Reinstall Netscape 7.2 Address Book

I am trying to copy my Netscape 7.2 address book from my old computer to a new one. The email and bookmark folders and files from the old computer have transferred in just fine and are located in the folder:

C:\Documents and Settings\Jim\Desktop\Mozilla\Profiles\default\ar3c1l2k.slt

I haven't been able to get the address books to load. There are
7 abook.mab files in ar3c1l2k.slt. Are these what I need and how do I get them to load? Thank you.

tightwoods

 

Welcome to the Forum, tightwoods!

tightwoods,

All seven address books are named abook.mab? If so, which one has the most current addresses? That would be the one to copy to the ar3c1l2k.slt folder.

You can also Export the most current abook.mab file as an LDIF file. This can be done in the Address Book by clicking on: Tools | Export
Select a folder on your HDD, name the file, and click OK.

Next: Copy the LDIF file to a folder on the new PC.
Now: Open the Address Book on the new PC, and click on Tools | Import
Select: Address Book
Select: Text File (LDIF, tab, csv, txt)
The LDIF file will be imported into the Netscape Address Book on the new PC as the name you gave the file, e.g., OldPC.ldif, as a new Address Book

You can then highlight all the addresses (Ctrl + A) then drag the Addresses into the Personal Address Book.

However..... if you are talking about having one Personal Address Book, and six additional Address Books which you created, e.g., abook-1.mab, abook-2.mab, etc., then you should export all six additional address books as LDIF files. Ensure that when naming the Address Books, that the name is descriptive, as it will be displayed in the Address Book, once imported.

 

Thank you for replying Ramona!

All seven address books are named abook.mab?

No, they are named abook-1.mab through abook-6.mab, and abook.mab for a total of 7.

If so, which one has the most current addresses? That would be the one to copy to the ar3c1l2k.slt folder.

That's what I'm trying to find out! The one I want to use has a total of 5 address books beginning with Personal Address Book, then Collected Addresses, plus 3 more that I added.

You can also Export the most current abook.mab file as an LDIF file.

I'll do this and see what happens. I'll let you know. Thanks again.

tightwoods

 

It is not necessary to give the abook-1,etc.mab the same name. I export the address books according to the contents, so I export and name them as I see fit. When I import such address books, they will have the names which I picked, such as Friends, Family, Co-workers. However, your .slt folder will have them listed, not so helpfully, as impab,-1,-2,etc.mab.
I just imported with no problem my Family.ldif file, which was stored on my HD, and it showed up as Family in my program, but as impab.mab in the .slt folder.
I have, usually one abook.mab file. Anything more than that is merged with the original abook.mab, and then deleted. There is enough confusion as it is.
Right now, I don't even bother looking at files on the hard drive. I, just, save the .ldif files with a recognizable name.
You could look at the date on the hard drive, for which is the most recent AB.
I have nothing in the Collected AB, since I collect addresses on the Personal AB. This is a recent profile, and my abook.mab address book, i.e. the Personal AB is dated 2/16/06, while imported Family.ldif is in impab.mab of 2/21/06.
This should give you an idea of what is best to do.

 

I imported them as LDIF's using the names I had given them. They imported just fine! The only issue I have now is how do I get the address cards from the imported (old) "Personal Address Book" and "Collected Addresses" address books into the new ones? These are default address books and as far as I can tell can't be deleted. I can delete the individual address cards in them but I can't delete the address books themselves so that the old ones import in and take their place. Thanks again for the helpful advice.

tightwoods

 

tightwoods,

You can highlight all the addresses (Ctrl + A) in the imported LDIF files, then left click, and drag the Addresses into the default Personal Address Book, and Collected Addresses.

Once you are certain all the Addresses are in place and working, then you can delete the LDIF files.

 

Looking at my address files, with only one abook.mab and 5 impab.mab files( from importing the .ldif files), I could tell that the latest modified file would be the most recent. I have no idea how there are so many abook.mab files, but, since I always import the .ldif files, I would not expect to have more than one abook.mab file. I, also, collect addresses only in the personal address book, so the collected ab is redundant.

 

That Worked!

Thanks Ramona, that was a big help! I never would have figured it out.

tightwoods

 

Thank You!

Thanks again Ramona and Westside for your help.

tightwoods

 

I suggest that you don't delete the .ldif files, or, perhaps better, update them, periodically (I don't do enough of it, and I find myself importing addresses of the Middle Ages, though an old address book is better than nothing.