exporting mail addresses
Hi, I am switching from pc to mac (this is not much relevant as the problem would not change if I moved to another PC, but makes it easier to know source from destination). I am trying to move my contacts from my pc to mac. To do that I went the PC-Th address book and clicked on export, the system saves the files as .CVS. Then I copied them on the Mac and on Mac-Th clicking on import. 1st problem: cannot merge collected addresses or personal address books. As a result I already have multiple lists in the source PC. This has happened because each time I changed PC thunderbird created a personal address book and a collected address list. Because I cannot merge them, they continue to multiplicate. On the new mac I tried to eliminate the systems lists (since they were empty) and use the imported ones, but I could neither eliminate them nor overwrite using the new ones, nor merge. So I have two files for each (notebook and collected). The reason I have only 2 is because I went into the cvs imported files and manually cut and pasted in a single file (collected and notebook). After spending so much time in the Mac I have 2 for each: the system one (is empty, but I cannot delete it), and the imported one (full of multiple years of addresses). HOW TO MERGE? HOW TO DELETE THE SYSTEM ONE OR OVERWRITE WITH THE IMPORTED ONE? "2nd problem: groups are not exported" . so after all of this time, my email groups were not exported from PC (hence not imported on the mac), neitehr the list nor the singel emails within it. I am not sure of what actually got exported/imported. IS THERE A WAY TO EXPORT THE ADDRESS BOOKS INCLUDING LISTS OF GROUPS?
Thank you very much!
All Replies (3)
The 2 defaults, Personal Address Book and Collected Addresses cannot be renamed or deleted. But contacts from imported address books, or any address book, can be moved by drag and drop in Address Book: select the contacts in the source book and move them to the target book by drag and drop onto the target book icon (hold Ctrl while dragging to copy rather than move).
If the address books are exported as LDIF files, the mailing lists should be preserved when imported on another computer (they were last time I tried it).
thank you so musch @SFHOWES Sorry, I presume you suggest the drag and drop from/to address books opened directly in thunderbird? assuming so... I tried to move all addresses from a Personal-Address-Book2 (PAB2) to PAB1 (the default that I cannot eliminate), so to have all addressese in a single file, and DID NOT SUCCEED. I could select (ctrl-a) all addresses in PAB2 but the right mouse did not give the option to copy them; so I tried to drag the selection on PAB1, but when the mouse hovered over any address book, it gave the NO signal (NO-ENTRY-street-signal icon); I copied the selectioon (CTL C) and pasted on word, and could verify what the right mouse indicated: nothing was copied. I could also not drag a list from PAB1 to PAB2 or viceversa.
So maybe you meant to do it from some other file, with some specific editor? I searched the pc for .MAB file but found none
The overall clever scheme was : 1) copy/move all addresses from various (PAB and CAB) in the defaults: PAB1 and Collected_A_B1 (CAB1); 2) once this merging is done eliminate all duplicate addressess in PAB1 ans CAB1 (optional but appreciated); 3) eliminate all PAB2 -PABn and alle CAB2-CABn (the address books that were imported during previous PC changes). 4) Once I ave just two clean files, then I import them on the new MAC; 5) of course I have to repeat the procedure above, i.e, copy all the addresses in the PAB1 and CAB1 there (since I cannot eliminate them), and eliminate the files I just imported. This way I mantain just two files. Ridiculous! So maybe a better plan can be suggested?
Step 1 failed; step 2 (if I got to it)... I have no idea on how to eliminate duplicate entries; step 3, 4... this will be easy; 5) repeat it again?!? ALL IN ALL IS TOO LENGTHY, CUMBERSOME AND TIME CONSUMING, there must be a more intelligent way to stop the multiplication of PAB and CAB at each computer change, to maintain lists, etc
also...when I did LDIF files import I did not get the lists
Thanks again!
If you don't find a .mab file, look in the profiles for .mab.bak files.
I would recommend you export all address books to LDIF, then open the profile folder, close TB, and rename abook.sqlite and history.sqlite with .bak extensions. When TB is restarted, you will have empty PAB and CAB. Then, when you import the LDIF files or the .mab files after removing the .bak, all contacts should be visible in Address Book, and then you can move them from the imported books to the PAB and CAB, by drag and drop.