Import vcf addresses into Plusnet Webmail

[#1]

I now have a file of names and email addresses in vcf format.  BUT the Plusnet "Import Contacts" will only allow me to import one file i.e. one name at a time.  AND WORSE THAN THIS - IT ONLY IMPORTS THE NAME AND NOT THE EMAIL ADDRESS!!
ALSO, THE NAMES LISTED IN THE CONTACT FILE DO NOT APPEAR IN THE ADDRESS BOOK LIST FOR SELECTION WHEN SENDING AN EMAIL.  SO THE ADDRESS BOOK IS A COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME!!
PLEASE TELL ME HOW I CAN USE THE vcf email address files I have created.
Chris Nunn

[#2]

I just tried it and when I click on the name and select edit the email is there and clicking on it and select compose message works fine
Also adding it to an email as the destination works as well - I just typed the first letter of the name and it came up as an option
Regarding combining the multiple vcards into one file that needs some more work - this should do it http://www.creativeworld9.com/2011/04/how-to-combine-all-vcf-files-to-single.html

[#3]

Hey,
I've created a step by step guide for you, complete with pictures.
At the moment, it's not in "Guide" format on the Library, however in order to resolve your issue quicker, here are the links to the images
http://www.matteh.plus.com/contacts/ContactstoWebmail-step1.png
http://www.matteh.plus.com/contacts/ContactstoWebmail-step2.png
http://www.matteh.plus.com/contacts/ContactstoWebmail-step3.png
http://www.matteh.plus.com/contacts/ContactstoWebmail-step4.png
http://www.matteh.plus.com/contacts/ContactstoWebmail-step5.png
http://www.matteh.plus.com/contacts/ContactstoWebmail-step6.png
http://www.matteh.plus.com/contacts/ContactstoWebmail-step7.png
http://www.matteh.plus.com/contacts/ContactstoWebmail-step8.png
http://www.matteh.plus.com/contacts/ContactstoWebmail-step9.png
http://www.matteh.plus.com/contacts/ContactstoWebmail-step10.png
http://www.matteh.plus.com/contacts/ContactstoWebmail-step11.png
http://www.matteh.plus.com/contacts/ContactstoWebmail-step12.png
http://www.matteh.plus.com/contacts/ContactstoWebmail-step13.png
http://www.matteh.plus.com/contacts/ContactstoWebmail-step14.png
http://www.matteh.plus.com/contacts/ContactstoWebmail-step15.png
http://www.matteh.plus.com/contacts/ContactstoWebmail-step16.png
Hope you're able to accomplish this now, If you have any questions or comments regarding the above, don't hesitate to ask.
EDIT: - I have checked and confirmed that contacts imported via vCard, do not appear in the address book when writing a new email - I will raise this internally and get back to you tomorrow with a further update. I apologise for missing that step out!
Regards,

[#4]

Hi Matt
Thank you very much for your detailed instructions.  I have followed them and have been able to import the AllContacts file into Plusnet Webmail.  HOWEVER, ONLY THE NAMES ARE IMPORTED - NO EMAIL DETAILS.  This also happens if I import individual contacts.
I have worked out how to use the Contacts List to select email recipients - you right click on the name and then select "Compose mail to".  The Address Book does not work at all.
HOWEVER I STILL CAN'T USE THE CONTACTS LIST AS THERE ARE NO EMAIL ADDRESSES ATTACHED TO MY PERSONAL CONTACTS.  The AllContacts vcf file which I imported has the email details.

[#5]

Hey Chris,
Thanks for the update,
I've just checked through mine and mine also had the emails attached, but then on the webmail address book the email addresses were not attached to the contact.
I have raised this as problem number 72568 and will try to provide some kind of update for you tomorrow.
Regards,

[#6]

Just to add - when exporting from Outlook 2003 it worked fine so I suspect that the fields are populated differently

[#7]

Hey Chris,
A little update for you in regards to the problem. After doing some research, it appears that this issue is about 4 years old and the developers of the webmail system (external to Plusnet) have not been able to fix it.
However, within the next version or two, they should implement a whole new way of importing contacts with CSV (Comma Separated Values) spreadsheets. This will remove the need for the vCard system and will allow anyone to upload contacts no matter what the mail program (So long as it supports CSV export)
When this is going to happen, probably isn't something that we can deffinately say, but they do usually release an upgraded version every 3 months or so.
More information can be found here: http://trac.roundcube.net/ticket/1486399
EDIT: So far this only appears to be a problem for Outlook 2007.
Many thanks,
Matt

[#8]

Does the vCard (*.vcf) file format produced by Outlook 2007 differ from that produced by Outlook 2003 (which works)?
[code=The contents of a vCard file produced by Outlook 2003 are as follow]
BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION:2.1
N:Smith;John
FN:John Smith
EMAIL;PREF;INTERNET:john.smith@example.net
REV:20120827T232352Z
END:VCARD[/code]
[code=Importing to Roundcube, and exporting again gives]
BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION:3.0
REV:20120827T232352Z
N:Smith;John;;;
FN:John Smith
EMAIL;type=INTERNET;type=OTHER:john.smith@example.net
END:VCARD[/code]

[#9]

Not sure exactly how to extract the information, but I opened the vcf in Notepad and got the following:

BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION:2.1
N;LANGUAGE=en-gb:An Other
FN:An Other
X-MS-OL-DEFAULT-POSTAL-ADDRESS:0
EMAIL;PREF;INTERNET:an@another.com
X-MS-CARDPICTURE;TYPE=JPEG;ENCODING=BASE64:
 /9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQEAYABgAAD/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQY
 GBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYa
 KCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wAAR
 CACUACcDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAHwAAAQUBAQEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAAECAwQFBgcICQoL/8QAtRAA
 AgEDAwIEAwUFBAQAAAF9AQIDAAQRBRIhMUEGE1FhByJxFDKBkaEII0KxwRVS0fAkM2JyggkK
 FhcYGRolJicoKSo0NTY3ODk6Q0RFRkdISUpTVFVWV1hZWmNkZWZnaGlqc3R1dnd4eXqDhIWG
 h4iJipKTlJWWl5iZmqKjpKWmp6ipqrKztLW2t7i5usLDxMXGx8jJytLT1NXW19jZ2uHi4+Tl
 5ufo6erx8vP09fb3+Pn6/8QAHwEAAwEBAQEBAQEBAQAAAAAAAAECAwQFBgcICQoL/8QAtREA
 AgECBAQDBAcFBAQAAQJ3AAECAxEEBSExBhJBUQdhcRMiMoEIFEKRobHBCSMzUvAVYnLRChYk
 NOEl8RcYGRomJygpKjU2Nzg5OkNERUZHSElKU1RVVldYWVpjZGVmZ2hpanN0dXZ3eHl6goOE
 hYaHiImKkpOUlZaXmJmaoqOkpaanqKmqsrO0tba3uLm6wsPExcbHyMnK0tPU1dbX2Nna4uPk
 5ebn6Onq8vP09fb3+Pn6/9oADAMBAAIRAxEAPwD6UdwpAPU0oIwSTxVeQ7nOPoKRj2B4FAEk
 k4/g59zREMgk9fWoFGSKsr8qc+maAIJPnmx6cUUkIy5aigBw4yfSkpT93680lABEMtUs52xk
 evFJAOabcHkLQA1DsiJ70US8Kq0UAK3Xim0vagdfpQBYhHy5qufmm/GrJ+SP6Cq0PLE0AJMc
 vj0opjNlyfeigCTtTohyKb2qaEfyxQAlw2EA9ajT5YyfWluDlwPQUFSVCryeM0AV6KmEaLy5
 59KKAFHJxU0ZwoxyTzSBoz0Xn6UOSqEjigBDGN2X5J7CmSSEYCjbSRZLEnkgUyQgufSgBEG5
 vmNFNAycCigCzEPmH50s56D8adEvyk/hTJGXeeMkcc9BQAkQIXPvUeFX7xyfQVK5Pl4OBwBx
 UFAAXPRcKPaimUUAaJ4TJ7VUA3MPerMxxGfeoI+pPoKACY8Adjk1FT5fv49OKZQAyiiigC3c
 HkD0psXC89zSSHLNTjwn0H86AISckmkoPWigBlFFFAFoPuIBHWnOVI5xzTI+pPoKSTqB6CgA
 2Ken6GmGP3/MU09aAxHQkUABRscc/Q0Ubz3AP4UUATp9xvwpj/fb60UUARnrRRRQAyiiigD/
 2Q==
X-MS-OL-DESIGN;CHARSET=utf-8:<card xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/outlook/12/electronicbusinesscards" ver="1.0" layout="left" bgcolor="ffffff"><img xmlns="" align="fit" area="16" use="cardpicture"/><fld xmlns="" prop="name" align="left" dir="ltr" style="b" color="000000" size="10"/><fld xmlns="" prop="blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop="email" align="left" dir="ltr" color="000000" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop="blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop="blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop="blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop="blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop="blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop="blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop="blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop="blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop="blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop="blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop="blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop="blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop="blank" size="8"/></card>
REV:20120828T133528Z
END:VCARD

Not sure if all that info is required - But you might know more than me
Thanks,
Matt

[#10]

Thanks, opening the .vcf as text (eg in Notepad) was what was required.
Importing that into Roundcube then exporting it again (along with my John Smith entry from Outlook 2003) gives ...

BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION:3.0
X-MS-OL-DEFAULT-POSTAL-ADDRESS:0
N:An Other;;;;
END:VCARD
BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION:3.0
REV:20120827T232352Z
N:Smith;John;;;
FN:John Smith
EMAIL;type=INTERNET;type=OTHER:john.smith@example.net
END:VCARD

This illustrates the problem - only the "N" and (unwanted) "X-MS-OL-DEFAULT-POSTAL-ADDRESS" fields were saved, and the "N" field format is 'unusual' (full name in the lastname field). If I manually edit that .vcf to correspond with the Outlook 2003 format (including the BASE64 encoded image but prefixed "PHOTO;BASE64:" it does import successfully into Roundcube (including the image).
Do you have access to Outlook 2010 to see what vCard format that produces?
David

[#11]

Hey David,
Thanks for the information there.
I don't have access to 2010 unfortunately
However, this is the format for Office 2013 (courtesy of a friend)
[code=Export to vcard from Office 2013]
BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION:2.1
N;LANGUAGE=en-gb:Other;A;N;MR
FN:MR A N Other
TEL;WORK;VOICE:+44 (00000) 000000
X-MS-OL-DEFAULT-POSTAL-ADDRESS:0
EMAIL;PREF;INTERNET:A.N.Other@Nameless.com
X-MS-OL-DESIGN;CHARSET=utf-8:<card xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/outlook/12/electronicbusinesscards" ver="1.0" layout="left" bgcolor="ffffff"><img xmlns="" align="fit" area="16" use="cardpicture"/><fld xmlns="" prop="name" align="left" dir="ltr" style="b" color="000000" size="10"/><fld xmlns="" prop="blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop="telwork" align="left" dir="ltr" color="d48d2a" size="8"><label align="right" color="626262">Work</label></fld><fld xmlns="" prop="email" align="left" dir="ltr" color="d48d2a" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop="blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop="blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop="blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop="blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop="blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop="blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop="blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop="blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop="blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop="blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop="blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop="blank" size="8"/></card>
REV:20120829T205324Z
END:VCARD[/code]
Hope this helps "guess" the format for 2010 lol.
Cheers,
Matt

[#12]

Thanks Matt. That's very useful; it imports directly into Roundcube with usable name and email address.
Import/Export gives:
[code=Result from Roundcube Import/Export of OL2013 .vcf file]
BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION:3.0
X-MS-OL-DEFAULT-POSTAL-ADDRESS:0
X-MS-OL-DESIGN:<card xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/outlook/12/e
lectronicbusinesscards" ver="1.0" layout="left" bgcolor="ffffff"><img xmlns=
"" align="fit" area="16" use="cardpicture"/><fld xmlns="" prop="name" align=
"left" dir="ltr" style="b" color="000000" size="10"/><fld xmlns="" prop="bla
nk" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop="telwork" align="left" dir="ltr" color="d48
d2a" size="8"><label align="right" color="626262">Work</label></fld><fld xml
ns="" prop="email" align="left" dir="ltr" color="d48d2a" size="8"/><fld xmln
s="" prop="blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop="blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns=
"" prop="blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop="blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns=""
prop="blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop="blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" pr
op="blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop="blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop
="blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop="blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop="
blank" size="8"/><fld xmlns="" prop="blank" size="8"/></card>
REV:20120829T205324Z
N:Other3;A;N;MR;
FN:MR A N Other3
TEL;type=work:+44 (00000) 000000
EMAIL;type=INTERNET;type=OTHER:A.N.Other@Nameless.com
END:VCARD[/code]
Microsoft have corrected the format of the N (Name) parameter in OL2013, probably did in OL2010 since that was said to work. I'll check whether that is all that causes OL2007 import into Roundcube to fail.
David