nocal v4.0: Outlook, Spaces, and tasks in the sidebar

Today we are releasing nocal v4.0.

Three things made it into this release that we have been working toward for a long time: Microsoft Outlook support, Spaces, and tasks in the sidebar. nocal is also officially launched on iOS.

Microsoft Outlook Support

nocal now supports Microsoft Outlook calendars alongside Google.

• Connect your Outlook calendar from Preferences → Calendars
• Create, edit, and RSVP to Outlook events directly from nocal
• Run Google and Microsoft accounts side by side, with multi-account support

Why this matters: a calendar app that only talks to one provider is a dealbreaker for most teams. With 4.0, nocal is finally something you can bring to work regardless of which calendar your company runs on.

Spaces

Spaces are the biggest organizational change in 4.0.

A space groups the notes, meetings, and tasks for a single project, area, or team into one place with its own dashboard. Instead of hopping between folders to see what is happening on a project, a space gives you everything in context: recent notes, upcoming meetings, open tasks.

A few things to know:

• Any top-level folder can be created as a space, or converted into one from its folder menu
• nocal ships with smart templates — PARA, Management, and more — with recommended folders to get you started
• Spaces work the same across desktop and mobile

Why this matters: most note and calendar tools force you to pick one organizing principle (folders, tags, projects, meetings). Spaces let the same notes participate in a higher-level view without moving anywhere — so you get a project dashboard without losing folder structure.

Tasks in the Sidebar

4.0 adds a new Recent Tasks block to the sidebar that surfaces open tasks from across your notes.

• Groups tasks by note, with expand and collapse
• Updates inline as you add, edit, or check off items
• Click through to jump straight to the source note

Why this matters: tasks you wrote down in a meeting note last Tuesday should not disappear. The sidebar block keeps them in view without making you maintain a separate task list.

nocal on iOS, Officially

We announced iOS with v3.0 and it has been rolling through App Store review since then. It is now officially live.

Download nocal on the App Store →

Sidebar Improvements

• Both sidebars can now be minimized, with indicator rails that keep counts and upcoming events visible when collapsed
• The left sidebar can now be resized to fit the way you work

Why this matters: when you are heads-down writing, you want the chrome out of the way. When you are planning your week, you want it all visible. 4.0 stops forcing that tradeoff.

Fixes

• Recurring events: a long list of fixes covering ghost instances, "this and future" edits on previously-moved occurrences, and cross-month occurrence resolution
• "Show on startup" is now honored on both macOS and Windows. If you are still not seeing the correct behavior, contact us at [email protected]
• Microsoft calendar events no longer incorrectly appear as read-only
• Calendar groups can be added again from the "Add Group" button
• The Week tab label now updates when you change the selected week
• Pressing Enter on a mention suggestion inside a list now selects it correctly

nocal 4.0 Is Available Now

4.0 is rolling out across desktop, iOS, and Android.

The through-line of this release is context: one calendar that works with the provider you already have, one place to see everything happening on a project, and tasks that stay visible where you actually do your work.

More soon.