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TICKET ARCHIVE -> Sharing Contacts In Address Book
neris - Aug 11, 2005 - 2:39 pm
Is it possible to share your address book contents with another user on the same computer without using .mac? My ultimate goal is to have two users with read/write capabilities to the same data.
It seems that the actual data for my contacts is in a location that cannot be moved (to my public, or shared folders), and therefore not able to be shared in the same way that I would share another kind of file.
It seems that the actual data for my contacts is in a location that cannot be moved (to my public, or shared folders), and therefore not able to be shared in the same way that I would share another kind of file.
earthsaver - Aug 11, 2005 - 2:54 pm
Are these two users on the same computer?
- Ben
- Ben
neris - Aug 15, 2005 - 10:31 am
Yes, there are two users on this computer.
earthsaver - Aug 15, 2005 - 4:11 pm
The only way to do this effectively is to put the desired AddressBook data folder on a shared disk image that mounts for each user upon login, or on a separate partition or hard disk, so both users have equal privilege to access the data. You'd use a symbolic link (a soft link; a more transient version of an alias) to point each user's Library to the new location.
I can walk you through the steps if you desire.
- Ben
I can walk you through the steps if you desire.
- Ben
neris - Aug 16, 2005 - 5:16 pm
I would like to learn the steps.
Thanks
Neris
Thanks
Neris
earthsaver - Aug 16, 2005 - 10:18 pm
If I can assume you are using Panther or Tiger, you'll use Disk Utility to create a read/write disk image of, I would suggest, 50 MB. Save the file to a shared location, such as the Users/Shared folder. (If you're using Jaguar, you'll use Disk Copy for the same purpose.)
Mount the image by opening the new file. Copy the desired AddressBook folder from that user's Library/Application Support folder to the mounted disk. Then, delete the original AddressBook folder. You might want to use the Address Book application to backup your contacts just in case something goes wrong in the process.
Download SymbolicLinker so we can create the appropriate alias-like links to AddressBook, without scaring you at the command line. Read the Read Me file for installation instructions.
Use the contextual menu (Control+click) on the AddressBook folder to create a symbolic link. The link should appear next to the folder; if not, it's on the Desktop. It will appear to be an alias. Move it back to Library/Application Support. Then, go to Accounts preferences and add the image file (from Users/Shared, or wherever you put it) to your login/startup items list.
Switch to the second user and create a second symbolic link in the same way. If you don't use Fast User Switching here, you'll have to mount the disk image again. (You can turn on FUS in Accounts preferences in Panther/Tiger.) Move it to the same place in this user's Library. Add to login/startup items here, too.
Logout both users and start fresh to test. Let me know if you get hung up.
- Ben
Mount the image by opening the new file. Copy the desired AddressBook folder from that user's Library/Application Support folder to the mounted disk. Then, delete the original AddressBook folder. You might want to use the Address Book application to backup your contacts just in case something goes wrong in the process.
Download SymbolicLinker so we can create the appropriate alias-like links to AddressBook, without scaring you at the command line. Read the Read Me file for installation instructions.
Use the contextual menu (Control+click) on the AddressBook folder to create a symbolic link. The link should appear next to the folder; if not, it's on the Desktop. It will appear to be an alias. Move it back to Library/Application Support. Then, go to Accounts preferences and add the image file (from Users/Shared, or wherever you put it) to your login/startup items list.
Switch to the second user and create a second symbolic link in the same way. If you don't use Fast User Switching here, you'll have to mount the disk image again. (You can turn on FUS in Accounts preferences in Panther/Tiger.) Move it to the same place in this user's Library. Add to login/startup items here, too.
Logout both users and start fresh to test. Let me know if you get hung up.
- Ben
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