I am using an iMac OS Sierra 10.12.3 desktop computer. When I try to add an email Contact to my contacts list, it will list in the appropriate letter section but it will not be in alphabetical order. It seems to drop in at any random position. Does anyone have any idea what I need to do to achieve alphabetical order please?
iMac, macOS Sierra (10.12.3)
Open , address book via spotlight & its preferences > click on general is your settings same like this , or are your contacts mismanaged in address book also , if it is yes we can think on exporting contacts at a new place , so that they will be saved , then again importing them .
If we click on finder > click on applications > scroll down > select contacts.app and right click on it and click on open the contacts app opens , or if contacts is in the dock , single click on it opens , some use launchpad to open the applications .
This icon .
And you wrote : I have already set my requirements in the General box. As I have said above, these settings make no difference.
Please tell where is the general box , a screen shot could help out .
if we open mail > window > previous recipients > click on the first small box before name shown with the red arrow all the contacts will be be mismanaged or to say will not be in alphabetical order .
To set them once again in right format ( Alphabetical order ) , click once again in the same small box .
The OP wrote in the original first post : When I try to add an email Contact to my contacts list, it will list in the appropriate letter section but it will not be in alphabetical order.
If we open address book what we call contacts in old terminology take cursor on top menu bar > click on card .
If we click on show first name before last > it will convert into show last name before first .
I dont , know what OP requires .
That's it .
Thanks
In my Mac address book the contacts are also placed randomly , I had done a fresh installation few days back latest updates that are coming on App Store are installed , no third party app or anti - virus is installed .
You can see the screen shot .
Do you use smart address ? for a normal working computer the list always show in alphabetical order , you can contact in apple support some help can be obtained , or if mail is malfunctioning the best way is to take back of all mails in V4 folder and delete the corrupted mail account .
Once again configure your mail account & import the mails in new mail account .
Or can rebuild mail boxes : Mail for Mac: Rebuild mailboxes
How come no anti virus is recommended for Mac's?
Effective defenses against malware and other threats
Surely they can be as susceptible as Windows to receiving anti virus?
No. Macs ≠ Windows PCs. I doubt ClamXav is causing the problem though. Uninstall it anyway.
I won't suggest another method to remove any plist from preferences folder in the user library as your contact data could be lost , its wiser to take up back of all mails in V4 folder and create a new account .
This is a strange issue , and do you use anti - virus , third party apps , in case if it is yes run https://etrecheck.com/
And , try to post .
Now I am completely baffled following the last three posts. In my Launchpad, I have an item of software called Contacts along with Mail, Safari, System Preferences amongst others. Does no one else have such a thing? If I open Contacts, it shows me a list of all my email contacts supposedly in alphabetical order. When Contacts is open, the Preferences option in the desktop top menu determines whether to set the contacts by first name or last name, so what has the V4 folder got to do with it? I have never had cause to use it. I use ClamXav antivirus
Oh! Thanks for that. Being fairly new to iMac, I had been led to believe that any App Store apps were genuine so I will get rid of ClamXav. I hope that cures the problem. How come no anti virus is recommended for Mac's? Surely they can be as susceptible as Windows to receiving anti virus?
To respond to your earlier question, no, ClamXav in no way could be causing this issue.
If you downloaded it from he App Store, then it was the free version that has been discontinued for a couple of years now. The App Store version can be deleted by dragging it to the Trash, but versions downloaded from the web site require additional steps. The current version has a 30-day demo before you have to pay for it.
Only you can determine whether you need additional anti-virus protection after becoming educated on the threat and any additional burden placed on your computer by using it. John Galt's article is a great start.
ClamXav has nothing to do with your "issue". But you don't really need any Antivirus app on a mac, at the least they are counterproductive, but they can cram your mac (especially Norton, Symantec, McAfee).
You better read a bit about the Mac: there are a number Apple apps that are "part of" the system, and can not or should not be deleted: "Contacts" is the central database of contacts.
John, I thought I had answered it. I don't know how else I can say it. To put it another way, I have an icon in the Dock called Contacts which when it opens after clicking, it shows all my email contacts. Then, if I click Contacts in the desktop, top menu, a drop down menu showing Preferences shows like tygb has shown below. The problem is that those settings do not help the problem.
Sorry folks, I couldn't get my reply to John in the right place.
tygb, What I call Contacts is what you are calling address book which it obviously is but I am trying to use the terminology used by my computer. However, I do not arrive at it by using spotlight. I have already set my requirements in the General box. As I have said above, these settings make no difference.
One possible answer is that the names are being entered into the wrong fields. This is often the case when the sender enters their name in a unique manner. As an example, when I get an e-mail that shows From: Smith, John I find the entire entry entered in the First Name box with the Last Name box empty. Sometimes when it comes from "John Smith" I find both names in the First Name box. At other times when I get an e-mail from "Jill" that ends up in the Last Name box.
Check some of those out-of-order entires by clicking the "Edit" button at the bottom and see if everything ended up where it belonged.
Place Email Contacts In Alphabetical Order
