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Refresh Contacts on macOS Without Restarting Thunderbird

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  • Last reply by GoneFishing

GoneFishing
GoneFishing
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I have Thunderbird open almost all the time. I will often add a new Contact to the macOS address book (Contacts) then go over to start a new message in Thunderbird. When I do this, the new contact can not be found. I need to quit Thunderbird and then restart it.

Is there a way to refresh (or reload) my address book (Contacts) without having to restart Thunderbird?

I have Thunderbird open almost all the time. I will often add a new Contact to the macOS address book (Contacts) then go over to start a new message in Thunderbird. When I do this, the new contact can not be found. I need to quit Thunderbird and then restart it. Is there a way to refresh (or reload) my address book (Contacts) without having to restart Thunderbird?

Chosen solution

I think the refresh rate is 30 minutes. Perhaps use the Thunderbird address book, or even the icloud one via carddav. Fundamentally I think the apple address book is just not really a starter with apple limiting it to read only.

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Matt
Matt
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Chosen Solution

I think the refresh rate is 30 minutes. Perhaps use the Thunderbird address book, or even the icloud one via carddav. Fundamentally I think the apple address book is just not really a starter with apple limiting it to read only.

GoneFishing
GoneFishing Question owner
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Using the iCloud address book with CardDAV seems to be exactly what I was looking for.

I found detailed setup instructions at: https://danielbrinneman.com/2022/12/12/sync-icloud-contacts-with-mozilla-thunderbird/

And after setting this up I could set the default refresh rate to various values, however if you just click on the three horizontal dots next to the name of the address book, you can just select "Synchronize".

It does not seem to support "Lists" (i.e. groups), however I rarely use them and even when I do it's rarely a new or updated List.

Thank you!