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How to synchronise IMAP address book in Thunderbird, with or without Kolab?

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  • Última respuesta de Matt

Andy-1
Andy-1
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I am setting up an IMAP account on my website's email, to use as webmail and on 2 laptops. As far as I can see, IMAP promises much but crucially fails to deliver. It does a great job syncing the emails in the three locations, but it is worse than useless having 3 separate address books all out of sync.

The TB docs mention the SyncKolab add-on to sync the address books. But this is complex and frustrating. If it works at all, I can't puzzle out how.

What syncKolab seems to do is to set up a new folder of the server called "contacts" and to place a message-form record in that folder for each address in the laptop address book. What good does that do me ...? Does this solve the problem in some way I'm not seeing? What I need is that the actual address book on the server contains the addresses on the laptops, and vice versa. I don't get it, how the server fold which Kolab creates, helps me. The server address book is not updated.

I do not need calendar or task sync, just address book.

With or without SyncKolab; indeed, with or without Thunderbird! how do I sync the address book on my IMAP server with my laptops?

Many thanks

Andy

I am setting up an IMAP account on my website's email, to use as webmail and on 2 laptops. As far as I can see, IMAP promises much but crucially fails to deliver. It does a great job syncing the emails in the three locations, but it is worse than useless having 3 separate address books all out of sync. The TB docs mention the SyncKolab add-on to sync the address books. But this is complex and frustrating. If it works at all, I can't puzzle out how. What syncKolab seems to do is to set up a new folder of the server called "contacts" and to place a message-form record in that folder for each address in the laptop address book. What good does that do me ...? Does this solve the problem in some way I'm not seeing? What I need is that the actual address book on the server contains the addresses on the laptops, and vice versa. I don't get it, how the server fold which Kolab creates, helps me. The server address book is not updated. I do not need calendar or task sync, just address book. With or without SyncKolab; indeed, with or without Thunderbird! how do I sync the address book on my IMAP server with my laptops? Many thanks Andy

Todas las respuestas (3)

Matt
Matt
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IMAP is a mail protocol. So it was never intended to deliver an address book. CardDav is an address book protocol, so is Ldap. Does your server support either of those?

Andy-1
Andy-1 Autor de la pregunta
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Hi Matt,

Alas no. I'm starting to understand that "mail servers" are specific and limited things. From my point of view this doesn't make sense! - to me it just looks like, if I get my emails in 3 places, and send emails in 3 places, I should have the same address book in 3 places.

My server is a regular shared hosting website server which only supports IMAP.

Regards

Andy

Matt
Matt
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looking at the add-on, the idea is simple, use an imap folder for address book data, very similar to what Yahoo does with the Y!Messages folder to store their chat clients archived messages.

install the add-on in two different Thunderbird installations and it uses that folder to synchronize the address book.

These instructions look simple. http://www.gargan.org/en/Mozilla_Extensions/SyncKolab/Installation/

All that would be left would be to modify the account in Thunderbird not to show that folder so it is not a distraction.