Vista - Storage Location of WLM Desktop Contacts

Here's my scenario:

Windows XP, SP3 (v5.1.2600) with all the latest WindowsUpdate.Com updates
including Software.
WLM Desktop 2008 (Build 14.0.5027.0908)

My Documents Folder: C:\My Documents
WLM Storage Folder: C:\My Documents\Windows Live Mail

I have written a small VB.NET application that successfully reads the
*.Contact (XML) files in [what-I-thought-was] the Contacts folder located in
the hidden folder:

C:\My Documents\Windows Live Mail\Contacts\<MyLiveID>\real

I just made a change to a contact this morning and when I loaded the
addresses through my app, it had the old email address. I thought, hmm, I
must be reading the wrong store. So I searched my HDD for all the *.Contact
files and there were two sets; one in the hidden real folder and the other in
the shadow folder. BOTH files had the old email address in them, yet when I
open WLM Contacts and look at the email address in this contact, it is the
newly changed one. The one online in my Live ID account is also updated
correctly.

I checked the dates on the *.Contact files in the hiddne folders on my HDD,
and it looks like the last time I made a change to any of them was on
10/24/2008. I checked the creation date of the Windows Live Mail shortcuts
under Start Menu | Programs, and low-and-behold, they're the same date. This
leads me to believe I must have installed this Beta version of WLM on that
date, and since then it is using some other sort of storage location for the
contacts, leaving all those other files as they were on that date.

Can you please enlighten me as to where and/or how these are now being
stored or updated?!

Thanks for your time in advance ... Sunny

Contacts for your version are stored in a different location and in a different format.
An attached file shows the location.
You may have to read this message in an news client(like WLM) to see the attached picture.
Here's the link to setup this group in WLM
news://msnews.microsoft.com/microsof...e.mail.desktop

The real/shadow folders most likely the location and format used by the last version.


fyi...in this version....Both WLM and WLMsgr use the same integrated Contact folder database.


--
...winston
ms-mvp mail


"SunnyJamshedji" <SunnyJamshedji@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:EAE521B0-1CDD-485B-9287-94602FAE682E@xxxxxx

Ahah! I saw the GUID in the registry, but could not figure out what it was
pointing to. Next time, I'll search for the GUID in Files & Folders as
well!

So basically, they have hidden the Contacts data now, so other people cannot
access them!

1. Is there a .NET/COM/DLL interface to access these as there was for WAB?
I see numerous entries in the registry such as: Windows Live Contact
Database: C:\Program Files\Windows Live\Contacts\contact.dll

2. Is there a file format for this? Looks like the EDB file is an
encrypted Exchange Server Property Store?

3. Is there any way to access it at all other than through the web using
the Windows Live Contacts API Beta 1.0 (Live.Com interface through HTTP
requests)?

This reverse engineering is fun, but frustrating when people are trying to
hide things from you!

Thanks for getting back to me ... Sunny

"...winston" <winstonmvp@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:OPiLHTMZJHA.5108@xxxxxx
Contacts for your version are stored in a different location and in a
different format.
An attached file shows the location.
You may have to read this message in an news client(like WLM) to see the
attached picture.
Here's the link to setup this group in WLM
news://msnews.microsoft.com/microsof...e.mail.desktop

The real/shadow folders most likely the location and format used by the last
version.


fyi...in this version....Both WLM and WLMsgr use the same integrated Contact
folder database.


--
...winston
ms-mvp mail


"SunnyJamshedji" <SunnyJamshedji@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:EAE521B0-1CDD-485B-9287-94602FAE682E@xxxxxx

You could have a look at
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb463989.aspx
and ask around at
http://dev.live.com/contacts/
but I suspect you're out of luck as regards manipulating contact
data locally. The Windows Live Messenger people might have an idea,
especially now that contacts are fully integrated between the two
clients.
--
Noel

"Sunny Jamshedji" <SunnyJamshedji@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:uF38ZPQZJHA.256@xxxxxx