How to eliminate multiple address lists (all, custom, etc. and have only one
The address book(s) for Thunderbird seem to keep multiplying. I only want one, containing all addresses. I keep getting three, and cannot seem to be able to set a default. I do not want "collected addresses, all address books, personal address book, address book, etc. How do I eliminate the un-needed ones, or at least create a default?
Thank you.
Chosen solution
Personal Address Book is the default address book. Address Book is the overall collection of address books and isn't in itself a working address book.
You can stop using Collected Addresses by setting new Contacts to be added to Personal Address Book.
Tools|Options|Composition|Addressing
I wouldn't do this myself, because when something appears in Collected Addresses, it means I have sent something to someone who wasn't already in my Address Book, so it prompts me to think about where (or if) they should be filed.
You can't eliminate Collected Addresses as it is hard-coded into Thunderbird, but at least now you can empty it and it will stay empty. Similarly, if do you manage to remove Personal Address Book, Thunderbird will automatically reinstate it.
Once you have disabled Collected Addresses, you'll find that All Address Books and Personal Address Book will become equivalent.
But you need to understand what's going on. Many of us like having multiple address books, so we can can keep work, family, business stuff (etc) apart. All Address Books is a special virtual address book that combines all the other ("real") address books to make searching easier, since you can use it to search all of your address books at once. As such, you can't add Contacts to it, because it doesn't really exist. But it won't make any sense if you do have only one "real" address book (i.e. Personal Address Book).
Why would anyone want multiple address books? Well…
I have a collection of "no reply" type Contact addresses who I want in an address book so I can see their images and they won't be treated as Junk, but of course these aren't useful as recipient addresses. So I wouldn't want these filed in a working address book. And I have other specific address books, one of which syncs to my phone and has current phone numbers, and another which syncs to my main gmail account so it can be shared with my Android tablet.
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Chosen Solution
Personal Address Book is the default address book. Address Book is the overall collection of address books and isn't in itself a working address book.
You can stop using Collected Addresses by setting new Contacts to be added to Personal Address Book.
Tools|Options|Composition|Addressing
I wouldn't do this myself, because when something appears in Collected Addresses, it means I have sent something to someone who wasn't already in my Address Book, so it prompts me to think about where (or if) they should be filed.
You can't eliminate Collected Addresses as it is hard-coded into Thunderbird, but at least now you can empty it and it will stay empty. Similarly, if do you manage to remove Personal Address Book, Thunderbird will automatically reinstate it.
Once you have disabled Collected Addresses, you'll find that All Address Books and Personal Address Book will become equivalent.
But you need to understand what's going on. Many of us like having multiple address books, so we can can keep work, family, business stuff (etc) apart. All Address Books is a special virtual address book that combines all the other ("real") address books to make searching easier, since you can use it to search all of your address books at once. As such, you can't add Contacts to it, because it doesn't really exist. But it won't make any sense if you do have only one "real" address book (i.e. Personal Address Book).
Why would anyone want multiple address books? Well…
I have a collection of "no reply" type Contact addresses who I want in an address book so I can see their images and they won't be treated as Junk, but of course these aren't useful as recipient addresses. So I wouldn't want these filed in a working address book. And I have other specific address books, one of which syncs to my phone and has current phone numbers, and another which syncs to my main gmail account so it can be shared with my Android tablet.
Modified by Zenos
The info listed is good for ADDING new addresses, but isn't there a way to eliminate already existing DUPLICATES?