Import Ward Directory into OS X Address Book (and iPhone)

[wingnut-p40]

I wanted to get my ward directory on my iphone and after a little searching I got it to work well. There may be a better way, but this did the trick for me.

• Download your ward directory in csv format.

• Clean it up (I broke out email addresses into their own columns, and edited family name to just have last name, etc.)
• Make sure all columns have header titles for easier mapping
• Once you have it cleaned up and ready, download and install Address Book Importer
• The rest is pretty explanatory. Just map the fields in the csv with the ones in ABI. You can even have it put all the imported contacts into a group.

Here's a screenshot of mine:




As far as getting it on the iPhone, as you'd expect, the contacts are copied over with the next sync you do between iTunes and the iPhone.


Enjoy!

[mprusse]

Thank you for sharing this. I wasn't aware of this program and it has some potential. Keep in mind, however, that Mac users who want to employ this method must have access to the export from the MLS system on the ward computer. There is a CSV and a vCard export from the LUWS membership list, however; it isn't as clean an export as it is from MLS as several of the fields combine multiple items that should be broken out separately. For example, from the LUWS export, the city, state & zip are all contained in one field.

Up to this point I have been exporting from the LUWS membership directory using vCard and then importing that into Mac OS X Address Book. Again, it works but isn't as clean as an export from MLS and the one you have shared.

Thanks again.

[wingnut-p40]

Yeah, I did a regular export as csv from the stake and ward website, and then just cleaned them up in Excel (like I mentioned above) so that I could quickly break things into multiple columns as you have mentioned. I wish I had access to the clean version, but for now this worked fine and only took a couple of minutes.

(In MS Excel do data > text to columns to split out city, state, zip, email, etc.)

[denvertimothy-p40]

I just wrote a program to convert the Membership.csv export file to a vCards file. You can download it here:

http://reduxcomputing.com/mls2vcard.zip

It's really easy to use. Just drag the Membership.csv file onto the app icon (before or after running the program is fine). It will prompt you where you want to save the vCards file. Then just drag the vCards file onto your Address Book icon.

Let me know how it works and if I can make make it better in any way.

It was developed under 10.5 and I haven't tested it in previous OS X versions. Let me know if there are any compatibility issues.

I just realized that this was developed under the assumption of a YSA ward, where there are no households, just individual members. I'm not sure if that will change things. Let me know if it does.

Also, since there is some unique information exported in the notes field, it is easy to create a Smart Group in Address Book with a name of something like "Ward Directory" that automatically updates when new records are added. It also makes it easy to do a mass delete and a new import.

[mikengray-p40]

Hey, so I was about to attempt using the application generously written by Denvertimothy, but I noticed the Ward websites now have the vcard option on them! I clicked vcard link and Voila!--instant import into my Address book! How long has the vcard link been there??
-Mike Gray

[mprusse]

Hey, so I was about to attempt using the application generously written by Denvertimothy, but I noticed the Ward websites now have the vcard option on them! I clicked vcard link and Voila!--instant import into my Address book! How long has the vcard link been there??
-Mike Gray

It has been there probably a year or more. I have used it a few times but not all of the information matches up perfectly in the Mac OS X Address Book. For instance, the city, state & zip all goes into the city field in Address Book. But it is very easy to do and thankfully the Macintosh Address Book doesn't have the awful limitation that Outlook does on Windows where it won't import more than one vcard at a time. As you know you take the vcard export from LUWS and drag it into a group you have set up in the Address Book and they all import.

[denvertimothy-p40]

I've discovered that MLS 2.9 now includes an export vCard option. I think that basically eliminates the need for the program I wrote. However, if somebody has a particular need, I happy to help. I can even send the source code.

[opee]

...the awful limitation that Outlook does on Windows where it won't import more than one vcard at a time. As you know you take the vcard export from LUWS and drag it into a group you have set up in the Address Book and they all import.

I cannot find any free programs that expand your vcard, allowing you to choose what Outlook folder to put it in. Any suggestions? (Using a PC, not a Mac)

[mkmurray]

So is the MLS export better to have than the LUWS export if you can get it?

Also, can you import contacts directly into the iPhone without going through syncing with Outlook or another email contact system?

[zaneclark]

I have been using the LUWS to export vcards to my Mac OS address book for over a year and the data has always separated nicely into the proper fields.... Am I doing something wrong?:)

Thank you for sharing this. I wasn't aware of this program and it has some potential. Keep in mind, however, that Mac users who want to employ this method must have access to the export from the MLS system on the ward computer. There is a CSV and a vCard export from the LUWS membership list, however; it isn't as clean an export as it is from MLS as several of the fields combine multiple items that should be broken out separately. For example, from the LUWS export, the city, state & zip are all contained in one field.

Up to this point I have been exporting from the LUWS membership directory using vCard and then importing that into Mac OS X Address Book. Again, it works but isn't as clean as an export from MLS and the one you have shared.

Thanks again.