Adding pictures to vCards in Contacts fails

Question

Hi, I need your help very much!
The problem is simple contrary to its solution: I tried to add picture/photo to contacts in Contacts app (known also as Address Book) and after performing all needed actions it keeps attached for several seconds just to disappear. In fact ANY picture from image selector can't take hold. What's wrong, is it possible to fix or is it a bug?
Please, any help would be much appreciated!
--scrutinizer

Answer 1

Hi,
(I'm here)
This will  tell you how to display the Buddy Lists (so you can see what is coming from the servers)
It will describe how then look and compare this to how iChat did things.
It has a look at how the settings in Yahoo App can be used to change some of what you see in Messages (if you have a Yahoo account)
It links to some older items on my web site about Adding Buddies and also how they could be displayed and linked to the Address Book.
This does make it long  and I have also included pics to help.
Lastly I look at how iChat used to create an Address Card and also "save" the pics which might be used in the Address Book (and were in Messages 7)
Basically there can be more things influencing things than just other Apple Apps (although I too will have to review the iPhone/Faces info.
In Messages can you do this so that it displays Buddy Lists ?
In Messages Preferences > General section untick the item that gathers all the accounts (non iMessages ones) into one List (s that they display separately).
In this pic it is the item above the yellow tool tip line in the "Buddy List:" section.
This will cause the Window Menu to show the accounts separately
Now chose to display the Buddy List in question.
Mouse over a Buddy to see it is the one you want (particularly if several accounts appear linked to their Contact Card)
The Screen Name of this AIM account is well known.
Now the Pic shown here normally comes from the Server  end rather than the Contacts App.
(Right Click the Buddy and choose the "Show Contact Card")
In iChat this card looked different and was more linked to the iChat app than the Address book.
You had an option to chose to the Pic and Override what was coming from the the server.
This is a mocked up adding a Buddy to the Address Book via iChat 3
The card would look similar to this but with check box to "Always Use this Pic" which would normally be the one from the Address Book (Now Contacts App)
See this section of iChat 4 pics  It is/was the one place you could add a Nickname.
So to explain the Buddy list you see.
My Messages app is broadcasting the Buddy Pic (my sig pic) I have chosen.
This is sent to this Buddy List for the hidden one starting with "f" that has no Address Card, and the Ralph Johns-iMac card (shown in the second pic) and the Me at Home card  (so three other AIM accounts showing in this Buddy List).
As you can see from my Contact Card pic the Contacts app pic for my Main AIM Screen Name (known in Contacts as Ralph Johns-iMac) is overridden by the pic coming from the AIM servers.
The same is true of Jabber Buddy lists
Messages also does some other overriding of it's own.
If your account is not liked to an Address Card then the Buddy List will be overridden by the View an Name or View as Handle (Screen Name or ID)
My Yahoo accounts does not appear on the Address Card for Ralph Johns-iMac but that Name does appear as the Info in the Buddy list.
The Ralph Johns Yahoo is set in the actual Yahoo app
It has it's own card that can be linked to the Mac one where you can effectively change the Display Name.
I can link it to an Address Card  AND chose to us that pic.
It seems the ability to allow Messages to use the Pic you choose for the Buddy, be it in the Address Card or not can no longer be done.
The way iChat Added a Buddy was to use the Buddy Pic if nothing else was available.
This would tend to mean that an Original pic may still be in here
But there may also be the one shown in the Buddy List from the Server involved.
Sorry it was so long and that the answer appears to be that it can not longer be done.
Even if you find the Pic in ~/Library/Caches/com.apple.messages/Pictures and use in the Address Card I don't see how to now make Messages use this.
Opps Sorry Hosts.
I forgot
I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.
9:00 pm      Sunday; August 3, 2014
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 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 Couple of iPhones and an iPad