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tom bland
Level 1 (15 points)

Q: Importing Address Book Backup file [.abbu]

Hi
I just wondered if anyone has ever imported from a .abbu file successfully?

I have an iMac and an old Powerbook, and have to update the contacts in Address Book on my Powerbook when I go on a trip. So I make Backup files from Address Book on my iMac just before I go away. I also export as VCards which gives me 'vCards.vcf', and finally I simply choose Select All and drag all the contacts over to the folder i'm backing up into – which gives me 'Joe Bloggs and 801 others.vcf'

The reason I use these 3 methods is because I found that when using my Powerbook, whenever I import the .abbu file I end up with a very very old version of my data – even though I only backed up the day before. I have just tried once again, and having had 802 contacts on my iMac, when I import the .abbu file I end up with 700.

So I'm having to load in a batch VCF file, which is a solution of sorts but doesn't include my Groups of course. It is concerning that these Address Book Backup files don't seem to be complete back ups at all.

Is anyone else aware of this?

PowerBook G4 15", Mac OS X (10.4.11), Address Book 4.0.6

Posted on Oct 15, 2009 7:27 AM

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tom bland

Q: Importing Address Book Backup file [.abbu]

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  • by Golden Shoes,

    Golden Shoes Golden Shoes Oct 15, 2009 7:50 AM in response to tom bland
    Level 5 (4,015 points)
    Oct 15, 2009 7:50 AM in response to tom bland
    Greetings,

    I just wondered if anyone has ever imported from a .abbu file successfully?


    Yes, I've done it many times and had no problem.

    If you're having problems, it would most likely be due to your two computers running two different versions of Mac OS X, since the format changes between versions. If so, then the solution is to make sure you're running the exact same version of Mac OS X on each computer, or just export all your contacts as a single vCard file and import them that way. You can get the groups you need by copying and com.apple.addressbook.plist file from Home/Library/Preferences to the same location on the other Mac.

  • by tom bland,

    tom bland tom bland Oct 15, 2009 9:26 AM in response to Golden Shoes
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Oct 15, 2009 9:26 AM in response to Golden Shoes
    Thanks I will give that a go.

    however, if it was an OS difference issue, why would it only import some of the contacts?
    in my case, 700 out of 802?

  • by Golden Shoes,

    Golden Shoes Golden Shoes Oct 15, 2009 9:46 AM in response to tom bland
    Level 5 (4,015 points)
    Oct 15, 2009 9:46 AM in response to tom bland
    however, if it was an OS difference issue, why would it only import some of the contacts?


    That, I'm not sure of; possibly because there was no change in 102 of them, so it may have ignored those. It's also possible the backup was somehow corrupted in those particular records. So many possibilities, so little time to test them all.

    But the .abbu contains a lot more than just your contacts; it's a really a package, just like any application, so you can open it and see what else is in there, too. I've restored from both before and I've never had a problem, but I use the Export to vCard format most often, just to be sure I don't run into problem with changes in later or previous versions of Address Book.