You can install this add-on. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/gcontactsync/

Before you start messing with it, make sure to create a backup of your Thunderbird profile, and read the add-on FAQ. https://support.mozilla.org/kb/profiles-where-thunderbird-stores-user-data#w_backing-up-a-profile

I downloaded the add-on file but I can't open it or run it. Need help here.

Re the Profile - I do weekly Copies of it to an external HD. But I need clarification - does the Profile include TB Contacts?

Add-ons: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/installing-addon-thunderbird

Yes the profile includes your Address Book and all its constituent address books.

Thanks Zenos. I have the add-on installed & working. Now in TB I still have the Contacts list which is now the 'old' un-synced Address Book, & a new Address Book under the heading of my Gmail email address, So can I Delete the TB Contacts Book?

I don't know what a "TB Contacts Book" is. There is nothing by that name here.

If you mean Personal Address Book and/or Collected Addresses then the bad news is that if you do find a way to delete them, they will be re-generated. They are hard-coded in Thunderbird.

OK Zenos - maybe all is academic now because all is working fine. I installed\setup TB a couple of years ago & at the time for some reason I went to File\New\Address Book & created 'Contacts'. I just Deleted all entries in 'Contacts'. Right now my Address Books looks like this - Personal Address Book - empty (Gmail email address) - has all my Contacts synced to Gmail Contacts - empty Collected Addresses - empty I don't know if I created a problem by not having everything in 'Personal Address Book'. What do you think?

You have not created a problem, only a personalisation. But be aware Thunderbird will have a personal address book and a collected address book. Those are automatically created if they do not exist, you can not suppress that action. When it comes to address books, I probably have a dozen, I do not use mailing lists. I use address books. I find having the information completely discreet makes managing contact simpler for me.

But I also synchronize (actually include) the windows contacts so when the phone (samsung) synchronizes with windows I get the benefit in Thunderbird as well, but no automatic merger of those contact with say Gmail.

I find that the sync is VERY limited. I does sync some of the fields but not postal addresses...

This is really allied to a database issue, I guess... Somehow it would be good to have one contacts book which was in sync with everything...

No way, Jose!

tommyzulu said

I find that the sync is VERY limited. I does sync some of the fields but not postal addresses... This is really allied to a database issue, I guess... Somehow it would be good to have one contacts book which was in sync with everything... No way, Jose!

That is a typical comment from someone that simply does not understand the issues and what synchronization is..

Gmail has a single address field. Thunderbird not only has 2 address for each contact (work and Home) but separates out location and postal codes which Gmail does not.

So you are not asking for syncing, as there is almost no similarity in the data. You are asking for some one to write an address standardization routine that can take a free form address and accurately break down the component parts so they can be shoe horned into Thunderbird address fields.

These are completely valid addresses; Frome Downs 5440 PO Box 78690, Sandton, 2146, South Africa Trump Tower 721–725 Fifth Avenue NY 10022 Cowcombe Hill Frampton Mansell Gloucestershire GL6 8HP 236 Wellington St Longford TAS 7301 Australia

Gust because the Google text is free form. It might have been used for notes. Folks are not really very dependable where free form text is concerned.

So the Google address may be. "Wife June loves golf and son Brian is captain of local cricket 11. Daughter Sandra a competitive swimmer."

So now we need a computer routine that can work out that the lasdt is utter nonsense, and decide what goes in Postal code the 5 digits the USA uses, the 4 SA uses or the mix of alpha numeric the UK uses.

does that free form text contain a location. Which word is it? A human might stand a chance

Then there are the simple things like Unit 25 number 45 or 25/45 or flat 25 / 45 or 25 / 45 - 56. All of those things can be valid for a single street and flat address. However add Building C and all of the above is predicated on getting the correct Building at the address. A University is a good example of addressing where buildings are important.

Now get a computer to do that quickly and accurately. It is a mammoth task. I know of a Government department that spend 10 years tinkering with an address standardization routine. IT was close, but not 100% and it only dealt with addresses in a single country.

So before you ask for sync, first you have to ask for some sort of international address standards. We have them for many things. But address is not one of them. Then you have to get the big players to actually adhere to the standards. Microsoft for one have made a career out of not applying them and calling it innovation.

Personally I think the closest you will come is using the windows people, syncing Thunderbird to that and using the god awful apps that the phone companies provide to sync your phone to Windows. But like task synchronization without standards the best you can hope for is a kludge that sometimes works for some things and is provider specific.