FEATURES.md

🎉 New Features Implementation Guide

Overview

This document describes the newly implemented features in the Desktop Calendar Widget application, including Always on Top, Reminder Notifications, and Recurring Events support.

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1️⃣ Always on Top 📌

Description

Keep the Desktop Calendar Widget visible above all other windows, ensuring you never miss important events or tasks.

How to Use

1. Click the ⚙️ Settings button in the top-right corner
2. Check/Uncheck 📌 Always on Top
3. The window will immediately stay on top of other windows when enabled

Technical Details

• Implementation: MainViewModel.IsAlwaysOnTop property bound to Window.Topmost
• Files Modified:
  • MainViewModel.cs: Added IsAlwaysOnTop property and ToggleAlwaysOnTopCommand
  • MainWindow.xaml: Added Topmost="{Binding IsAlwaysOnTop}"
  • MainWindow.xaml.cs: Added menu item in settings

Code Example

// MainViewModel.cs
public bool IsAlwaysOnTop
{
    get => _isAlwaysOnTop;
    set => SetProperty(ref _isAlwaysOnTop, value);
}

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2️⃣ Reminder Notifications 🔔

Description

Get desktop notifications for upcoming events at your preferred time before the event starts.

Features

• Customizable Timing: Choose from 5 minutes to 1 day before event
• Notification Options:
  • 5 minutes before
  • 15 minutes before
  • 30 minutes before (default)
  • 1 hour before
  • 2 hours before
  • 1 day before
• Smart Notifications: Shows event title, time, and location
• Auto-dismiss: Notifications automatically close after 30 seconds
• Background Monitoring: Checks for upcoming events every minute

How to Use

Setting Reminders on New Events

1. Click ➕ Add to create a new event
2. Fill in event details
3. Check Set Reminder
4. Select desired reminder time from dropdown
5. Click Save

Setting Reminders on Existing Events

1. Click the ✏️ (edit) icon next to an event
2. Check Set Reminder
3. Select desired reminder time
4. Click Save

Visual Indicators

• Events with reminders show a 🔔 icon in the calendar view

Technical Details

New Model Properties

// CalendarEventModel.cs
public bool HasReminder { get; set; }
public int ReminderMinutes { get; set; } = 30;

NotificationService

• Location: Core/Services/NotificationService.cs
• Functionality:
  • Timer-based checking every 60 seconds
  • Tracks notified events to avoid duplicates
  • Creates WPF windows for notifications
  • Auto-dismisses after 30 seconds

Integration Points

// App.xaml.cs
private NotificationService? _notificationService;

protected override void OnStartup(StartupEventArgs e)
{
    // Initialize notification service
    _notificationService = new NotificationService(calendarService);
    _notificationService.Start();
}

Google Calendar API Integration

// GoogleCalendarService.cs
if (eventModel.HasReminder)
{
    googleEvent.Reminders = new Event.RemindersData
    {
        UseDefault = false,
        Overrides = new List<EventReminder>
        {
            new EventReminder
            {
                Method = "popup",
                Minutes = eventModel.ReminderMinutes
            }
        }
    };
}

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3️⃣ Recurring Events Support 🔁

Description

Create events that repeat on a schedule - daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly - with full Google Calendar synchronization.

Features

• Frequency Options:
  • Daily
  • Weekly
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
• End Date: Specify when the recurring series should end
• RRULE Compliant: Uses standard iCalendar RRULE format
• Google Sync: Fully synchronized with Google Calendar recurrence patterns
• Visual Indicator: Recurring events show a 🔁 icon

How to Use

Creating Recurring Events

1. Click ➕ Add to create a new event
2. Fill in event details
3. Check Repeat Event
4. Select frequency from dropdown (Day/Week/Month/Year)
5. Set Ends on date (optional)
6. Click Save

Editing Recurring Events

1. Click the ✏️ (edit) icon next to a recurring event
2. Modify recurrence settings as needed
3. Click Save
4. Changes sync to all instances in Google Calendar

Visual Indicators

• Recurring events show a 🔁 icon in the calendar view

Technical Details

New Model Properties

// CalendarEventModel.cs
public bool IsRecurring { get; set; }
public string RecurrenceFrequency { get; set; } = "DAILY";
public int RecurrenceInterval { get; set; } = 1;
public DateTime? RecurrenceEndDate { get; set; }
public int? RecurrenceCount { get; set; }
public string? RecurrenceRule { get; set; }

RRULE Generation

// GoogleCalendarService.cs
if (eventModel.IsRecurring && eventModel.StartTime.HasValue)
{
    var rrule = $"RRULE:FREQ={eventModel.RecurrenceFrequency};INTERVAL={eventModel.RecurrenceInterval}";
    
    if (eventModel.RecurrenceEndDate.HasValue)
    {
        rrule += $";UNTIL={eventModel.RecurrenceEndDate.Value:yyyyMMdd}T000000Z";
    }
    
    googleEvent.Recurrence = new List<string> { rrule };
}

Example RRULE Patterns

• Daily: RRULE:FREQ=DAILY;INTERVAL=1;UNTIL=20261231T000000Z
• Weekly: RRULE:FREQ=WEEKLY;INTERVAL=1;UNTIL=20261231T000000Z
• Monthly: RRULE:FREQ=MONTHLY;INTERVAL=1;UNTIL=20261231T000000Z
• Yearly: RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;INTERVAL=1;UNTIL=20261231T000000Z

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4️⃣ UI Improvements 🎨

Enhanced Window Sizing

• New Size: 700x500 (up from 650x450)
• Min Constraints: 500x400 minimum size
• Better Layout: More breathing room for content

Visual Indicators

• 🔔 Icon: Indicates event has reminder set
• 🔁 Icon: Indicates recurring event
• Icons appear inline with event title for easy identification

Improved Dialog Sizing

• EventDialog: Now 500x500 with min constraints
• Better spacing for new reminder and recurrence sections
• Collapsible sections for recurrence options

Enhanced Calendar View

<TextBlock Grid.Row="0" Grid.Column="0" FontWeight="SemiBold" FontSize="14" TextWrapping="Wrap">
    <Run Text="{Binding Summary, Mode=OneWay}"/>
    <Run Text=" 🔔" Visibility="{Binding HasReminder, Converter={StaticResource BooleanToVisibilityConverter}}"/>
    <Run Text=" 🔁" Visibility="{Binding IsRecurring, Converter={StaticResource BooleanToVisibilityConverter}}"/>
</TextBlock>

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📊 Feature Comparison

Feature	Before	After
Always on Top	❌ Not available	✅ Toggle in settings
Event Reminders	❌ Not available	✅ 6 timing options
Recurring Events	❌ Not available	✅ 4 frequency types
Visual Indicators	❌ None	✅ 🔔 and 🔁 icons
Window Size	650x450	700x500
Notification System	❌ None	✅ Desktop notifications

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🔧 Technical Architecture

Service Layer

App.xaml.cs
    ├── GoogleAuthService
    ├── GoogleCalendarService (enhanced)
    │   ├── Reminder support
    │   └── Recurrence support
    ├── GoogleTaskService
    ├── NotificationService (new)
    │   ├── Timer-based checking
    │   └── Notification windows
    └── SyncService

Data Flow

User Action → ViewModel → Service → Google API
                ↓
            NotificationService
                ↓
        Desktop Notification

Key Files Modified/Created

New Files

• Core/Services/NotificationService.cs - Reminder notification service

Modified Files

1. Core/Models/CalendarEventModel.cs

   • Added reminder properties
   • Added recurrence properties

2. Core/Services/GoogleCalendarService.cs

   • Enhanced with reminder mapping
   • Enhanced with RRULE support

3. ViewModels/MainViewModel.cs

   • Added Always on Top property and command

4. Views/EventDialog.xaml & .xaml.cs

   • Added reminder UI
   • Added recurrence UI

5. Views/CalendarView.xaml

   • Added visual indicators

6. MainWindow.xaml & .xaml.cs

   • Added Topmost binding
   • Added Always on Top menu item

7. App.xaml.cs

   • Integrated NotificationService

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🎯 Usage Scenarios

Scenario 1: Team Meeting with Reminder

1. Create event: "Team Standup"
2. Set time: 10:00 AM daily
3. Enable reminder: 15 minutes before
4. Set recurrence: Daily, ends in 1 month
5. Result: Get notified at 9:45 AM every day

Scenario 2: Important Deadline

1. Create event: "Project Deadline"
2. Set date: Next Friday
3. Enable reminder: 1 day before
4. Result: Get notification on Thursday

Scenario 3: Weekly Review

1. Create event: "Weekly Review"
2. Set time: Friday 3:00 PM
3. Enable reminder: 1 hour before
4. Set recurrence: Weekly
5. Result: Notified every Friday at 2:00 PM

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🐛 Known Limitations

1. Notification Service:

   • Checks every minute (configurable)
   • Does not support system tray notifications
   • Requires app to be running

2. Recurring Events:

   • Does not support complex recurrence patterns (e.g., "every 2nd Tuesday")
   • Limited to basic RRULE patterns
   • End date is preferred over count

3. Always on Top:

   • Setting is not persisted across app restarts
   • Global setting (cannot be per-window if multiple instances)

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🚀 Future Enhancements

Potential improvements for future versions:

1. Enhanced Notifications:

   • System tray integration
   • Sound notifications
   • Snooze functionality

2. Advanced Recurrence:

   • Complex patterns (e.g., "last Friday of month")
   • Exception dates
   • Edit single occurrence

3. Persistent Settings:

   • Save Always on Top preference
   • Save default reminder time
   • Remember window position

4. Multiple Reminders:

   • Support multiple reminders per event
   • Different notification types (popup, email, SMS)

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📚 Additional Resources

• Google Calendar API - Reminders
• iCalendar RRULE Specification
• WPF Notification Windows

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Last Updated: January 2026
Version: 1.1.0
Author: Desktop Calendar Widget Team