[SOLVED] Debian Bullseye manage a VCF file with TB

Discussion of general topics about Mozilla Thunderbird
Post Reply
lenainjaune
Posts: 11
Joined: August 20th, 2020, 9:33 am

[SOLVED] Debian Bullseye manage a VCF file with TB

Post by lenainjaune »

Hello everyone :D

A few months ago, I exported all my contacts from my broken Galaxy S3 smartphone successfully (vCard 2.1 format).

I noticed that I can not import it directly to my current smartphone because it needs a vCard 4.0 format.

Also I wish to clean the contact list with all the polluting elements before importing it.

So I assumed I could import the VCF to a TB, clean up the junk contacts, and then export in the most updated vCard format.

I tried on TB v91.5.0 on a Debian Bullseye and can not find a way to specify the output format to be a vCard (TB do not propose the choice and the exported file is a CSV).

To finish a friend said to me that TB v91.6.1 on Windows have the VCF format export possibility and that the resulting file is a 4.0 vCard format.

So how to accomplish it with TB on Debian Bullseye ?

Is it possible to convert a VCF 2.1 format to 4.0 from Linux without losing information and keeping photos ?

With adelphity
lnj
Last edited by lenainjaune on February 19th, 2022, 2:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
tanstaafl
Moderator
Posts: 49647
Joined: July 30th, 2003, 5:06 pm

Re: Debian Bullseye manage a VCF file with TB

Post by tanstaafl »

The CardBook add-on at https://addons.thunderbird.net/en-us/th ... /cardbook/ adds support for vCard. AFAIK that add-on doesn't care what operating system you are using Thunderbird with.

https://gitlab.com/CardBook/CardBook/-/ ... cf%20files (import)
https://gitlab.com/CardBook/CardBook/-/ ... cf%20files (export)
lenainjaune
Posts: 11
Joined: August 20th, 2020, 9:33 am

Re: Debian Bullseye manage a VCF file with TB

Post by lenainjaune »

Hello :D
tanstaafl wrote:The CardBook add-on at https://addons.thunderbird.net/en-us/th ... /cardbook/ adds support for vCard. AFAIK that add-on doesn't care what operating system you are using Thunderbird with.
This addon seems very nice ... but for an unkwown reason it does not install from "Add-ons Manager" (the downloading and verifying add-on popup only shows a bar wich goes right to left ... but which never ends)

Also I noticed that from the Internet add-ons page (which you gives me in your answer), It is indicated with a forbidden pictogram that this Works with Thunderbird 91.0a1 - 91.*

root@vm-bullseye:~# thunderbird -v
Thunderbird 91.5.0
=> So my version would be candidate

The XPI version I tried to install is : cardbook-73.7-tb.xpi (I also tried with no more success cardbook-72.8-tb.xpi)

So what happen ?

[edit]However, I still managed to temporarily install the addon in debbug mode and I managed to export in VCF with success, so appart the fact that the plugin do not persists between the TB sessions it seems to do the trick[/edit]
User avatar
tanstaafl
Moderator
Posts: 49647
Joined: July 30th, 2003, 5:06 pm

Re: Debian Bullseye manage a VCF file with TB

Post by tanstaafl »

There are bugs with how the add-on manager detects what to download. I wrote a bug report about it and was told this is a known problem that they don't want to deal with yet since it would require a lot of rework on the web server. So sometimes its better to download a add-on using the browser and then use the cog wheel widget to install the specified file.
lenainjaune
Posts: 11
Joined: August 20th, 2020, 9:33 am

Re: Debian Bullseye manage a VCF file with TB

Post by lenainjaune »

Nope I tried too from the cog wheel widget in Add-ons Manager tab to install the specified file (v73.7 or v72.8) with no more success !

In this case nothing is displayed ! Apparently only the debbug mode permit to install it temporarily.

I tried too from an old Ubuntu 16.04 LTS to install the corresponding old add-on v28.2 which in this case installs with success permanently !

So I suppose the problem is from the compatibility between the newest TB and the newest cardbook pluggins.
User avatar
tanstaafl
Moderator
Posts: 49647
Joined: July 30th, 2003, 5:06 pm

Re: Debian Bullseye manage a VCF file with TB

Post by tanstaafl »

I just installed version 73.7 of CardBook via typing the name in the search field in tools -> add-ons using TB 91.6.1. The only problem I had was it wanted me to validate several remote address books (which I used to have but didn't configure anymore). Other than that it seems to be working fine. I had to use the wrench icon next to it in tools -> add-ons & themes -> extensions to confirm I was really using it :)

I also installed BetterBird 91.6.1-bb27 from https://www.betterbird.eu and it had no problems using that profile/add-on. Betterbird is a soft fork (backwards compatible) of Thunderbird that adds bug fixes and a few enhancements to Thunderbird, lead by a former Thunderbird developer. The Thunderbird project accepts some of its bug fixes/changes. https://www.betterbird.eu/#featuretable

I'm using Windows 11 Pro.
lenainjaune
Posts: 11
Joined: August 20th, 2020, 9:33 am

Re: Debian Bullseye manage a VCF file with TB

Post by lenainjaune »

tanstaafl wrote:I'm using Windows 11 Pro.
Mmmmm! I can not compare with you because I do not have a Windows 11 system to test it and I am a convinced Linux user ... so I think I could not go any further to add this plugin to TB from a system Linux Debian Bullseye. Pity !

I may contact the dev of CardBook to report the problem.

By the way, thanks for mentioning the Betterbird project which I did not know about.

[edit]I contacted the dev Philippe V. to describe the problem[/edit]

[edit]I observed the same behaviour with Betterbird with Bullseye[/edit]
lenainjaune
Posts: 11
Joined: August 20th, 2020, 9:33 am

Re: Debian Bullseye manage a VCF file with TB

Post by lenainjaune »

As the objective of being able to export my contacts from Thunderbird to vCard from Linux Debian Bullseye has been achieved, even if a compatibility problem means that the plugin can only be installed temporarily, I consider the problem solved.

I have the impression that the problem identified goes beyond the installation of this specific plugin.

But if anyone has any other answers, I am still listening to this thread.

So if I find the solution by myself, I will post it here.
lenainjaune
Posts: 11
Joined: August 20th, 2020, 9:33 am

Re: [SOLVED] Debian Bullseye manage a VCF file with TB

Post by lenainjaune »

back ...

I dug into the problem and found the source.

The problem does not only concern this module but concerns all modules.

It is related to the fact that I do not have an email account created under Thunderbird that I only use to test that I could synchronize and export my contacts in vCard format.

What makes Thunderbird displays at each start the tab to add one, the Account Setup tab.

As soon as I close this tab I can add a module without problem.

So I found a workaround to install it but the problem is not known.

I will report it to the Thunderbird team.

Where is it relevant to report this ?
User avatar
tanstaafl
Moderator
Posts: 49647
Joined: July 30th, 2003, 5:06 pm

Re: [SOLVED] Debian Bullseye manage a VCF file with TB

Post by tanstaafl »

You can report bugs at https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/home . However, I don't really see forcing somebody to exit the new account wizard when they have no accounts in order to install an add-on is a bug. You are not a typical use case and the workaround is very easy.

You might have more success submitting a bug report that is a "enhancement request" that the new account wizard not be a modal window, if you can list multiple cases where that makes a significant difference.
lenainjaune
Posts: 11
Joined: August 20th, 2020, 9:33 am

Re: [SOLVED] Debian Bullseye manage a VCF file with TB

Post by lenainjaune »

You are not a typical use case and the workaround is very easy.
Yes you are right
You might have more success submitting a bug report that is a "enhancement request" that the new account wizard not be a modal window, if you can list multiple cases where that makes a significant difference.
The new account wizard is already NON-modal.

I saw two cases : either it is a detached NON-modal window which allows access to other TB functionalities (observed on a Linux Ubuntu Focal Fossa system), or it is a tab which therefore does not prevent access to other functionalities (observed on Debian Bullseye), but in any case, to install a module we just have to close it before.

If the wizard was modal, the problem would not arise because we could not do anything else, but I would find it sad to limit a tool to its main role.

I can want to use TB only to manage contacts, without using email functionalities, in which case it would be illogical not to be able to install a module until we have created an email account.

For me and Philippe (the module developer of CardBook), there is no reason to prevent installing a module while this tab or this window is opened.

So I just want to ask to the TB Team why it is not possible to install a module without having to close the new account wizard ?

As you suggested me I opened an ehancement request 1756848
Post Reply