Problem Editing Contacts

When editing and upgrading email addresses for contacts, I attempt to delete
the old, and no longer valid address. It disappears. However, when I reboot
the computer, I find that both e mail addresses are listed. The primary
address, which I have deleted, now appears as the business e mail. Does
anyone have advise on how to delete the offending, no longer valid address?
TIA. Jef

"jef" <jflinn@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:OO5FZHiuIHA.5832@xxxxxx
There seems to be a problem with the way Windows Live Mail imports
contacts from other address books.

For instance, when you import contacts from an Outlook Express (wab), it
imports **every** address from the old address book - in alphabetical
order, without identifying the primary / default email address. WLM
also tries to synchronize contact lists with Windows Live Messenger and
Live Hotmail - which causes further confusion and duplications.

The following procedure provided a partial solution to the problem. I
previously used Outlook Express - so complete and accurate details of my
contacts are stored in my Windows / Outlook Express (WAB) address book.
The same procedure may work for you, if you have an accurate and up to
date WAB file.

1) I logged off from Windows Live Messenger AND closed Windows Live
Mail.

2) Then, I reviewed every entry in my WAB address book. If the
address book listed more than one email address for a contact, I deleted
obsolete email addresses and moved supplementary addresses to Notes /
Other.

3) Then, I opened Live Hotmail (via the webmail interface) and
deleted all contacts from Live Hotmail.

4) Then I exited from Live Hotmail and logged onto Windows Live
Messenger - and deleted all contacts. Then, I exited from Windows Live
Messenger. These steps removed all contacts from the "Live" interface.

5) Then, I opened Windows Live Mail, selected "Contacts" and clicked
on File / Import / Windows Address Book (WAB). This imported my contact
details from wab (the import process included groups). WLM designated
the default email addresses as personal. Then, I closed Windows Live
Mail.

6) Then, I logged onto Live Hotmail via the webmail interface and
clicked on Options / Customize your contacts / Import Contacts - and
selected Option 1 (Download and run contacts importer). This imported
the entire contents of my Windows Address Book into Live Hotmail. A
mirror image of the same address book subsequently appeared
automatically in Windows Live Messenger.

7) As a final step, I restored supplementary email addresses to their
proper places in WAB.

"jef" <jflinn@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:OO5FZHiuIHA.5832@xxxxxx In my previous reply, I missed one step. In Windows Live Mail, you need
to delete all contacts, before importing data from the Windows Address
Book (WAB).

Good to get detailed advice again, Bob - thanks. But I'm tempted to
say that at least one of your steps is redundant and might cause
duplication/conflicts. If you import your WAB contacts into WLMail
while signed in with your Hotmail Live ID, those contacts should
synchronize with Hotmail - so importing them into Hotmail again is
redundant. The same applies the other way round. The fields in the
Hotmail contacts list are not quite identical to those in WLMail.
Hotmail in fact allows for many more fields than it actually
displays, so importing WAB contacts to Hotmail should transfer more
data. (I've not looked to see whether Hotmail actually stores all of
them. Someone might care to check by importing WAB data with all of
the fields populated, then exporting the Hotmail contacts as csv and
seeing how much was transferred.) One field missing in WLMail for
example is Business Fax. Did your Groups make it to Hotmail?
--
Noel

"Bob Lucas" <bob@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:g0u217$ftc$1@xxxxxx

No. My groups did NOTimport into Hotmail via the webmail interface.

That was not an issue, because I never use distribution lists in Live
Hotmail.

You are correct. Duplication can occur - but I can live with that.
Fortunately, there is a tool within Live Hotmail to clean up duplicate
contacts - which seems to work OK.

I am also comfortable that the contact details in my various address
books (WAB, Windows Live Mail and Live Hotmail) contain the same
information, because all of the info has come from the same source
(previously, some details differed).


"Ildhund" <jnllb@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:ujthp0luIHA.3780@xxxxxx

Thanks for your replies. In my case, Windows Live Mail was installed on an
OEM Vista machine, so there was no Outlook Express from which to export.
However, I exported the OE Address book from an old computer to a CSV file,
and imported that file into Windows Live Mail. I do not use Live Hotmail.
The offending contact addresses or those that I have corrected when my
contacts have changed their e mail address. What I cannot do is delete
those old addresses. Am I missing something here? TIA, Jef

"jef" <jflinn@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:OO5FZHiuIHA.5832@xxxxxx

All my contacts in WLM(both pop3 and http accounts) on Vista(now using SP1) were exports from OE or OL to a CSV file and edit.
Once saved as csv files and verified in Excel, I purposely deleted all contacts in all web based Hotmail accounts in the Hotmail
interface prior to installing WLM on Vista and then importing contacts for each and every http account in WLM and a common default
account for the pop3 accounts(created in Excel by merging, cut and paste from at least 4 different pop3 accounts).

All Contacts addresses are editable at this end in the various email fields(personal, work, other).

If editing is a problem, possible exporting to a csv file, editing in Excel, then importing back into WLM may help, though proceed
with caution to avoid duplicates(option - and much higher risk and only if functional csv files are available and tested....delete
the contacts in WLM and ensure that syncing occurs with a null contact database in WLMsgr and Hotmail's Web UI.)

I am not a regular user of Windows Messenger, but I did notice that in quite a few Contacts in either WLM or accessing the same
account's Contacts in WLMsgr the IM field is greyed-out, nor do I know why.



--
...winston
ms-mvp mail


"jef" <jflinn@xxxxxx> wrote in message news:#7Fms7suIHA.5876@xxxxxx

Can you explain how you delete the old address?

Do you just type over the old address in the contact with the new, or
are you doing something else?

--

Mike - http://pages.prodigy.net/michael_santovec/techhelp.htm



"jef" <jflinn@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:#7Fms7suIHA.5876@xxxxxx

Summary of my experiences

Various problem importing contacts during OE->WLM transitions, inexplicable
duplication & missing data problems, requiring repair by hand. In all cases
I the users has "cleaned up" their OE NAB before transition

I have had no problems setting up WLM on top of existing Hotmail accounts,
aprt from not getting Groups, but the individual contacts ahve been imported
perfectly without any action (overt or covert) on my part.

Groups have not been transferred from either OE or Hotmail, in both
instances they had to be recreated by hand

There is no way I can find to import selectively from an OE NAB into a Vista
WLM installation. The Vista Contacts facility insists that it will handle
the imported file, no matter whether its a CSV or anything else - absolute
shambles. I think it's the interference line that the Vista Contacts
facility runs that is the source of all the problems I've had in OE->WLM
transitions.

I've had more success selectively exporting an OE NAB into a commercial bulk
mailing service that I have trying to do the same thing into WLM.

Is there a way of uninstalling the Vista Mail and Contacts -- I'm loathe to
touch it because it seems to have something to do with User Accounts.
--
TUT
__________________________________

"Ildhund" <jnllb@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:ujthp0luIHA.3780@xxxxxx

First I click on the contact. The box that is displayed shows details,
name, personal address, work address, etc.

The old address has moved down to the Work address, and the new address is
in the Personal address space. When I back space out or select/delete the
work address, or right click and cut, it disappears until I close and
reopen WLM, and there it is again. It just occurs to me that perhaps I
should just delete the contact, and then enter a new contact with the new
address. Perhaps that will work. Certainly, Editing it does not. Jef

"Michael Santovec" <michael_santovec@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:e$VsX3vuIHA.5876@xxxxxx