Identifying Address Book Duplicates

Does anyone know of a way to see which contacts are duplicated in the Address Book? The built-in function shows the number of duplicate contacts with an option only to merge the cards; however, I would like to, actually, see which contacts are duplicates before I would do this.
Is there software or, perhaps, an Apple script available that one knows of?
Thanks.

I also have the same question. I sync my Address Book with Google Contacts (I use Google Apps and also sync iCal with my Google Calendar - this works OK). I have merged and/or corrected all duplicate in Google Contacts using the Find and Merge Duplicates tool (More>Find & Merge Duplcates. I have no duplicates in Google Contacts, but I find I have several duplicates in Address Book when I use the Look for Duplicates tool under the Card menu. However, I am not told which cards are duplicates. Before I merge these I need to know what these duplicates are. For example, I have 2 Joe Smiths who are different people and do not want to merge them.

Similar Messages

ICloud/Solution for cleaning up address book duplicates

I so identify with anyone who has this problem of having address book duplicates. Took me at least five tries to get it right!!!!
The directions that Apple gives only really work if you only have one device. There are very few articles that deal with the problem of coordinating multiple devices so it was a trial and error effort to make things work.
I have 6 desktop and mobile devices attached to my account and wanted them all to sync using ICLOUD. I'd get one or two set up and then the next one would add in the duplicates. Was making me crazy. Here is what I finally did to solve the problem:
1. Using your desktop app, export a clean copy of your address book to your desktop. If your file is contaminated with duplicates already, go back and find an older copy.
2. Using your desktop app, delete all of the entries. Then go to System preferences and turn on the Cloud for Address Book. It should be empty.
3. Turn the cloud off for each and every device you own. It will ask if you want to save the contacts or delete them. Choose delete.
4. Every device will now be empty of data.
5. I was unsuccessful at bringing my data back in using the Cloud web site. So I went back to my desktop app and brought it in that way. Then, I turned the Cloud back on. If you've done it right, all you should see is the Cloud symbol above where it says ALL CONTACTS. Immediately, all of my devices filled up with the same information. I double checked by adding a new data entry. And all of the devices updated with it.
The next day, I noticed that my desktop app was not doing the cloud updates, although all of my other devices were. So I went to the desktop app preferences, deleted the entries and then turned the cloud back on. Immediately the desktop app updated with cloud contacts. Now, it syncs just fine.
BTW, everything is done by an "air sync" and if you actually connect your device to ITUNES, the address book will be greyed out. Don't change the setting. You don't ever want to sync the data with ITUNES again -- or you'll get your duplicates back!
The iCloud is genius. Sure makes life simpler and easier. So if you have problems in the beginning, don't give up. The end result is so worth it!!!
Good luck!

Hi guys,
This hasn't helped with me as the MobileMe account won't allow me to disable it or even delete it from the desktop app.
Here's my issue (https://discussions.apple.com/message/18525465#18525465):
I am having real problems with Address Book after transfering from MobileMe to iCloud.
I have two accounts running at the moment:
MobileMe - xxxxxx
iCloud - xxxxx (using my Apple ID as they suggest)
This means that I have two accounts in my Address book with duplicate details.
I have turned off the MobileMe account on my iMac - and they still show in Address Book.
I have gone in to Address Book preferences and tried to disable the MobileMe Account by unchecking the 'Enable this account' button ... but it simply checks itself again. So I still have duplicates.
I have removed the MobileMe account altogether from the Address Book Accounts pane, but when I restart the app they just come back again!
I have gone on to the MobileMe Address Book online and deleted all of the contacts - but they have not been deleted off of my Address Book.
Can someone please tell me how I can remove this account from my Address Book as it's driving me mad, I dont want it anymore and it also means that I now have a duplicate Birthdays account in my iCal as well!!!
Any idea of any fixes for this?
<Edited By Host>

Address Book duplicates some names.

The address book duplicates parts of the names of those I sent to.
Example:
Babineau Babineau Cheryl
Currier Nita D. Currier D.
Miller Harvey Harvey
But not every person to whom I send has their name duplicated as above.
I have used "Edit" on these and cleaned them up many time and finalize with Save. Duplicates always reappear. I want this to stop.
Using: Address Bk 4.0.3 and 10.4.6
iMac, G4 Mac OS X (10.4.6)

With AB open and active, click TM in the dock to enter it. Go back in the timeline until the addresses you are looking for appear in AB. Select all addresses you need and click restore. You will be asked then to import the addresses into AB.
Once done, I would suggest you uncheck contacts from the iCloud preferences and delete the contacts from the computer, then recheck contacts in iCloud. This will rebuild the iCloud database files on the computer and should resolve any issues if any exist.

Lion - Address Book Duplicates

Almost every one of my address book entries is duplicated. Some are identical and most of the others simply have the phone numbers in a different order. I went through a Card/Look for Duplicates. It said that it found about 2,000 duplicate entries. I told it to merge them, and it crunched for a while, but nothing seemed to change. Running it again doesn't find any duplicates, however.
I still have about 2,000 duplicate entries. If I try to manually merge two identical entries, by highlighting them both and clicking Card/Merge Selected Cards, I get the message 'The cards could not be merged because they came from different accounts'. I would really like to know *** that means.
Any help appreciated.

--russell wrote:
I posted this in another thread on Address Book duplicates and iCloud. Did this start after the iCloud hoopla? After I tried iCloud, I ended up with duplicate contacts on my computer. The "Look for Duplicates" command in Address Book gave me soemthing to the effect, "No duplicates found," which raised my blood pressure as I could see them right there.
Going to System Preferences did the trick for me. Click on iCloud under Internet & Wireless. Untick the checkbox for Contacts. You'll then be given a choice of keeping your iCloud contacts on your computer, with the options of Delete from Mac or Keep Contacts. No, you don't want to delete the contacts from your box, so choose Keep Contacts. Let it do its thing, then re-tick the Contacts checkbox.
Like I said, at least for me this solved the problem with no more duplicate entries on my box or my iPhone.
You realize that your contacts will now no longer sync between your Mac and your iPhone right?

Contact / address book duplicates

WHile led I see lots of suggestions how to fix Contact / address book duplicates - I don't know what causes them.
I only have 1 mail account - exchange. What am I doing wrong to see duplicates constantly being created?
thanks. Be gentle!

Hi, have a similar but bigger problem. card --> Look for duplicates does not solve it.
from original 2000 adresses I now have 550,000 many of them massive duplicates. Causes MASSIVE time waste and delays.
Event correlates with me installing Outlook for Mac2011 sync programme.
now want to just delete address book and sync again and stay with Mac Address/Cal and disconnect from Microsoft.
question: can I simply delete address book in Finder? what happens when I go back into it? does it get newly created?
any other suggestion how to tackle?
thanks for desperate help

Address book duplicates icloud

I just updated to the new 10.7.2 with iCLoud - now I get many duplicates in my address book and also in iCal (birthdays and events) How do I reset it so it doesn't keep updating duplicate contacts - I have done the Check For Duplicates and gone through and erased the duplicates but then it just updates and puts the deleted contacts back...

I have an iPhone where I create new contact details and a MB Air running OX X 10.7.3
In Address Book I see duplicate entries across the whole book. The other day I was traveling without my MB and needed to urgently reach someone who's number I knew was in my iPhone contact list for sure but searched and search and couldn't find it.
Turns out that when I had been going through the Adress Book on the MB Air trying to eliminate some of the duplicates I had chosen --without even knowing it or realzing it-- the card that I guess sync with my iPhone. It was gone. Sure enough, when I got back and looked it up on the MB Air it was still there not syncing to my iPhone. So it seems that since I actually paid to subscribe to Mobile Me then iCloud one of the benefits was that all the time I spent manually removing duplicates meant that I wouldn't have the contact info when I most needed it. It's great when you can get someone to actually pay for that kind of service.
So tyring to be diligient I used Address Book / Card / Look for Duplicates ... all the Duplicates still there.
Then I followed the Help suggesting and pressed Control / select to highlight two duplicate cards and even though the First / Last / Company / phone numbers / etc. are all the same I get the message: "The cards could not be merged because they came from different accounts."
I have checked with guys from the office who have the exact same problem with no idea how to solve the problem. Is it that in order to use Address Book on both an iPhone and an OS X machine you've just got to be smarter, more sophisticated, more IT oriented? Or you have to go to 3rd party software?
Seems like a pretty easy thing not to be struggling with. Ok, I admit I'm naive but it seems pretty basic to me. If I have an Address Book it should synchronize between OX X and IOS.

Address Book Duplicates/ A Mess

Every contact in my address book that is in a smart group now has double entries for each contact. And the regular groups are doubled and a mess. Sync may have done this. I have a backup of my system, where would I find and what I should copy over?
I tried the look for duplicates function, but it did not fix it.
Paul

Do you mean each Contact has double-entries in the All group? Or do you mean the contacts appear in multiple Smart Groups as well as the All group?
You can restore a previously backed-up Address Book by using the built-in "*Revert to Address Book backup...*" function on the file menu.
Before you start doing anything though I would suggest backup your current messed-up Contacts using the same backup function.
You can also try exporting the All group as a vCard, deleting all your Contacts and smart groups, re-import the vCard and start over. It should notify you on import of duplicates.

Address Book duplicates

Each time I restart Address Book seems to be duplicating <Apple> address. At one time there were over 7,000 exact duplicates of Apple Computer Inc. What am I doing wrong?

bneely, it worked, thank you.
In /users/preferences there were two com.apple.addressbook.plist, one locked and one unlocked. Trashed them both, restarted, opened address book, and in the menu under <card> looked for duplicates, merged them and have had no problems since then. Thank you.

CLEANING UP Address Book Duplicates and Errors

*I'm looking for a way to clean up duplicates in Address Book.* The built-in solution doesn't seem to work
Are there any plugins or 3rd party software for Address Book that does better than what its doing now....nothing!
Any other suggestions? It is getting out of hand....Thanks in Advance!

The built-in solution doesn't seem to work.
Not very helpful, that. Provide details and maybe someone will pop in with a solution.

How to resolve address book duplicates

between my desk top and my ipod touch and icloud i have many multiples in my address book. how caqn i undo this clutter?

Contacts – Resolve Duplicates
Contacts – Resolve Duplicates

Address Book Duplicate Entries

When I opened my idisk address book, all my entries are duplicated - 200 each in their twice. Is there an easy way to remove these duplicate entries. When I look at my address book on my laptop, their are no duplicates.

Welcome to Apple Discussions.
This is actually a . Mac Sync issue, for which there is a forum located here.
To correct the problem, you should temporarily disable .Mac synchronization by changing your interval to Manually, then open the System Preferences application, press the .Mac pane, then the Advanced tab. Wait for the list of devices to refresh, then press the Reset Sync Data… button in the lower left corner.
From the Replace: menu, choose Contacts. Press the right-facing arrow so that the direction of data flow indicates your computer as the source, and .Mac as the destination. The orange animated arrow will be shown moving from left to right, and the phrase above will change to read "On .Mac with Sync info from this computer."
Press the Replace button to entirely replace the existing 200 records, 100 of which are duplicates, with a set of just the 100 basic records stored in the Address Book on your computer.

Delete Address Book Duplicates with less info?

I was wondering how you would go about deleting duplicate contacts in Address Book 4.0.3? I want to keep the contacts I have which contain at least the "Company" field filled in (contacts with more info) but then delete the ones with less. If a bunch of vCards have the same name but different email addresses will will they merge into only one vCard (by default I think another program put multiple emails with the same name and when I merged vCards there was only one email address for that name)? Should I merge the ones I don't want?
What do you guys think is the best solution? Should I merge the cards and make sure the names of the contacts are all different (except the ones I'm merging)? Use some other program? Please respond if you have an idea because I don't. Thanks.

They also sometimes appear with a dash or minus sign infront of them.

Address Book duplicates, what is duplicated

I have finally cleaned up Address Book after a near disaster with Outlook 2011 for the Mac. I sync with Google Apps and have no duplicates there. I now find after a few days I have 2 duplicates in Address Book but not in Google Contacts. Before I merge these duplicates, is there a way to see what is duplicated and which records have duplicate datad?
PS, Before anyone begins to use Outlook for the Mac, they should backup their Address Book. File>Export>Address Book Achive will do this. Time Machine is another option. I also foud that Outlook makes a mess of notes in a Contact record. I nolonger usse Outlook.

Here is a possibility to consider.
Open Contacts and select the first contact then scroll to the last contact and hold down the shift key and select it. At least for me, the Select All command does not work but the above method should select (highlight) all of your contacts.
Then open Numbers. Do a Command Tab so that the Contacts window is visible above the Numbers window. Click and drag the contacts onto the Numbers window.
Now your contacts are in a spreadsheet and you have a lot of options for formatting.

Address book duplicates, address book duplicates

My Address book is duplicating contacts. It will not search. I cannot merge duplicates as it freezes/hangs on the merging sequence. What to do? I have Mac OS X Lion Version 10.7.2 with a 2.8 GHz Intel Core i5 Processor and 16 GB 1333 MHz DDR3, my Graphics ATI Rdeon HD 5750 1024 MB.

You have duplicates because you are using two accounts that have the same information in them. You need to eliminate one of the accounts and then check again. If you still need help then navigate to the iCloud on my Mac forum and someone can provide more insight on how to fix the issue.

TS4147 Address Book Duplicates

I have two sets of contact in Address Book, one labeled iCloud and the other labeled On My Mac. Can I turn off the iCloud contacts and still have iCloud synchronize all of my contacts between my iPhone and MacPro? The Synchronize Contact setting is turned off in iTunes since I'm using iCloud.

goldenriverkp wrote:
...not any more on Maverics, so consider before upgrade to new OS
Thanks for responding to a 5 month old post, and yes, things have changed.
Come back after another 5 months, we'll see if your statement still has any merit then.

Identifying Address Book Duplicates

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for