suddenly stopped working and won't respond to clicks - how can I fix it?

Make sure you have downloaded the latest version from this site. If you have the latest version, it may be that your preferences are corrupt. Quit MagiCal using the Activity Monitor application, then delete the MagiCal preferences file. You can do this by selecting Go > Go to Folder from the Finder menu, then typing ~/Library/Preferences to open the Preferences folder, then deleting the file com.charcoaldesign.MagiCal.plist. Then relaunch MagiCal.

I downloaded MagiCal on my Windows/Linux/Mac OS 9 computer, but I can't get it to run. What am I doing wrong?

MagiCal is currently designed to run only on Macintosh computers, running OS X.

I'm running Mac OS X, but when I downloaded MagiCal it decompressed as a strange folder with some stuff in it. What's going on?

Under OS 10.2 this is usually caused by a bug in Stuffit Expander. Upgrade to the latest version of Stuffit (Free download) and try downloading the program again. This shouldn't happen under OS 10.3 or higher since Stuffit isn't used to decompress zip files by default. If you experience the same problem under 10.3, make sure you have installed all the latest system updates (Select "Software Update..." in the Apple menu).

Will there be a version of MagiCal for Windows/Linux/Mac OS 9?

There are no plans to release MagiCal for any other platforms at this time. MagiCal's functionality relies on a number of Mac OS X-specific technologies that would make it difficult to port.

Does MagiCal run natively on Intel Macintoshes?

Yes, MagiCal is available as both a Universal Binary and as standalone Intel and PowerPC downloads (which are slightly smaller).

I launched MagiCal, but nothing happened...?

The MagiCal interface consists of a small icon in the top-right of the menu bar. If you have a lot of icons in your menu then it may be obscured by other menus.

The time/date format I want isn't in the list, can you please add it?

You are not restricted to using the formats in the list. You can type whatever format string you like into the date/time format drop-downs. Just use the examples in the list as a guide, then mix and match the elements in those to create your desired format. Full documentation of all available formatting options can be found here. If you can't work out how to get the format you want, contact us and we'll help you.

How do I quit MagiCal? There's no quit menu!

The quit menu, along with all other options, can be accessed by right-clicking on the calendar window, or left-clicking the small "i" icon in the bottom-right-hand corner of it.

Why does MagiCal try to connect to the Internet when launched?

MagiCal checks for an updated version when it is launched. This check is performed using an XMLRPC protocol call to the Charcoal Design web site. No personal details or sensitive data is transmitted. If you wish to disable this functionality, uncheck the "Check for updates" option in the preferences.

I'm running Little Snitch, and it says something about an Application called CURL trying to connect to the Internet whenever I launch MagiCal - what is it?

CURL is a UNIX command-line HTTP and FTP tool that comes pre-installed on your Mac. MagiCal uses it to check for updates - as explained above. MagiCal's use of CURL does not pose a security risk, but if you are not using CURL for anything else it would be advisable to only allow CURL to use the Charcoal Design domain, as malicious applications could potentially use CURL to send sensitive data.

I upgraded to Mac OS 10.6 and now MagiCal doesn't work?

Please update to the latest MagiCal version, older versions are not compatible with 10.6.

I've upgraded to the latest MagiCal for Mac OS 10.6, but I can't quit the old one.

To quit MagiCal, press Command-Q on the keyboard after clicking on the MagiCal menu bar icon. If that doesn't work, you can quit MagiCal using the Activity Monitor application, which you'll find in Applications/Utilities.

I found a bug, what should I do?

Please check our online bug tracker to see if it's a known problem. If it isn't then please add a new bug report and we will fix it as soon as possible.

I've got a great idea for a feature, how can I let you know about it?

Check the online bug tracker to see if anyone else has already suggested your feature. If they haven't then please add a new feature request - we're always glad to receive suggestions from our users.

Where can I find more help with using MagiCal?

If you need help with MagiCal, feel free to contact us using our online form. Remember to mention which product you require help with.

1.1r4

• [fix] Icon no longer appears in Dock (introduced in 1.1r3)
• [fix] Clicks are now detected anywhere on the menu item area, not just the text or icon.
• [fix] Fixed custom colour option.

1.1r3

• [fix] Clicks are now detected anywhere on the menu item area, not just the text or icon.
• [fix] Fixed custom colour option.

1.1r2

• [fix] Fixed inability to interact with calendar or access preferences on Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard.
• [chg] Mac OS X 10.3 Panther is no longer supported. Users running Panther should stick with version 1.1r1

1.1r1

• [fix] Fixed crash when opening preferences on Leopard. Sorry it took so long!

1.1

• [chg] Adjacent MagiCal menu elements now act as a single menu when clicked, making the behaviour more consistent with versions 1.0.x. This does not affect the ability to re-order the menu elements by command-dragging.
• [fix] Restored check-for-updates functionality. MagiCal can now be set to check for new versions at program launch, or periodically. This was previously disabled due to a performance issue.
• [chg] Removed WebKit calendar functionality for the time being due to stability issues. The WebKit calendar has been replaced by a new calendar of similar appearance and functionality but the capability for users to write their own "skins" in CSS is no longer available. To use the new calendar, uncheck the "Use legacy calendar" option (now off by default).
• [fix] Preminary support added for Leopard. MagiCal should now launch on Leopard, but there may still be cosmetic glitches. Please report any issues via the bug tracker.
• [fix] Tooltip now shows after launch without needing to open and close preferences (bug id: R27044)
• [fix] Fixed a bug that prevented launch at login preference from working if MagiCal was placed in a directory whose name contained spaces or other punctuation.
• [new] Added partial Catalan localisation. Thanks go to Ignasi Figueras for the translation.
• [opt] Preferences are now saved in binary Plist format for better performance and consistency with other Macintosh applications.

1.1a11

• [fix] Fixed preference for time/date order in tooltip.
• [fix] Left/right alignment of menu icons is now correctly saved when position is set in the preferences. Previously it only worked if menu items were command-dragged into place.
• [chg] Changed "kvar" to "kvart" in the Swedish fuzzy clock in response to a user request (bug id: R421997).
• [chg] Changed handling of "half past" syntax in Swedish fuzzy clock (bug id: R953757).
• [fix] Improved reliability of "launch at login" preference.

1.1a10

• [new] MagiCal can now display the day of the year using the format "d", or "ddd" if you wish the value to be padded with zeros.
• [new] MagiCal now allows you to escape characters in the time and date format strings by preceding them with a backslash (\). To display the backslash character itself, use two in a row (\\).
• [chg] Changed menu alignment preference's behaviour to be more intuitive. Changing this preference now has an immediate effect on the menu icons' placement.
• [fix] Calendar weeks are now consistent between the legacy and new-style calendars.
• [new] It is now possible to specify the algorithm and starting month used for calculating the calendar week, allowing corporate users to synchronise MagiCal with their company's fiscal year. The default setting is to count the week containing the first Thursday in January as week one, in accordance with the ISO:8601 standard.
• [fix] Tweaked the clickable area for some of the checkbox controls in the preferences to reduce accidental activation/deactivation.

1.1a9

• [fix] MagiCal now correctly handles FUZZY time option.
• [new] Added Hebrew localisation. Thanks go to Aaron Solomon Adelman for the translation. Please note that the fuzzy clock is not currently supported.
• [new] Bug/feature submission menus now automatically fill in your system version and MagiCal platform version on the bug submission form.
• [fix] The menu icons no longer shift left and right for certain font settings when clock separator flashing is enabled.
• [fix] The time and date no longer get truncated with an ellipsis for certain font settings when the "condensed" text option is used.
• [fix] Improved vertical centring of text within menu bar.
• [new] Added checkbox to enable/disable sub-pixel antialiasing for menu text to the Miscellaneous preferences panel. Anyone using a custom Mac OS theme that has a translucent or transparent menu bar (such as Crystal Clear) should uncheck this option. You may also wish to disable this option in order to make MagiCal's text more closely match that of the standard system clock.
• [fix] Dragging a MagiCal display element out of the menu bar no longer opens the preferences window.
• [fix] It is no longer possible to hide all of MagiCal's menus simultaneously, thereby making it impossible to access the preferences to re-enable them. You will be warned if you attempt to do this.

1.1a8

• [fix] Fixed bug with weekday headings in webkit calendar (introduced in alpha 7).
• [fix] Webkit calendar now uses correct localised week abbreviation.
• [fix] Drop-down calendar is now reset to the present day whenever the menu is clicked, instead of remaining at whatever date you left it on.

1.1a7

• [fix] Made yet more fixes to date and time updating.
• [fix] Eliminated some situations where webkit calendar fails to draw.
• [fix] Webkit calendar month and day now use the correct language localisation.

1.1a6

• [fix] Made further fixes to date and time updating.
• [fix] Calendar "week begins on monday" and "show calendar weeks" options are now restored correctly after a restart.
• [fix] Improved compatibility for system themes that have a translucent menu bar.

1.1a5

• [fix] Eliminated crash when tearing off calendars.
• [fix] Eliminated issue with menu icon "selected state" being drawn beneath the menu bar.
• [fix] Drop-down calendar no longer overlaps the Dock if it is positioned to the right of the screen.
• [fix] Menu items should no longer appear with black corners under Panther.

1.1a4

• [fix] Icon style and Font size are now saved when application is closed.
• [fix] Date and time now update when waking from sleep. There may be a delay of up to 15 seconds between waking the machine and the display updating. Users may also experience slightly higher CPU usage as a consequence of this fix.
• [chg] Legacy calendar is now selected by default due to various issues experienced by users. If you have previously installed MagiCal and cannot access the preferences due to problems with the calendar, delete your preferences file after installing this new version and the problem should be solved.

1.1a3

• [fix] The format HH now correctly uses a 12 hour clock instead of 24.
• [fix] Date and time drop-downs are now populated with default option lists again.
• [fix] Fixed bug with date icon selection drop-down.

1.1a2

• [fix] The time now correctly updates for clock text and icon. Previously the clock would not update until the first time the preferences were accessed.
• [chg] It has been found that the check for updates feature is causing an extra 0.5% CPU usage, even when idle. Until this can be eliminated, this option has been disabled.
• [opt] MagiCal 1.1 has been rewritten from the ground up for better performance and stability. When seconds display or clock separator flashing is enabled the CPU usage is now around 0.5%. If these options are disabled, MagiCal now uses effectively zero CPU.

1.1a1

• [fyi] This latest version of MagiCal is an alpha release, meaning that some of the features are work-in-progress, and there may be bugs. It is recommended that you make a back up of your preferences before installing the new version. Please report any bugs via the menu provided.
• [new] It is now possible to re-order or menu time and date components by command-dragging them. You can also drag each component to the left or right hand side of the other menu items, or remove them by dragging them out of the bar. It is not possible to interleave magical menu items with menu items from other programs however.
• [new] MagiCal now features a brand new calendar rendered using webkit. This features a more customisable design than before. Anyone with web development abilities can modify the design by editing the CSS files in the application package. A themes/skins system will be added in a future release. There may be some glitches with the new calendar, and it may not work on Mac OS 10.3, in which case you can use the legacy calender option to use the calendar from earlier MagiCal versions.
• [new] MagiCal now uses better font rendering for the clock, and includes new font options including typeface, bold, italic and "condensed".
• [new] Clock and calendar icons in the menu bar can now be tinted to match the colour of the time/date text if you so choose.
• [new] Clicking on a date in the calendar now opens iCal at that date.
• [chg] Calendars are now ordinary document windows, and can be minimised to the Dock. The float on desktop option has been removed for this version, but will be restored in a future release.
• [opt] MagiCal no longer relaunches SystemUIServer every time the menu items are re-arranged, only once when the program is launched.
• [chg] MagiCal's preferences have been expanded and re-arranged to include the new options in a more intuitive layout.
• [new] MagiCal now includes Traditional Chinese localisation. Thanks go to Lee Ho-Hung for the translation.
• [new] MagiCal now features a new, more stylish icon.
• [new] MagiCal can now check for updates on a weekly or daily basis, not just when the program is launched.

1.0.9r4

• [fix] April 1st on the calendar is no longer cut off.
• [new] Calendar weeks are now supported within the date format. Use "W" or "WW" to display them.
• [chg] The preferences window is now global, so it doesn't vanish if MagiCal is not in the foreground.
• [chg] Changed the preferences "Apply" button to "OK", which is more compliant with the Apple HIG, and makes its purpose clearer.

1.0.9r3

• [fix] Date format no longer shows "March" for certain abbreviated month formats, irrespective of the actual month.
• [fix] MagiCal now correctly preserves date and time formats containing non-roman characters between launches.

1.0.9r2

• [fix] Corrected issue with "P.M." date format option.
• [fix] MagiCal now updates automatically when the system time zone is changed in the system preferences.

1.0.9r1

• [fix] Removed non-functioning "open in iCal" option from preferences. This option will be included for real in the next release. Apologies for any confusion.

1.0.9

• [fix] Corrected a bug in the fuzzy clock that would cause "twelve noon" to be displayed as "twelve o'clock" under some circumstances.
• [fix] Corrected a bug in the fuzzy clock that would cause "midnight" to be displayed as "twelve noon".
• [fix] "Same Font as Time" option now works correctly.
• [chg] Reverted days in Japanese date icon to using English abbreviations instead of Romanji.
• [new] Added new colourful icon option for menu calendar.
• [new] Added German localisation for fuzzy clock. Thanks go to Michael Weber for the translation.
• [new] Added localised month names for Japanese.
• [new] Added Japanese date format YYYY年M月D日 to date dropdowns, and made this the default format for that localisation. This format could in fact always have been used, however it will hopefully now be more obvious that this is the case. Thanks go to Chris Jacques for his advice on tackling Japanese localisation issues.

1.0.8r2

• [fix] Corrected bug that caused YY to display as month name (introduced in 1.0.8).
• [opt] Rationalised formatting options a little, and added missing case options, such as "day" for lower-case day, etc. Please note that localisation is no longer taken into account for month/day name case, so Europeans who want to see the days/months without capitalisation will need to use lower case in the format string.
• [fix] Applied Dutch "MRT" abbreviation change to calendar icon (previously only applied to text).
• [fix] Corrected some errors in Swedish localisation, and added months and days as well as fuzzy clock values. Thanks go to Mark Vincent for supplying the missing and incorrect values.

1.0.8r1

• [fix] Fixed bug that caused fuzzy clock to display wrong hour under certain circumstances.
• [fix] Fixed bug that prevented just the date, with no clock or calendar icon being displayed.
• [fix] Corrected 3-letter abbreviations for French months juin and juillet to use "JUN" and "JUL" respectively, instead of "JUI" for both.
• [chg] Changed German calendar week abbreviation from "WC" (Woche) to "KW" (Kalenderwoche) in response to a user request.
• [new] Added fuzzy clock support for French and Swedish localisations. Thanks go to Peter Vendlegård for his help with the Swedish translation - any mistakes are mine and not his.

1.0.8

• [new] Added option to add/remove MagiCal from the login items (so it is automatically launched at startup).
• [fix] Fixed bug which caused non-ASCII characters to display incorrectly in the date and tooltip.
• [fix] Fixed bug which caused crashes and missing icon under Norwegian OS setting (introduced in version 1.0.6).
• [new] Added partial Japanese localisation (weekdays).
• [fix] Changed 3-letter abbreviation for Dutch month maart to "MRT".
• [new] Added "fuzzy" time option. Just add "Fuzzy","fuzzy" or "FUZZY" to the time format, and it will be substituted by the time in the form "Half past eleven" (accurate to the nearest five minutes), etc. This option is currently not localised for anything except English. If anyone would like to help translate these expressions then please contact me.
• [chg] Added new options to time/date dropdowns and reduced options to a few examples, because now that users can type their own format strings, massive lists aren't necessary.

1.0.7r2

• [fix] Month names containing the letter "M" will now be rendered correctly. Previously the "M" would have been substituted by a number.
• [fix] The "Mon" format option is now correctly substituted by a 3-letter abbreviation of the month instead of a number.
• [new] Days can now be displayed with two-letter abbreviations (e.g. "Mo" for Monday). To use this, use the code "Da" or "DA" in the date format string.

1.0.7r1

• [fix] Capital AM/PM is now supported again in the date format string (broken in 1.0.7).
• [new] Year drop-down in calendar now extends back 100 years instead of just 50.

1.0.7

• [new] You can now click on the month or year in the drop-down calendar to jump directly to the desired date.
• [new] Time format now supports display of am/pm as A.M./P.M. - simply type A.M. in the desired position in the time format string to use this option.
• [new] Time format now supports display of 24hr times without a leading zero by using "2" as the hour format.
• [new] Added option to display time in the menu tool tip.
• [fix] Changes to the time and date in the system preferences are now immediately reflected by the MagiCal menu and tear-off calendars.
• [new] Added "Open Date & Time..." option to menu.
• [new] Added Danish localisation. Thanks go to Michael Kristensen for the translation.
• [new] Added Brazilian-Portuguese localisation. Thanks go to Ed Lamblet for the translation.
• [fix] Corrected some omissions in the Spanish localisation.

1.0.6r1

• [fix] Plugged a memory leak introduced in version 1.0.6.

1.0.6

• [new] MagiCal menu can now be displayed at the far right of the menu bar. The option to enable this can be found under the 'Misc' tab in the preferences.
• [new] Added Norwegian localisation. Thanks go to Jansen Trond for the translation.
• [new] Added Dutch localisation. Thanks go to Richard Pijs and Joost Dancet for the translation.
• [fix] Corrected error in German localised calendar icon.
• [fix] Menu highlighting is now drawn in a theme-savvy way.
• [opt] Reduced application size by around 20%.

1.0.5

• [opt] Reduced CPU usage to around 1% on average. Usage will vary between different machines, and may be higher on some configurations.
• [new] Added "calendar weeks" display option to drop-down and tear-off calendars.
• [fix] Fixed bug in English language date format whereby the 31st of any month would be displayed as the "31th".
• [fix] Fixed a bug that prevented torn-off calendars from updating when "week begins on monday" option is toggled.

1.0.4r2

• [fix] Fixed issue that caused calendar drop-down functionality to break the second time a calendar is torn off.
• [fix] Torn off calendars will now display the same month as the drop down calendar did before it was torn off, instead of the current month.

1.0.4r1

• [fix] Fixed issue where cycling through months in the calendar would skip certain months if the current date (e.g. 30th) was greater than the number of days in that month (e.g 28).

1.0.4

• [new] New icon options for clock and calendar
• [new] Now allows user to select an arbitrary colour for the time and date.
• [new] Added optional tooltip to menu icon which can be used to display the date.
• [fix] Menu icon and text no longer appears in front of screensavers or fullscreen movies, presentations, etc.
• [fix] Drop-down calendar correctly resets to current month when closed and re-opened.
• [fix] Fixed issue where changes to the "Week begins on Monday" setting would not take effect until MagiCal was quit and relaunched.

1.0.3

• [new] Added Spanish localisation.
• [fix] Fixed bug which meant that changing the month/day option in the calendar icon would not take effect until MagiCal was relaunched.
• [fix] Improved centering of date in calendar icon.
• [fix] Eliminated bug which caused drop-down and torn-off calendars to use up to 75% of processor, even when idle.
• [opt] Eliminated unnecessary redrawing of menu clock/calendar every second when using a time format that does not display seconds.
• [fix] Tear-off calendar now snaps back to the correct edge of the menu.
• [fix] Fixed incorrect use of "Peut" to mean the month of May in the French localisation. Veuillez m'excuser pour l'erreur idiote!
• [fix] Fixed incorrect use of "Mag" to mean the month of May in the German localisation. Verzeihen Sie mir bitte für den dummen Fehler!
• [fix] Fixed incorrect use of "Può" to mean the month of May in the Italian localisation. Spiacente per stupido l'errore!
• [chg] Removed capitalisation from the days and months in French and Italian localisations.
• [fix] Eliminated bug which causes calendar icon to erroneously appear in menu bar when "Week begins on Monday" is selected.
• [chg] Changed default date format for non-British English to use MM/DD/YYYY instead of DD/MM/YYYY. Note that this only affects new users - existing users' settings will be unaffected.
• [chg] Changed default setting of "Week begins on Monday" to "true" for all European locales. This only affects new users - existing users' settings will be unaffected.

1.0.2

• [new] Format selectors now allow arbitrary date and time formats to be entered.
• [new] Added font size and colour options for time and date text.
• [new] Added option to flash time separators on digital clock.
• [fix] Eliminated "crazy fast-forward" bug on tear-off calendar.
• [new] Added option to float tear-off calendar at desktop level (behind all other applications).

1.0.1

• [new] MagiCal now includes localisations for French, German and Italian.
• [new] It is now possible to display the day of the week instead of the month in the calendar icon.
• [new] In the tear-off calendar, it is now possible to set the week to start on Monday (as opposed to Sunday).
• [fix] Added workaround for missing calendar dropdown issue experienced by users who have enabled menu hiding via the Menufela haxie. It's still a little buggy but should be useable.
• [fix] Fixed memory leak that occurred when updating menu clock.
• [fix] Fixed issue with parsing certain date string configurations.
• [chg] Calendar now appears right-aligned with the menu icon if the icon is too close to the right-hand-side of the screen.

1.0

• [new] Initial release.