What file contains my Address Books information?

I would like to reformat my disk, but I want to save the file that contains my Address Books information. Can someone tell me what the name of this files is and where it resides? Thanks!

Each contact has a file on its own.
They reside in ~/Library/Application Support/AddressBook/Metadata/
You can (somewhat) view their content with TextEdit
You want to backup the full "AddressBook" folder. Not just the individual files found in Metadada
Have a nice day.

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Where is the data file for the address book located, I need to restore mine from backup but don't know where it is.

Where is the data file for the address book located, I need to restore mine from backup but don't know where it is to do so. Putting my Mac Pro onto icloud synching contacts resulted in duplicate and triplicates of the same cards. I have a few THOUSAND contacts and the last time this happened was on mobile me. that had a function where you could replace info on the mobile me server with info on the computer. I see no way to do that on the new cloud.

In the stupidly hidden user's Library->/Application Support/AddressBook/ labeled as AddressBook-v22.abcddb
For TM restores, see Pondini's TM FAQs for starters, since I don't use TM.

What sort order does address book use?

I'm trying to be able to sort things "after" the alphabet in a standard address book "sort by name" sort order. So aA to zZ then other stuff. In a standard ASCII sort, ~ would work - but that's been changed in Thunderbird.
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I think my only comment at this point can be "my, that escalated quickly!!".
Thanks for the pointers and information. Unfortunately, I'm now lost in too much mostly incomprehensible information. However, the tr03.pdf doc you provided I think had the answer.
If I understand it correctly, this (new to me) sorting mechanism means that nothing comes after Z any more? (based on the PDF file you gave me, part 3.0 intro, order of characters). Is that correct?
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Unsure of what happened to my address book, mail, and app store?

My address book, mail, and app store are missing! Did they come with the computer when I bought it? (I have Mac OS X 10.6.8 and I bought it about 2 years ago) They all have different problems when I click on them. For starters, they three look like this in my app folder
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Please read this whole message before doing anything.
This procedure is a test, not a solution. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.
Step 1
The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account.
Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. For instructions, launch the System Preferences application, select Help from the menu bar, and enter “Set up a guest account” (without the quotes) in the search box. Don't use the Safari-only Guest login created by Find My Mac.
While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your personal files or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.
Test while logged in as Guest. Same problem(s)?
After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.
*Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault in Mac OS X 10.7 or later, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The Guest login created by “Find My Mac” is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing.
Step 2
The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login.
Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Boot in safe mode* and log in to the account with the problem. The instructions provided by Apple are as follows:
Be sure your Mac is shut down.
Press the power button.
Immediately after you hear the startup tone, hold the Shift key. The Shift key should be held as soon as possible after the startup tone, but not before the tone.
Release the Shift key when you see the gray Apple icon and the progress indicator (looks like a spinning gear).
Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including wireless networking on certain Macs.
The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
*Note: If FileVault is enabled under Mac OS X 10.7 or later, or if a firmware password is set, you can’t boot in safe mode.
Test while in safe mode. Same problem(s)?
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How can I move address book information between Address Book and Entourage?

(I have the same question regarding iCal and Entourage.) I have a lot of important information to enter, info that would be very difficult to relocate. I had some problems with iCal awhile back (it started randomly deleting events), so I am trying to figure out which program(s) to use. Since I don't have much experience with these, I would ideally like to be able to start in Entourage since that program seems better laid out for me, but be able to export the information to Address Book and iCal so I can make use of the Address Book widget feature, etc.
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All of the data in my address book has mysteriously disappeared. It went from around 300 entries to nothing for no apparent reason.
If I try to insert a new address, the application seems to hang up and I have to force quit. I haven't installed anything new on my computer for some time. The address book and mail applications I use are both Apple.
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Welcome to the discussions.
Look in ~/Library/Application Support/AddressBook.
There should be a file Addressbook.data, and there
may be another one called Addressbook.data.previous.
If the .previous is there, drag the .data out of the
way to the desktop and change the name of the
.previous to Addressbook.data. Restart AddressBook
and see what happens.
It worked! Awesome!!
Thank you! I owe you one.

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Hi folks, this is driving me insane (and has been for months off and on!)
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The file is a .dsv file. I select File>import>text file and locate the file.
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Thanks for the quick reply Mort but unfortunately I no longer have the Entourage data (just the exported DSV file) and I had already read and tried the other thread.
It all seems to work fine but when I've finished there's no option to complete or get rid of the box with the field information in it.
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Thanks
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Importing text file databases into address book

I have a large csv formatted (all that easily allowed by my exporting database) that I want to import into addressbook. By the instructions this should work and so I diligently configured the "Text file import" screen to align the fields as they should be imported - and the sample entries shown in that window look and are configured exactly as they should be. However, when I click on the OK button in the "Text file import" window, I could not tell if it was importing one item or the thousands. But when I look at the address book it indicates that it imported all thousands of contacts. THE PROBLEM is that in the address book (which was previously essentially empty) the only items listed under "Names" is "No Name" (a huge number of them) and each one has NO other fields filled in. So it appears that nothing is importing despite that the Text file import screen shows everything set up correctly. Thoughts/help?

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This sometimes helps:
Quit Address Book.
In folder ~/Library/Application Support/AddressBook drag file AddressBook.data to the desktop. Rename AddressBook.data.previous to AddressBook.data and restart AB. If your contacts are not back quit AB again and repeat the drag/rename process, this time with AddressBook.data.beforesave
AK
Message was edited by: Austin Kinsella1

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Message was edited by: Ross Smith

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Ok, figured this out. You need to use the Export vCard feature, NOT the Export Address Book Archive.
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Thanks again for the tips!

What file contains my Address Books information?

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