HPR1313: How I Manage Contacts

How I Manage Contacts

About a year ago I decided to try to clean up my contacts.

The problem: CRUFT!

• Importing, exporting re-importing in different accounts and in different email clients and several computers etc over span of ~10 years.
• 1200+ gmail contacts
• Many duplicates

What I wanted:

• 1 set of contacts across platforms with single source file from which all others are generated
• plain-text format, easy to use w/scripting & text editor
• No duplicates
• no cruft
• easy to maintain
• easy to import/export in T-bird, ownCloud
• sync with phone

Steps to Success:

1. Turn off Gmail default setting that saves every incoming email address in your address book
2. Deleted all extraneous contacts (went from ~1200 down to about 400)
3. Tedious part here: compare duplicates, consolidate info
4. Decide on source-file format
5. T-bird = LDIF
6. OwnCloud = vCard
7. LDIF wins b/c found script to convert to vCard, but not good script for other direction
8. Convert all disparate contacts lists to LDIF, begin consolidating into one file
9. LDIF ready? Import to T-bird
10. Perl script to convert LDIF to vCard –> import to ownCloud
11. CardDAV-sync to sync from o.c. to phone
12. Bash script to create new LDIF entries, convert to vcf, add to master file easily

Wishlist

1. Make t-bird sync w/owncloud (t-bird SOGO extension broken)
2. CLI API to update owncloud contacts via a script instead of having to use the web interface

Links

• CardDAV-sync android app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.dmfs.carddav.sync&hl=en
• OwnCloud https://owncloud.org/
• Thunderbird Addon: Duplicate Contact Manager https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/thunderbird/addon/duplicate-contact-manager/
• Original ldif2vcf perl script https://www.barninger.com/ldif_to_vcard/
• My modified version: https://paste.jonkulp.net/view/d47bbeca
• My ldif creator bash script https://paste.jonkulp.net/view/32922107

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