Importing entire address book archive

My intention is to create an Address Book on OS 10.4 that is identical to my Address Book on OS 10.5. I exported the entire Address Book on OS 10.5 (created a .abbu file) and then tried to import it on OS 10.4 using the File > 'Revert to Address Book Backup...' command. In return a message warns me that I am about to overwrite the database. When I click OK the computer returns a sound. That's it.
Is there a way to do this?

I don't know why that didn't work - it worked for me when I tried it.
As an alternative, you should be able to export all the Leopard entries as vCards contained in a single .vcf file as a "group vCard", and then import that .vcf file into the Tiger Address book. This will add the Leopard entries to whatever was there before, rather than overwriting them. To create the group vCard file in Leopard, click on the "All" icon in the Group column, then File menu>Export>Export Group vCard.

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Importing Tiger Address Book Archives

FYI. When Importing Address Book archives from Tiger the address book application does not always show the newly imported addresses.
So do the following:
- Imported the address book
- Replace all contents
- Quit Address Book app
- Relaunch Address Book and check addresses are there.
I use the Archive facility to switch between Personal and Business addresses books.

I see this happen sometimes too - restarting is sometimes necessary to refresh the contact list.

TS2481 Bad instructions for troubleshooting syncing contacts from my experience: going the vCard route as instructed did not preserve all group contacts. However, exporting and in turn importing an Address Book archive (.abbu) worked in place of the vCard

Apple should update the TS2481 instructions.

After I sent this initial post I did some more testing.
Creating a new Smart Group in my now working 10.5.5 address book which has a NOT conditional caused Address Book to lock-up again.
My Smart Group was pretty simple -- 'list all cards that are NOT a member of any group'.
So, the steps in the posting above do NOT fix the problem, they only identify a particular type of Smart Group which will cause a problem and how to get a version of Address Book working again.
I have not gone back and undertaken a thorough set of tests. I am just not going to create any new Smart Groups without first creating an Address Book Archive -- or alternatively overriding Library/Application Support/AddressBook from a Time Machine backup if there is a problem.

How Do I Make Import Address Book Archive Work Properly?

I have several address books archived. I have one for Christmas cards, I have another for my neighborhood watch program and others that I use at various times. Some of the archives were made using Tiger and some I have created in Leopard. When I Export an Address Book Archive it does so without a problem. When I Import one of my Address Book Archives, to replace whatever address book is currently located in Address Book, the import does not work. Once I try to import, I must quit Address Book then reopen it and I still have the Address Book resident that I was trying to replace. The only way I have found to replace the resident address book is to first archive the current book for the sake of having it backed up, then delete all the names in the book by selecting all then deleting by hitting the delete key or by selecting Delete Cards using the Menu. After the names are deleted, then Importing an archive works fine.
Is anyone else having this problem or possibly have a solution to making Address Book work properly without having to delete all the current names before Importing an archive?
Information: I have deleted the Address Book Folder located within the Home/Library/Application Support folders and rebuilt it under Leopard OS and then pasted the names that were resident before deleting the folders. So far, I still cannot get the Import Address Book Archive function to work properly. Thanks in advance for any helpful information or hints.

Ok! Hmm... I indeed have tried to import an archive, did get the message, replaced all and had it working fine for me so it should for you I would think.
Have you tried to log in your computer as a different user, launch AB and try to toggle back and forth between archives to see if you experience the same issue? If not, then it is a user specific issue, if yes, then it may be more a case of app/system issue.
If you are able to overwrite in AB under a different user, then I would suggest you log in back to your main user and repair permissions (applications/utilities/disk utility repair permissions.
As for your use of AB and different archives, I am sure no one is bothered by that. We are all users here trying to learn and/or help others. I would only point out that if you cannot find a solution to your problem, you may want to consider working with AB in a different manner than you have in the past and by your description of usage groups and smart groups will more than handle your contacts while avoiding mixing apples and doughnuts - but I am sure you have thought of that already !!
hope this helps

How to import the entire address book into icloud?

Does anyone know how to import the address book in its' entirety into iCloud?
Thanks.
debi

Or you can select all your contacts in Address Book, click File/Export/Export vCard. Save the file to your desktop. Open Contacts at iCloud.com then click the Gear icon in the lower left corner to reveal the Import vCard option.
It will get your contacts to iCloud and syncing with an iOS device however obviously any changes will not automatically sync between iCloud and the computer.

I just upgraded to Lion and lost my entire address book. Ack. Fix?

I just upgraded to Lion and so far so good, EXCEPT I lost my entire address book. EVERY contact missing. I didn't back up my address book before the upgrade (see me slap head) altho did have my contacts on my iPhone, slightly out of date, but more current than my last Mac backup. So I followed the iPhone to iCloud to Mac contact synch steps and the contacts repopulated on my Mac but WITHOUT the mailing ADDRESSES. Now addresses are also gone from my iPhone.
Is it possible to revert to the Snow Leopard address data file? And if so, how do I do this? Or is there a better fix?

I had the same problem and also didn't have a back-up of my SL Address Book archive. But a minute or so's mucking about I came up with this workaround:
1) Quit Address Book and in the Finder, hold down Option, click on Go in the menubar and choose Library.
2) Go to Application Support/Address Book.
3) In that folder you should see a file called Migration XXXXX-XXX.abbu.tbz (that's a compressed TAR file).The "XXXs" will be a jumble of numbers which from what I can gather relate to the date when you upgraded to Lion. Open it using the free Unarchiver program available for download from the App Store.
4) This will open up a folder also called Migration XXXX-XXX. Click the flippy triangle to the left and you'll see it contains the Contact Book archives that existed before you upgraded to Lion, including any images and most importantly the Metadata (the names, addresses etc).
5) Move the Metadata folder from the Migration folder up into the main Library/Application Support/Address Book folder. You will get an alert saying the folder already exists: click Replace. I also replaced the existing AddressBook-v22.abcddb file from the Migration folder as well. I don't use images in Address Book so I didn't replace that: if you do, you probably do want to replace that folder too.
6) Open Address Book and gasp in wonder to find all your contacts resurrected.
Since it's an Apple app that you've been playing around with, run Repair permissions to tidy things up.
Hope this helps.

How do I import my address book after doing a clean install of Leopard?

I just finished doing a clean install of Leopard and I realized that I forgot to export an Address book archive before erasing my hard drive. I still have all the Address Book files stored in Application Support in my Library (on my backup hard drive) but I don't know how to get those files into Address Book. Whenever I try the different import options they are all grayed out.
I also have the Address Book files stored on my iPod Touch but syncing with my Touch doesn't seem to bring them into my computer. Is there anything I can do at this point besides entering them in one at a time?! Copying and pasting the files from the backup to the current folder doesn't seem to do any good either. It will tell me that the files I am trying to write over and in use. It says this even after I close Address Book.

Ok, I got is to work by selecting the folder itself and copying it over. Aparently it does work if you open the folder, select all the contents and then paste it. I didn't think it would matter which way you did it.

Address Book Archive not working

I am trying to move my Address Book from my G4 to my MacBook Pro (both running 10.5.8). The archive creates, I move it over on a USB stick, and then use import/address book archive. It gives me a popup saying that reverting to the archive will wipe out my existing addresses, I respond OK and then nothing happens. The Address Book shows that I still have the original 21 cards, only one shows up. Nothing else happens.
When I close Address Book and then reopen it, it shows the same initial 21 cards.
I've tried this several times, with new archive files.
Thanks,
Eric

The archive works, the unarchive doesn't.
To get around this, right-click on the archive and choose "Show Package Contents." Replace everything in your username/Library/Application Support/AddressBook/ folder with the contents of the archive package.

No import of address book on Mac to iCloud

I am confused about how to get my address book from my Mac to my iCloud account. I have read several posts and I still don't seem to do the right thing. I saved an address book archive on my desktop, I have enabled the iCloud account in the address book on my mac, I have tried importing the archive into the iCloud account, but nothing happens there. I have tried importing the archive into the address book on my mac but it just replaces the data on my mac and un-enables the iCloud account. How do I get my address book from my mac (Lion IOS 10.7.2) to my iCloud account?

I have enabled the iCloud account in the address book on my mac,
Hi Grant...
I think you may have missed a step..
All you have to do is select Contacts in System Preferences > iCloud
There's no need to save an archive to your Desktop.
If your Contacts don't sync the first time, go back to Sysm Preferences > iCloud
Deslect the box next to Contacts, then reselect it, then restart your Mac.

Removing the entire Address Book

For business and personal reasons (which I am not asking you to critique or improve upon) I have 2 separate Address Books that are swap out every now and again and backed up to separate Archives.
Like this...
- Add a contact to Address Book
- Export... Archive Address Book
- Delete the ~/Library/Application Support/Address Book folder
- Quit Address Book
- Launch Address Book (it should be empty again)
- Import other Address Book
This no longer works in 10.5 for 2 reasons:-
- Addresses added through Mail do not appear until you search for them
- I cannot delete the 'AddressBook-v22.abcddb' file from Trash
(Perhaps these are related.)
Basically, what should be consistent Mac OS X behaviour of deleting prefs to start again no longer works.
What gives Apple? So many bugs in this version that it stinks. Rock on 10.5.2, 10.5.3 and 10.5.4....

I assume you did that using Tiger.
If you want to continue using your Tiger addressbook data file in Leopard then do this:
create a new folder and drag in your Tiger addressbook data file into the new folder. Then add .abbu to the new folders name, of course at the end of.... Now use import in Leopards mail and continue with your past practice.

How to copy address book archive to a dvd

Recently synced iphone to imac and lost all contacts (aargh!!!!). Itunes was set for automatic backup, so the backup contact file was also blank. Found a two year old copy of my contacts. I have now manually inputted them all. I created an addressbook archive file. However, I can not find out how to (1) copy or burn this archive to a dvd so I can restore from it if needed again and (2) how to print a copy of the entire addressbook>
Please help!!
P.S.
I read through a lot of previous posts and saw where this iphone syncing and deleting contact lists is not a new problem. It also is not a function of my being a neo-luddite. Many others have had this happen. Is there some type of fix in the works to deter this from continuing to happen?
Thanks,
Ralph

Also found how to copy Address Book, as well as all others files on my computer.
The answer is to open Address Book.
Under FILE menu>Export>Address Book Archive
at prompt, Save to which ever location you wish on your computer ( I chose Documents). This will create an archive of your contact list with that date. Archive after anytime you change or add an address card. If saved to the same location on the same computer, prompt will ask if you want to Replace current>OK. If you archived on different days, you will create a new file with different date. You can throw away previously dated file or save as a backup.
To copy this file and all other files on my computer, I had to download the latest copy of Backup (v3.2) from the Apple downloads page under Apple support. This provides an installer to create a back up iDisk. I installed Backup>( it creates an Umbrella icon on my desktop)>followed the instructions to create a backup>program has standard backup protocols or you can customize.
I chose to backup my Home folders to a CD/DVD. System will tell you the size of the file and how many CD's or DVD's you will need. Select Burn.
Voila!!!!
I now have a DVD that contains all of the files in my Home folder (including the Address Book archive). This DVD will allow me to restore files to my computer, if I accidentally erase it again. Note that this method will not allow you to backup the entire startup, only files. You must use an external drive or Time Machine to create a rebootable copy of the operating system.
Hope this helps others.

Why does Lion KEEP reversing changes you make in address book and other applications without your consent and without wanting it to??? Plus address book will NOT import old address book contacts from Snow Lepoard 10.6 and keep them. This Lion OXS 7 is ..

Why does Lion KEEP reversing changes you make in address book and other applications without your consent and without wanting it to??? Plus address book will NOT import old address book contacts from Snow Lepoard 10.6 and keep them. This Lion OXS 7 is .. becoming very frustrating ... it will NOT keep changes made in the Address Book and it has destroyed my contacts which I only have electronically since 10.4 in my address book. I am NOT happy with this OS7 it has a lot of issues and faults. How can one stop automatic reversing of data when inputting???
Please help!
Wished I NEVER upgraded to this Lion!!!
Carmelo

Relax. Your address book database is corrupted.
If you are syncing your Contacts with MobileMe or something else, disable it for now.
Backup your address book by going to File>Export>Address Book Archive.
Quit Address Book.
Open your Library by holding down the Option (alt) key while selecting the Go menu in Finder. Select Library. Navigate into your Application Support/AddressBook folder and delete the addressbook-v22.abcddb file.
Open Address Book. It will recreate the database from the raw data.
See how that works. If it is ok, then reenable syncing and see how that works.

Problem reverting to backup/address book archive

I created an address book archive on my home computer (desktop), transferred that backup file to my laptop, and tried to revert my address book on the laptop to the new backup file. it doesn't work. I'm using OS 10.5.7 on the desktop, and 10.4.11 on the laptop... is that why the backup won't install on the laptop? do they need to be the same OS? I have the same problem with my ical backup. My ical and address books are up to date on my desktop computer, and I really want to put all that info on my laptop as well. is there another way to go about this? please help, thanks!

Greetings,
If memory serves me, Address Book for Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5 are different versions, so you can't overwrite one with a backup from the other. If you want to get the contacts from the 10.5 version into the version for 10.4 on your laptop, you would need to open Address Book on your Desktop, select the All group and drag it to your Desktop to create one vCard with all your contacts in it.
Then you can transfer it to the laptop, launch Address Book on it, then drag & drop the vCard onto Address Book to import those contacts.

How do i export my entire address book into excel. I want to send the list to lady who writes a newsletter for me and she would like it in excel. I know I did this last christmas, but cannot remember how i did it. Please help.

How do i export my entire address book into excel. I want to send the list to lady who writes a newsletter for me and she would like it in excel. I know I did this last christmas, but cannot remember how i did it. Please help.

export and import to csv
or here are other options
http://www.google.dk/search?source=ig&hl=da&rlz=1G1TSEH_ENDK367&q=ohm+law&oq=ohm +law&aq=0&aqi=g3&aql=&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=848060l852340l0l853488l7l7l0l1l1l0l216l774l 1.2.2l5l0#sclient=psy-ab&hl=da&rlz=1G1TSEH_ENDK367&source=hp&q=export%20contacts %20to%20excel%20outlook%202010&pbx=1&oq=export%20contacts%20to%20exc&aq=1L&aqi=g -L4&aql=&gs_sm=sc&gs_upl=1097767l1103601l0l1106743l22l11l0l10l10l0l288l2210l1.4. 6l21l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=a68934164527e931&biw=1631&bih=731&pf=p&p dl=300

How do I import the address book from my iBookG4 to my new MacBook?

How do I import the address book from my iBookG4 to my new MacBook?

The Address Book app includes an export feature - at the Address Book menu bar go to File > Export and select Address Book Archive. Transfer the exported archive to your MacBook. At the Address Book menu bar on your MacBook, go to File > Import and navigate to the Address Book Archive that was exported from your iBook to select it.

Importing entire address book archive

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