Address Book columns incorrect (phone numbers)

[Josh Geenen]

I just released Version 0.2.11 with some changes that should allow you to synchronize phone numbers with the original fields in Thunderbird.  It is a hidden preference, so you will have to go into the config editor to toggle it.

Please keep in mind that this is experimental for the moment.  If you do try this, please let me know if it works correctly.

To change the preference

• Go to Tools -> Options or Edit -> Preferences
• Go to the Advanced tab and click Config Editor...
• Type phoneTypes and change it to false
• Reset all of your synchronized address books in the gContactSync Preferences dialog if you want the changes to take place now.  Restart before you sync again if you reset everything.

To reset all address books:

• Open the Address Book and go to gContactSync -> Preferences
• Go to the Accounts tab
• Click Reset All Address Books

FYI I'm not going to have much access to the Internet for the next few days

[tanstaafl]

Thanks Josh! and happy holidays to you.

Can you elaborate a little on how this will work? If I upgrade one user, and they fix these fields so they display ion the correct columns - will everyone else have to upgrade to 0.2.11 to get the corrected fields?

I'm a bit hesitant to try this without a better idea of exactly what to expect, so I'll know what to look for as far as errors go.

Also, I might want to wait until you'll be more available if I run into any issues.

Of course, I'll make backups of the Address Books, but that brings up another question...

What is the best way to backup/restore when using your extension on a sync'd Address Book? For example, should I just Tools > Export the Address Book to an LDIF? What is the correct procedure to go about restoring, in the event of a catastrophic snafu where the Google Addresses got munged?

Anyway, don't worry about answering these questions until after the holidays... take a break, you deserve it!

[Josh Geenen]

Can you elaborate a little on how this will work? If I upgrade one user, and they fix these fields so they display ion the correct columns - will everyone else have to upgrade to 0.2.11 to get the corrected fields?

You will have to follow the steps in my previous post for every user who wants the phone types removed.  The preference only modifies how contacts are converted from one form to another and that only happens when necessary (when a contact is added or updated remotely or locally).  Resetting all ABs will cause all of the contacts to be retrieved again so the conversion will read the preference and only get the phone numbers that match with Thunderbird's fields.

What is the best way to backup/restore when using your extension on a sync'd Address Book? For example, should I just Tools > Export the Address Book to an LDIF? What is the correct procedure to go about restoring, in the event of a catastrophic snafu where the Google Addresses got munged?

That depends on what fields you use the most.  gContactSync adds fields to the AB but these are not exported or imported in Thunderbird (see Bug 21186).

So if you use the new fields that gContactSync adds then I recommend backing up through Google.  Just go to http://www.google.com/contacts and click on Export near the top right.  Select Everyone and Google CSV format.

But, backing up through Google doesn't backup fields that Thunderbird has and Google doesn't.  gContactSync syncs some of these fields (see the Advanced tab of the preferences), but they will not be exported into the CSV.  So if you want to preserve all original Thunderbird fields then use Tools -> Export... and pick LDIF.

I would recommend backing up in both places for now and if you need to restore I'm sure we can figure out which backup to use.

[therobbot]

Hi,

the setting that will use the Thunderbird phone numbers without the customizable fields works great except for one little detail: It seems "Pager" and "Mobile" is switched in the cards now. "Pager" is at 4th place and "Mobile" at 5th, while it's the other way round in the native implementation. This way you will have to add a number to "Pager" so that it will be synced (and displayed) as "Mobile". Would be great if you could fix this!

Tobias

[meeotch]

Posting in order to bump this thread, and also subscribe to replies.

Specifically, as therobbot noted in the previous post, gcontactsync seems to switch the "Pager" and "Mobile" labels in the card view within Thunderbird.  I think this may just be a labeling thing, because the phone #'s appear in the correct columns in the Address Book view.

[Josh Geenen]

Sorry about that delay, the pager and mobile numbers will no longer be swapped if the phoneType preference is false ("Add phone number type fields" is unchecked).  I'll track my progress here, although it's already done.

The fix will be in version 0.3.0 beta 2, coming soon.  If it's really annoying to anyone then I can release beta 2 now.

Thanks for letting me know about this!

[kc]

Josh, I just installed 0.3.0b3 and the mobile and pager numbers are switched. After reading this thread, I am totally confused.

Kathleen

[tanstaafl]

Josh, I just installed 0.3.0b3 and the mobile and pager numbers are switched. After reading this thread, I am totally confused.

Kathleen

Hi Kathleen...

Did you change the phoneType preference as described in this post?