Can't import csv file to Address Book - "file you selected not valid" error

I'm trying to import a CSV file of names and addresses to Address Book but it keeps telling me "The file you selected does not appear to be a valid comma separated values (csv) file nor a valid tab delimited file."
Even using this simple test data saved in a txt file:
John,Doe,London
Jane,Doe,Dallas
Anyone know a reason why the file could be not valid?
Thanks, Mark

Your file needs to have the .csv extension on the end, so that Address Book knows how to interpret it.

Similar Messages

Can't import csv document into address book

Hi folks, I can't import a csv document into address book. Just get a spinning wheel. I am an OSX 10.5.9 (Leopard) I exported a csv file from Excel then tried to import but nothing happens except a spinning wheel some times.
Any thoughts?
Thanks in advance.
Ed Carreon
http://www.carreonphotography.com

You need to have setup your document with the appropriate fields for each piece of data, otherwise Address Book can't import it. If you take your current Address Book and export all the contacts as a single vCard file, then use this online tool (http://labs.brotherli.ch/vcfconvert/) to convert them to a CSV file, you can open the result in Excel or Pages to see how your document should be setup when you export it to CSV for importing into Address Book.

Problem importing CSV or tab-delimited file into Address Book

I am trying to import a text file (tab delimited) or csv file into address book. The files are created in Excel and consist 8 columns with address info (first name, last name, street, city etc). For the sake of simplicity, the file only contains 2 records - so all in all 3 rows with data where the first row contains the headers as described above.
I am perfectly able to import the fields first name, last name using Address Book's text import feature. However, as soon as I try to map Address Book's address field (Home, work or other) to my text file's headers, the import wizard stops responding. I can still scroll through the records with the left and right error, but the record count is screwed up ("-3 of 2") and clicking the OK button doesn't result in anything.
So I am able to import the names but not the addresses - so I better rename the Address Book to Name Book
Any clue of what's going wrong?

I've been wrestling with the exact same problem. I have come to a solution, though serendipitously. The address variables belong to a group say address Office.
1 - I creted a column with address Office which clued in AddressBook the the existence of the data for +address Other+ (and it assigned the columns ot the proper data)
2 - address book does have an entry of address with all group elements of same colour, normally. I reassign address other to address office
3 - I also assign address office (in right-hand column) to address office.
At this point I have two groups of address office
4 - I indicate to the second group 'do not import'
5 - Then hit OK
It seems that this loop is necessary to instantiate the proper group name to the group of variables. Why? who knows. Bad UI? Clearly. Apple engineers should've thought about it before? no kidding...

How do I get an imported an LDIF address book file to display properly?

x87, Win 7 64 bit pro. I backed up my address book by exporting an LDIF file to an external drive. My PC died and I bought a new one. I loaded Thunderbird 24.6.0 and imported the LDIF file. The addresses came in but they are not displayed in the address book properly. An address book folder named "TB Address Book 8-25-14" was created. When I select that folder the display to the right side of the window only shows a torso outline at the far left. The Name, Email, Chat Name, Organization, & work Phone fields are blank. If I select one of the entries and look at the properties, all of the data is there. If I move a contact to the Personal Address Book it still does not display correctly. However, there are two contact lists under the TB Address Boook 8-25-14 and if I select those sub-folders the data for each contact is displayed to the right. How do I get it to display properly so I can see what I'm doing? A friend of mine had a very similar problem importing into Thunderbird using Windows 8.

The problem fixed itself when I uninstalled ZumoDrive free cloud storage and also Growl the notifier application. Had to employ AppZapper to uninstall all related files.... but all worked a treat. All is back to normal.

Importing .wab file into address book or anywhere else on my mac

Hello all,
I'm trying to import a Windows .wab file into Address Book (or anywhere else on my Mac for that matter) but can't find a way to make the two like eachother.
I got the file from someone else and do not have a Windows computer to use in the process.
Any suggestion would be most welcome!

Unfortunately those files are in a format unknown to any Mac application. What you may try is this utility but I do not know that it will convert only the .wab file, but it's supposed to be able to convert Outlook data to an OS X readable format.
In the future be aware that Outlook data files are incompatible with OS X. Have your Windows friends export their data files in a readable format such as Comma or Tab delimited text files.

Importing text file to address book?

I created a text tab-delimited file for import. From within Address Book, ran "Import". Matched up field names. All looked good. When I clicked on "OK" basically very little happened. After a few seconds the blue OK button became clear but nothing else. I advanced another record, clicked OK on it and same few seconds then nothing. I expected all the records to be imported.
In any case, tried this individually with a few records, then checked the Address Book and none of the info was in there.
Is this some kind of bug? I don't see that I did anything that was wrong with the import.
Advice appreciated.
Richard

Not sure if this helps, but ...
I made a quick text file to see if I could duplicate your problem. I put in three lines, the first with field names (First, Last, Work) and the other two with corresponding data. The values within each line were tab separated. When I ran AB's import I had to match up the third field to correspond with email (work). I flicked through the displayed records (all two of them!!) and they displayed as contact cards. I then clicked OK, and unlike your description, the import dialogue immediately vanished. The records were correctly imported.
When you look at the records in the import dialog do they all display correctly?
Could it be a 10.4.3 issue?
After attempting to do the import, has your contact count gone up?
What happens if you select the "last import" group?

Easiest way to import a bunch of addresses from text file to address book?

What is the easiest way to import text files to address book?
I have a Microsoft Word file with all of my addresses set-up like this:
Johnny Appleseed
Apple Computer
1234 main St.
Anytown, CT 06905
203-321-4709
[email protected]
Is there some easy way to get them in there without having to copy & paste into each individual field.
Thanks!

See this thread.
AK

Lync client can't fetch the address book files

Hi,
We have 3 FE Lync 2010 servers. All the clients are giving an error "cannot synchronize with the corporate address book".
I can access Internal Web services URL and download the AB file. I have also made an entry for Lync Internal web services in the host file and signed into the Lync. Then the client was able
to download the Address book files successfully. Any ideas to resolve this.?
Thank you !

Force a contact list update to make sure that your information is synchronized. To this, follow these steps:
Locate one of the following folders, depending on your operating system:
For Lync 2013:
Windows 7 and Windows 8: %localappdata%\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Lync\sip_<sign-in name>
For Lync 2010:
Windows 8, Windows 7, or Windows Vista: %localappdata%\Microsoft\Communicator\sip_<sign-in name>
Windows XP: %userprofile%\Local Settings\Application Data \Microsoft\Communicator\sip_<sign-in name>
Delete the following files:
Galcontacts.db
galcontacts.db.idx
CoreContact.cache
ABS_<sign-in name>.cache
Mfugroup.cache
PersonalLISDB.cache
PresencePhoto.cache
Restart Lync, and then wait for 30 minutes for resynchronization to finish
Please remember, if you see a post that helped you please click "Vote As Helpful" and if it answered your question, please click "Mark As Answer"
Mai Ali | My blog: Technical | Twitter:
Mai Ali

Import .msg files into address book

Hi, apple users out there.
When I bought my new MacBook, people at the apple store transferred all my data from my old PC to the laptop. For some reason, the addresses in Outlook were the only exceptions. Now I am trying to do it myself, but having trouble with it.
My husband managed to extract them from Outlook in a .msg format. Mac is not happy and won't open it in the address book nor any other application.
Any ideas how to get these addresses into the Address Book without having to type all 200 of them?
Thanx!

My husband managed to extract them from Outlook in a .msg format
Contacts/Addresses are not message (.msg) files.
Search Google for: outlook contacts to apple address book and you'll find many ways to do it.

How do I import an Outlook Express address book, saved to a memory stick from another PC?

I'm migrating everything from an old Windows XP machine on to a Windows 7 PC, and can't use my original email client, Outlook Express. But I need to import the OE address book from the XP PC to Thunderbird on the Win 7 PC. Any ideas?

Click the Start button, type contacts, then open the Contacts Program, then click the Import button, then select Windows Address Book file (.wab), and select your OE address book. Next, click the Export button and select Comma separated (csv) format. Once you have the csv file, it's worth opening it in a spreadsheet program or csv editor and arranging the columns to match the [http://kb.mozillazine.org/Import_address_list_from_text_file TB address book layout]. Finally, in TB select Tools/Import...Address books...Text file...select the csv file, and verify the input fields match the TB fields.

How can I get smart group in address book to email?

digimurr
Feb 15, 2012 9:58 AM
Hi
I'm trying to send an email out to a smart group I created which has about 150 members. I right click send email while in the address book. The group ends up in the 'To:' field. I do a 'cmd A' to select all and move them to the 'bcc' field. I put my email address in the 'To' field. I create the subject line and body text which containes a url and an image with a url link.
When I press send it immediately moves to my outbox and sits there with no activity showing in the MAIL ACTIVITY preview pane.... I've left it for quite a while thinking it might take a while but nothing changes.
When I send it to my self only it works. I've tried taking a smaller group last names A-C 30 recipients and it does the same thing.
Would appreciate some help if you have had the same problem or maybe know what I've done wrong. Oh, I've also tried it sending it out on me.com and shaw.ca email accounts...
Thanks
Murray Brown
Using Lion 10.7.3
Imac 27
I7
8 gig ram
1 TB drive
iMac (27-inch Mid 2011), Mac OS X (10.7.3)

If you want to "send an email" to the group, you need to get the group into your email client's Contacts first...
Select your Group > Select All
From Address Book.App "Help" (±10 years old)
*See emphasis below* -
Importing and exporting vCards
A vCard, or "virtual address card," is a standard method of exchanging data between applications. Address Book can create and read vCards, so if you have another application that also works with the vCard format, you can import or export addresses as vCards.
Also, you can send your own card to other people in vCard format. They can use the vCard to add your information to their address books.
You can also use vCards to add addresses to the Contacts list on your iPod.
To create a vCard, drag an address card out of the Address Book window.
To add someone else's vCard to your address book, drag it into the Address Book window.
To create a single vCard with multiple entries, drag more than one card out of the Address Book window.
To create multiple vCards at the same time, hold the Option key when dragging multiple cards out of the Address Book window.
You can also work with vCards using commands in the File menu.
Address Book also supports Lightweight Directory Interchange Format (LDIF). LDIF is an ASCII file format used to exchange information and enable synchronization of that information between Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) servers. You can't export information from Address Book in LDIF format; you can only import it. Address Book can import and export vCards.
To determine the format of a document, select the document and choose File > Get Info. The format, or kind of document, is listed at the top.
If another application won't accept vCards in the default 3.0 format, try changing the format to 2.1 in the vCard pane of Address Book Preferences, and send the vCard again.
ÇÇÇ

Is there a way to import my yahoo mail address book?

Is there a way to import my yahoo mail address book?

AddressBook shouldn't have any problem with the vCard format - which Yahoo can export to... In fact, I've done this before.
On the Yahoo AddressBook page, click the link for 'Import/Export'
On the next page, in the export section, choose 'vCard single file'
Then in AddressBook, you can simply drag the vCard to the window or go to File>Import>vCards...

WISH TO TRANSFER FILES AND ADDRESS BOOK FROM WINDOWS 98PC TO NEW IMAC.

HOW TO TRANSFER FILES AND ADDRESS BOOK FROM WINDOWS PC 98 TO IMAC .

For addresses, general answer is to use Export function in your PC program and export in .csv (comma separated value) format. Then open Address Book app on new iMac and choose Import from File menu and locate the file you exported (on USB stick, or by email, for example). Should work! You've heard that before, right?
This page includes how to transfer files, among other questions that might arise. http://www.apple.com/why-mac/faq/

Unable to delete Address Book File

I am unable to delete nor copy over an Address Book file that I have on an external HD connected via Airport Extreme. When I connect the HD directly to my Macbook Pro, I am able to delete the file - but not via Airport Extreme. When I attempt to delete the file, I get a message from Trash as follows: The operation cannot be completed because the item "Metadata" is in use. Same message when I attempt to replace the file with a new file. In other words, I am unable to use AE to transfer my Address Book file to my external HD, unless I change the name of the file. What is going on here?

Hello Bob.
You may be having a problem with some Firefox add-on that is hindering your Firefox's normal behavior. Have you tried disabling all add-ons (just to check), to see if Firefox goes back to normal?
Whenever you have a problem with Firefox, whatever it is, you should make sure it's not coming from one of your installed add-ons, be it an extension, a theme or a plugin. To do that easily and cleanly, run Firefox in [http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Safe+Mode safe mode] and select ''Disable all add-ons''. If the problem disappears, you know it's from an add-on. Disable them all in normal mode, and enable them one at a time until you find the source of the problem. See [http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Troubleshooting+extensions+and+themes this article] for information about troubleshooting extensions and theme. You can troubleshoot plugins the same way.
If you want support for one of your add-ons, you'll need to contact its author.

How can I recover my accidentaly deleted address book?

I was working in my address book this morning and selected a contact that I wanted to delete. When I pressed the delete button, all of a sudden my entire address book dissapeared. I'm fairly sure I only selected the specific contact, but apparently somehow my entire address book got deleted with it.
I can still see the two default address books of thunderbird on the left side, but they always have been and still are empty. The third address book (the one that I've been using the past years), is completely gone.
I have tried to recover the address book in multiple ways:
- looked in the recycle bin of my computer and of thunderbird, but there was nothing to be found in both of them
- I used the 'undo' button about 4 to 5 times, but nothing happened unfortunately. Ctrl+z didn't give any response as well
- I waited with closing thunderbird, untiI I looked up my Thunderbird profile in user/appdata/roaming/thunderbird/profiles/****.defaul. I copied the abook.mab file to another directory, closed thunderbird and restarted it. Unfortunately this didn't help either.
- I've also tried to recover any deleted files on my entire computer using Recuva software. I haven't been able to find anything related to the address book thought.
Is there any way to retrieve/recover my thunderbird address book?
I haven't been able to find a good solution online as of yet. But I figure it can't just be completely gone after I've clicked teh delete button by accident, right?
I'm using thunderbird 24.4.0 on Windows 8.1. Currently I am not using a tool to synchronise the address book to my google account, because I'm working with the maillinglist and I haven't found a way to synchronise them fully. So there's no recent backup of the address book unfortunately.
I really hope you can help me with this. Thanks in advance!

Thanks a lot for your fast reply!
I've tried both options you gave, but unfortunately didn't manage to restore/retrieve any data from the file. The MoreFunctionsForAddressBook add on is very user friendly however and easy to work with.
I also found a few threads that explain that it is possibe to open the original abook.mab file in a text editor and delete some entries in it, to 'turn back' the command that said to delete the addressbook in the first place.
This is the one I've found and tried to follow: http://www.pirules.org/blog/?page_id=312 and
I've played around with it a bit, and managed to retrieve the specific address I was meaning to delete at the time the whole addressbook got accidentaly deleted. I didn't manage to retrieve the full addressbook though, mostly because I have a hard time understanding the code language that is used in the file....
Could this be an option for me? And if so, how do I determine which entry to delete from the file and which one to leave alone?

Can't import csv file to Address Book - "file you selected not valid" error

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for