Can I change Address Book's default setup?

I want to import my entire address book database from Palm Desktop to Apple Address Book (only about 5,000 entries in total).
I have several fields in the Palm Desktop database that don't match the Address Book default setup. In Address Book, I went to Card> Add Field> Edit Template but the changes I made there to the Template didn't actually seem to change anything in the actual Address Book display of addresses, even though I made several changes in the Edit Template function - it was as though the changes I made in the template editing function had no effect at all. The changes I made are still there when I revisit the Edit Template function but the additions and alterations don't show in the final address display.
1. Where did my changes to that Template go in respect to the actual display of the addresses?
2. Is there some way to apply my edited template to all the entries in Address Book in one fell swoop?
3. If not, then why have the Edit Template function at all?
I've done some trial runs using a tab-delimited file exported from Palm Desktop, which Address Book seems to import and work with happily... except for this inability to choose my edited template for the new entries - Address Book forces the new database into Address Book's own Template with none of my chosen changes. It's as though the template edit function is just for show but with no real functionality.
I hope this is all making sense...
This is an great time for me to make sweeping changes if necessary (if it is possible or if it helps) since I'm beginning a totally new database in Address Book from scratch.
Many thanks for any help.

Paul,
I'm afraid you will loose some of your data that you can insert in your Palm when you transfer to AddressBook, but you can try to get in as much as possible. Especially the custom fields are much more flexible in Palm.
But in the end, the full integration of AB in your Mail and Calender, backup to .Mac etc. may offset these drawbacks.
When you set up a template, did you actually complete one address record?
If not, you should.
When you want to import to AB from a tab-delimited file, try this program
Addressbook Importer, an excellent piece of freeware that will do this for you.
In the top row before you import, make sure you have an address record that has all your customized fields completed in a way you know which field that is (you can do this in Palm, using the name A. AAA, address etc.)
Now when you use the importer, you can make sure wich field goes where.
Backup your Palm data well before you start experimenting. I wouldn't want to be the cause of you dropping 5000 records. Also, disable all syncing when you start. Once it works, make a backup from within the AB application. Then when all looks OK, you can start syncing using iSync instead of Hotsync.

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Can i change address book font? and size?

can I change my address book font and font size? operating system is OS 10.9

OK, I just answered my own question. But since there have been so many questions on this forum over the years - about changing fonts/sizes/colors - I thought I would share what I learned with others. Remember that I'm using OS 10.9 and Contacts 8.0. and this may not apply to older or future versions:
Whe you are in "Contacts," click on "File" and drop down to "print." Click on "Print."
A printer page will come up. On this page, look at the lower righthand quadrant. You are given a choice to select either "layout" or "label." Click on "label." Now you will see, the bottom of that block, the word "Font." Immediately following that word, you will read the name of the font that "Contacts" is pre-set for, which, in my case says "System Font Regualr-12.0." To change this font, you now click on the button to the right that says "Set." When you click on "set" a drop down menu will appear. Voila! From here you can choose your preferred typeface, color, and font size.
Have fun. Glad I could help myself. Hope this helps you!

Can you mode Address Book database to a shared location?

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The idea being that my Mac & my laptop would both use one shared db so they are always in sync. A change made on one would be the same on the other.
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you can try it but I would advise against it. the results might be unpredictable.
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Can I link address book and numbers?

I want to add addresses in Numbers, and thought to myself that it would be very handy if I could just link them to my address book. Even more perfect; if/when an address changes, the entry in Numbers should change as well (automatically if possible, but manually is ok as well. Is this possible?
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Thanks in advance,
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jhol wrote:
Well, that's one way of course, and it may be that I have to do it that way, but it woudl save time and effort if I only had to change address book, without the extra steps.
Maybe I just have to bite the bullet, buy database software and transfer everything into that.
The plan was to have addresses, a summary of contracts, invoice details and calculations etc. all in a pages spreadsheet, but perhaps that's asking too much anyway.
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Yvan KOENIG (VALLAURIS, France) jeudi 20 octobre 2011 16:43:41
iMac 21”5, i7, 2.8 GHz, 4 Gbytes, 1 Tbytes, mac OS X 10.6.8 and 10.7.0
My iDisk is : <http://public.me.com/koenigyvan>
Please : Search for questions similar to your own before submitting them to the community

How can I import address book from thunderbird on another computer

I just purchased a new laptop and have dowloaded Thunderbird for my e-mail as that was what I was using on desktop. I have 2 e-mail accounts, my personal e-mail addresses came thru with no difficulty however my other account the contacts in address book didn't come thru. So question is how can I get address book imported for this account too. My desktop is Windows XP and my laptop is Windows 8
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The neat thing to do would be to copy the profile from the XP machine to the W8 machine. This would have transferred your messages, your account settings and your Address Book and much else.
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Mail change address book!

hello, excuse me for my BAD english...
I have big problem with my address book:
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i have, also mobile me and I sync with mobile me address book, calendar and more...!
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I have do many tests and I have see THAT IT'S MAIL program that CHANGE some contact name when I send an e-mail at this contact!!
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I hope apple can resolve this BUG: WHY MAIL program CAN modify MY ADDRESS BOOK??! MY ADDRESS BOOK is MINE!
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how do you manage a business contact in order to overide the problems before said related to the union mail/address book?
There is no problem with Mail and Address book regarding this except the fact that the OP is trying to conflate a perfectly normal behavior into something abnormal. This is not a bug, no matter what anyone else may think. It may be inconvenient to the thinking of some people, but it's not a bug.
Address Book is meant for keeping contact information of individuals, with their given first and last names. It is not for keeping information in any fashion you like. Failing to adhere to the design of the program will yield unexpected or unwanted results. It's not a free-form database, nor was it ever intended to be, so people need to stop trying to use it as such.
I seem to manage my contacts quite well without problems by simply entering their given names, along with their company name (where applicable) in the Company field, and their email address(es). I've never had a problem yet.
There is a way to completely disable this behavior, but it would also have the effect of forcing you to completely type the full email address(es) of your recipients each time you send an email.

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Yvan KOENIG (VALLAURIS, France) mercredi 22 février 2012
iMac 21”5, i7, 2.8 GHz, 12 Gbytes, 1 Tbytes, mac OS X 10.6.8 and 10.7.3
My Box account is : http://www.box.com/s/00qnssoyeq2xvc22ra4k

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ele,
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The Apple Support Communities are an international user to user technical support forum. As a man from Mexico my first language is Spanish. I do not speak English, however I do write in English with the aid of the Mac OS X spelling and grammar checks. I also live in a culture perhaps very very different from your own. When offering advice in the ASC, my comments are not meant to be anything more than helpful and certainly not to be taken as insults.
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