Leopard Address Book Won't Edit Notes

Hello. This Address Book notes field editing problem has been described for several years now, but I don't believe I have seen a satisfactory answer. The problem: AB won't allow any editing to a contact's Notes field, in or out of "edit" mode. Several seconds after adding or deleting Notes text, AB auto-save feature returns the old text, even if I have "Saved" in the interim. I'm running OS 10.5.8 Leopard. Here are some relevant diagnostic events:
First, after closing the AB app, I deleted 2 preference files, com.apple.AddressBook.abd.plist and com.apple.AddressBook.plist, and the AddressBook-v22.abcddb file in the Application Support/AddressBook folder. I relaunched AB but the problem was not fixed.
Second, after "exporting" the Address Book Archive file database to the desktop (as a backup), I deleted the AB application, the Address Book Plug-Ins folder, the above 3 files again, and the com.apple.AddressBook cache files. I then reinstalled AB from my OS install disk. I launched the new AB and got a clean contacts template,  ready for data input. But before I could do that, AB's automatic save feature kicked in and imported the entire old contacts database. Worse, the same "no-Notes-edit-for-you" problem persisted.
Third, I can create new contacts and edit the Notes field to my heart's content.
Fourth, I checked on my other Mac, running 10.6.x Snow Leopard on which I regularly override/replace its AB database by "importing" the Leopard AB archive database file. On the Snow Leopard machine, the AB application edits the notes field just fine in spite of all its data coming from the Leopard machine.
Has anyone really solved this problem? Please advise. If I can't fix this, I will look for a substitute address/contacts application that will run on my desktop and sync with my iPod Touch (any suggestions?).
Many thanks,
Don Oswalt

Hello Don,
Whew, took me a long time to find out where this info is stored, but in...
/Users/YourUserName/Library/Application Support/AddressBook/Metadata/
Look for files like...
B144126F-ECB2-11DD-A2CC-0003938BD526/ABPerson.abcdp
The encrypted Note seems stored in that.
The only thing I can suspect at the moment since I can edit the notes in 10.5.8's AB, is that perhaps some of those have Read rights but nit Write Rights... Hmmm, where maybe these older ones Migrated from a different Mac or UUID?
PS. I do not have to even Save, it does it automatically.

Similar Messages

  • Address book won't save changes to note field

    Like the header says. Address book won't save changes to note field. There's another thread with the same header:  https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2591053?threadID=2591053  But it's archived so I had to post this new one.
    If I made a change in any non-note field however, it would stay.
    Note: the notes field can be edited with actually having to go into official "edit" mode. Does this make it more prone to corruption? Why would Apple make the notes field NOT need that extra step of protection. Do they think my notes aren't as important?  How would they know?
    I fixed this one card with a bandaid solution by exporting it and reimporting it.  But I guess I need to do that with all 2,000 of my contacts now. It was mentioned on theother thread that somebody made an address book backup and then deleted every contact in the address book and imported them fresh from the backup and that worked.
    The underlyilng issue is still not solved though. How could this happpen in the first place, and how do I know what other contacts haven't held lthe changes I thought I made?

    Hi,
    Using the Note field
    You can add notes to any contact in Address Book. This makes it easy to keep track of details about a person in your address book.
    Select the person in the Name column in Address Book, then click the Note field in the card.
    The Note field can be edited at any time, even if the card is not in edit mode.
    You could make a dedicated field that requires the edit button...
    Using custom labels
    You can change the label that appears next to a piece of information on a contact's card. For example, you might want to change "work" to "support" next to a phone number.
    Select the contact that you want to change.
    Click the Edit button at the bottom of the window.
    Click the label next to a field, then choose Custom from the pop-up menu.
    Enter a new label for the field.
    The new custom label appears on this contact's card only.
    If you want to change a specific label on all cards in your Address Book, edit the card template. Choose Address Book > Preferences and click Template. The Template pane also allows you to add other types of fields on contact cards, such as a nickname, job title, birthday, anniversary, and URL. Use the Add Field menu.

  • Address Book Won't Launch in Leopard

    Suddenly, Address Book won't launch in Leopard. It worked after initial installation but now won't open. I have tried re-syncing with .Mac, re-starting. Address Book info (e-mail addresses) is still accurate and available in Mail.
    I also installed Leopard on my Mac Book. No problems, Address book works fine.
    How can I fix?

    Here's what I got.
    11/1/07 9:14:09 PM [0x0-0x57057].com.apple.AddressBook[485] dyld: Library not loaded: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/SearchEngine.framework/Versions/A/SearchEngin e
    11/1/07 9:14:09 PM [0x0-0x57057].com.apple.AddressBook[485] Referenced from: /Applications/Microsoft Office 2004/Address Book.app/Contents/MacOS/Address Book
    11/1/07 9:14:09 PM [0x0-0x57057].com.apple.AddressBook[485] Reason: image not found
    11/1/07 9:14:10 PM com.apple.launchd[70] ([0x0-0x57057].com.apple.AddressBook[485]) Exited abnormally: Trace/BPT trap
    11/1/07 9:14:14 PM [0x0-0x58058].com.apple.AddressBook[488] dyld: Library not loaded: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/SearchEngine.framework/Versions/A/SearchEngin e
    11/1/07 9:14:14 PM [0x0-0x58058].com.apple.AddressBook[488] Referenced from: /Applications/Microsoft Office 2004/Address Book.app/Contents/MacOS/Address Book
    11/1/07 9:14:14 PM [0x0-0x58058].com.apple.AddressBook[488] Reason: image not found
    11/1/07 9:14:14 PM com.apple.launchd[70] ([0x0-0x58058].com.apple.AddressBook[488]) Exited abnormally: Trace/BPT trap
    11/1/07 9:14:17 PM [0x0-0x59059].Address Book[489] dyld: Library not loaded: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/SearchEngine.framework/Versions/A/SearchEngin e
    11/1/07 9:14:17 PM [0x0-0x59059].Address Book[489] Referenced from: /Applications/Microsoft Office 2004/Address Book.app/Contents/MacOS/Address Book
    11/1/07 9:14:17 PM [0x0-0x59059].Address Book[489] Reason: image not found
    11/1/07 9:14:17 PM com.apple.launchd[70] ([0x0-0x59059].Address Book[489]) Exited abnormally: Trace/BPT trap

  • Import Leopard address book data into Tiger

    Is there any way to do this?

    The Leopard address book database is not readable on Tiger. You can export vCards and import them in another version of the application as long as the formats are compatible. This won't preserve group memberships though.

  • Apple Address Book Won't Open

    On my iMac G5, my Apple Address Book won't open. It has been working perfectly and I've never had a problem since buying the computer about a year ago. Though the name appears on the top menu bar and the triangle shows beneath the Address Book icon on the Dock, nothing appears on the screen. I ran the Disk Utility Repair Permissions, but aht didn't correct it. I've rebooted and that didn't solve the issue either. Any suggestions? Thanks.

    Verify/repair your disk first (not just permissions), as described here:
    The Repair functions of Disk Utility: what's it all about?
    I don't know how to troubleshoot Address Book, other than replacing its data with a backup copy if you have one, or just getting rid of that data. Address Book stores the preferences in ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.AddressBook.plist, and everything else in the ~/Library/Application Support/AddressBook folder.
    You may try moving those files out of there, to the Desktop. You may try removing just the com.apple.AddressBook.plist preferences file (so that Address Book re-creates it again), for example, or removing just AddressBook.data and renaming AddressBook.data.previous to AddressBook.data. Whatever you do, make a backup copy of those files first, just in case.
    Note: For those not familiarized with the ~/ notation, it refers to the user's home folder.

  • HT2486 My address book won't work

    I just installed Snow Leopard and now my address book won't open. It says I have address book 4.1.2, but I can't find an update or anything for it. Help please! I need my addresses!

    The latest version of address book for 10.6.8 is 5.0.3
    You could apply, if you haven't already (or) reapply the combo update  Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.
    That should solve your problem.  You should also check out software update for things like the new security update 2012 004.

  • 10.4.7 update and now my Address Book won't open

    I recently ran a software update and the Mac OS X Update 10.4.7 errored out. After the required restart I now find my Address Book won't open.
    Any advise to fix this problem?
    Is it safe to run the 10.4.7 update again or will this problem repeat?

    hi there--
    i would check out this thread. http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=1863756&#1863756 basically, try repairing permissions first. then if that does nothing, see if you have your addressbook.data file. it's possible you could rename a file like this user to regain your info. if the addressbook.data file is there, select it and get info on it by pressing the apple and i on the keyboard. ensure that you have read/write access to the folder. make yourself the owner and make the rest of the fields as open as possible. also, if the address book launches in a different user (you could create a test user) you could do a number of things. if you have a backup of the address book in another place you can try pulling the com.apple.addressbook.plist from the preferences folder in the home user library. do not do this if you have no backup. also you could check ~library/address book plug-ins. if there's stuff in there, try pulling folder to desktop and restarting the computer. keep me posted as to whether or not you make any progress. [ 8 ) ]

  • HT2486 I just upgraded to 10.6.3 and now my address book won't work (4.1.2) how to I upgrade it?

    I just upgraded to 10.6.3 and now my address book won't work (4.1.2) how to I upgrade it?

    Software Update (under the Apple menu).
    Current Snow Leopard version is 10.6.8.

  • Restoring Address Book updated 2009, but not been back up.....

    Address Book has been edited accidentally way back 09/2009. All Contacts merged into one, resulted to all contact information including names, phone numbers, e-mail address, notes, etc. rolled/merged into only one Contact Name. Worst part, never back up mac into time machine.
    Any help will highly appreciated.

    I'm not sure if indexing the backup with Spotlight might solve the 'not seeing it' problem. Someone else would have to weigh in.
    You can also dig through the folders in the backup. Once you dig into the folders, each backup is in a folder by date. You can go into those folders and see if there is a copy of the folder in there.

  • Snow Leopard - Address Book didn't migrate. Help!

    My Address Book won't open now that I've installed OSX Snow Leopard. Can you help me fix?

    Just to close this off - turns out the Calendar Migration steps outlined in the Upgrading to Lion Server PDF also migrates the shared Address Books.

  • Address book won't respod

    I inadvertently merged all my contacts in address book and now the program will not open. I have everything backed up on .mac. How do I get the program to open so I can sync my contacts?
    Sally

    Well, if Address Book won't respond, then you're going to have to try to restore from the backup, if you have one. So, let's try this:
    1. Go to Users/username/Library/Caches/com.apple.AddressBook and move it to the Trash, then try opening Address Book again. +*Do Not*+ empty the Trash.
    2. If that doesn't work, go to Users/username/Library/Application Support/AddressBook and move its contents to a temporary file on the Desktop. Then, open Address Book and reimport from your backup (File/Import/Address Book Archive, or reimport the vCards) to rebuild this folder.
    Once everything is OK, delete the temporary stuff from the Desktop, and empty the Trash.
    If you have no backup, you will have to reimport the vCard data using the MetaData files, which look and act like vCards, but their file names don't end in vCard. To do that:
    1. Open Address Book.
    2. Go to your Trash and drag the com.apple.AddressBook folder out onto your Desktop. Drill down into that folder until you find the MetaData folder; that's where all your contacts are stored in individual files.
    3. You can select all (Command A) and drag them on the open Address Book window to import that data back. When it's done, check to be sure all your contacts are there, though you will probably lose those that were imported as a result of your merge.
    4. When you've verified that everything works, make a backup of your Address Book; use the File > Backup Address Book… menu item and save the backup to a safe destination on your hard drive or an external drive. Do this every time you make any change to your Address Book and always save them to the same place, as the backups have their creation date on them. You can trash the older one.
    Mulder

  • Can I merge my iPhone address book with my iMac address book? I do not want to replace one for the other, just combine.

    Can I merge my iPhone address book with my iMac address book? I do not want to replace one for the other, just combine them.
    It seems that you have to choose one or the other, keep iMAcc addresses or iPhone.

    Indeed you can merge the address book using iCloud. You can find the info here: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3998. I am not sure if you can de-duplicate though.
    If that doesn't work or you want more out of your address book, you can always try connex.io (I work for the company). It's a service that automatically syncs, deduplicates, cleans and updates your address book across many different devices and services. If you want to try it out, you can get a free trail version at www.connex.io.
    Good luck!
    I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.
    <Edited by Host>

  • How can I export Outlook 2007 contacts to Leopard Address Book application?

    Hi,
    I just bought a MAC and I want to get rid of my PC, but first i want to export my CONTACTS from my Windows MS Outlook 2007 and import them in Leopard Address Book application.
    Any way I can do that ?
    Many thanks !

    I don't know if doing it with single vcards is the way you want to have it. This can be a quite big task when having many contacts.
    In Outlook You can export them as text file. You got to +File - Import and Export+. In the assistent you choose "Export to file". Then you choose "comma seperated (Windows)" In the next step you mark your Contacts folder. Then you choose where you want to save your output file. (I mountet my Documents folder on the mac and saved it there). Finish this assistent.
    Now on the mac you open AdressBook. +File - Import - text+ file and choose then your .csv file. Now in the AdressBook a import window opens where you can set all the fields matching to where Outlook stored the information. But basicly it should work without doing there something. Then you can import all Your Outlook contacts in one run.
    Hope this helps You!

  • How do I create a separate Address Book? I'm not asking about a mailing list but an address book where the addresses are not mixed in with my regular address b

    How do I create a separate Address Book? I'm not asking about a mailing list but an address book where the addresses are not mixed in with my regular address book. I already have three address books created for me by Thunderbird. I add all new addresses to one of those but am afraid to delete the other address books because some of their addresses are not repeated in my "main" address book. So if I don't delete all the names in one of the existing books, I need to create an empty book that will not mix the addresses with those in another address book. HOW DO I CREATE A NEW, EMPTY ADDRESS BOOK? I want to be able to create various mailing LISTS using the addresses in this new book so I will eventually have a special address book with a variety of mailing lists I can use as I wish.

    In 24.4.0 there is no File|New|Address Book. There is File|New|Address Book Contact. How do I create a new address book ?

  • How to send a message to an address book list as "bcc", not as "to"?

    I have various lists of different people on my personal TB addressbook. If I press "write" (to a particular group), TB by default creates a message with all the recipients in "To" mode - i.e. all the recipients will see each other's email addresses. How do I change the default message setting to "bcc" without having to change every single entry in the email manually?

    Do not start a message in the address book. It is not the best place to do that.
    That is what the Write window is for. Open the Write window and turn on the contact sidebar by pressing F9.
    Select the contact, contacts or list that you want to send to and then use one of the ADD TOO: buttons at the bottom of the sidebar.
    Hold the control key while clicking items to select multiple items.

Maybe you are looking for