Is there an easy way to strip duplicates out of Android Contacts.vcf vcard file?

[James P. Doolittle]

Is there an easy way to strip out duplicates from an Android
Contacts.vcf file?

Just now, I removed my SIM card and external micro-sd card,
and then factory reset my Android phone.

When I re-inserted my SIM card, I noticed that the contacts
were in duplicate and triplicate in places, almost certainly
due to my tests re-loading various contacts.vcf files while
performing my backup tasks prior to the factory reset.

I created a new Contacts.vcf VCARD file by running:
Contacts > menukey > Import/Export > Export to USB Storage >
Confirm export to /storage/emulated/9/Contacts.vcf?
Yes.

I'm currently on Kubuntu 14.04 and Android 4.3.

Given that the new Contacts.vcf vcard file has duplicates ...
Q1: Is there an easy way to wipe out the SIM card & start fresh?
Q2: Is there an easy way to remove duplicates from a vcf file?

[Mike Yetto]

While walking through the streets of Soho in the rain James P.
Doolittle <jim...@nospam.invalid> wrote...

> Given that the new Contacts.vcf vcard file has duplicates ...
> Q1: Is there an easy way to wipe out the SIM card & start fresh?
> Q2: Is there an easy way to remove duplicates from a vcf file?

I found an app called Optimizer that will remove dupes, merge
contacts, delete contacts, normalize numbers or names and even
merge accounts.

Mike "then recreate the vcf file" Yetto
--
"A conference is a gathering of important people who singly can
do nothing but together can decide that nothing can be done."
- Fred Allen

[The Real Bev]

On 11/23/2014 07:14 AM, Mike Yetto wrote:
> While walking through the streets of Soho in the rain James P.
> Doolittle <jim...@nospam.invalid> wrote...
>> Given that the new Contacts.vcf vcard file has duplicates ...
>> Q1: Is there an easy way to wipe out the SIM card & start fresh?
>> Q2: Is there an easy way to remove duplicates from a vcf file?
>
> I found an app called Optimizer that will remove dupes, merge
> contacts, delete contacts, normalize numbers or names and even
> merge accounts.
>
> Mike "then recreate the vcf file" Yetto

I tried that. It didn't work out quite the way it was supposed to, so I
deleted it (need the space). The problem is in knowing which of the
duplicates -- the one with the correct and most complete info) is the
one you want to keep, especially if one person has different names for
different purposes.

Does it permanently change the file or does it perform some sort of
indexing that will disappear if you delete it? I should have noticed,
but I have too many names/numbers to have noticed :-(


--
Cheers. Bev
==========================================================
It's not true that Lucas, in 1947, tried to get Parliament
to repeal Ohm's Law. They withdrew their efforts when they
met too much resistance.

[James P. Doolittle]

Mike Yetto wrote, on Sun, 23 Nov 2014 10:14:17 -0500:

> I found an app called Optimizer that will remove dupes

Googling for "Optimizer", is this the program you speak of?
- Contacts Optimizer 3.5.1 COMPELSON Labs, April 4, 2014
- https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.compelson.optimizer&hl=en

The very first line of the description, oddly, says:
- "Download while it is still free for a few more days..."

Ignoring that oddity, I installed it, and ran it, and it
popped up a screen saying "Contacts Optimizer"
- Account: SIM (73 contacts)
- Duplicates found: 1 (tap to check)
- Delete duplicates (1 contacts selected)
- Complete optimization
- Toolbox

I was surprised only 1 contact was a dupe because there were
actually tons of duplicates. But, I went on to the 10-step
optimization.

Optimization step 1 --> Simplify Numbers (nothing found)
Optimization step 2 --> Invalid Contacts (nothing found)
Optimization step 1 -->
Optimization step 1 -->
Optimization step 1 -->
Optimization step 1 -->
Optimization step 1 -->
Optimization step 1 -->
Optimization step 1 -->

[James P. Doolittle]

Googling for "Optimizer", is this the program you speak of?
- Contacts Optimizer 3.5.1 COMPELSON Labs, April 4, 2014
- https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.compelson.optimizer&hl=en

The very first line of the description, oddly, says:
- "Download while it is still free for a few more days..."

Ignoring that oddity, I installed it, and ran it, and it
popped up a screen saying "Contacts Optimizer"
- Account: SIM (73 contacts)
- Duplicates found: 1 (tap to check)
- Delete duplicates (1 contacts selected)
- Complete optimization
- Toolbox

I was surprised only 1 contact was a dupe because there were
actually tons of duplicates. But, I went on to the 10-step
optimization.

Optimization step 1 --> Simplify Numbers (nothing found)
Optimization step 2 --> Invalid Contacts (nothing found)

Optimization step 3 --> Missing information (1 found)
Optimization step 4 --> Similar Contacts (1 found)
Optimization step 5 --> Merging Contacts (1 found)
Then it searched call & SMS logs for unsaved phone numbers
Optimization step 6 --> Unresolved Numbers (1 found)
Optimization step 7 --> Internationalization (63 found)
Unfortunately, there was no "select all" button
Optimization step 8 --> Capitalization (4 found)
Optimization step 9 --> Final Preview (70 found)
Optimization step 10 -> Save Changes

The results look clean.

[James P. Doolittle]

The Real Bev wrote, on Sun, 23 Nov 2014 12:47:40 -0800:

> Does it permanently change the file or does it perform some sort of
> indexing that will disappear if you delete it? I should have noticed,
> but I have too many names/numbers to have noticed :-(

I have now successfully used "Contacts Optimizer" to fix a few hundred
contacts, and can say that it definitely permanently changes the contacts
list.

Probably best for you to archive your contacts into a VCARD format so
that you have a backup, in case something goes wrong. Of course, that was
the root of my problem in the first place, since I had re-loaded a vcard
file multiple times (it shouldn't create duplicates, but it does).

However, I was pleasantly surprised that "Contacts Optimizer" fixed
things wrong with my contacts that I was unaware of, but it had to be run
at least a dozen times until it finally would run clean.

Overall, "Contacts Optimizer" is a keeper, so I thank whomever it was who
had suggested it.

[Mike Yetto]

While walking through the streets of Soho in the rain
James P. Doolittle <jim...@nospam.invalid> wrote...

> Overall, "Contacts Optimizer" is a keeper, so I thank whomever it was who
> had suggested it.

You are most welcome.

Mike "not that recommending it was hard work" Yetto
--
"The Web is great for finding a list of the ten biggest cities in
the United States, but if the scientific literature is merely
littered with wrong facts, then cyberspace is an enticing
quagmire of falsehoods, propaganda, and just plain bunkum. There
simply is no substitute for skepticism."
- Samuel Arbesman

[The Real Bev]

On 11/25/2014 03:12 PM, Mike Yetto wrote:
> While walking through the streets of Soho in the rain
> James P. Doolittle <jim...@nospam.invalid> wrote...
>> Overall, "Contacts Optimizer" is a keeper, so I thank whomever it was who
>> had suggested it.
>
> You are most welcome.

Just going through the batch delete process was worth the price of
admission. I never found a place to copy the 'contacts' file for
safekeeping, but I figured what the hell, it's not like I NEED all this
crap...

I'd still like a way to write it to a file I could edit on my computer
and then copy back...

> Mike "not that recommending it was hard work" Yetto

Brainwork counts too!

If I ever want to sync my gmail contacts, I assume I'll have to go
through the optimize etc. process all over again. Tidying those at the
website was a painful process too.


--
Cheers, Bev
"It's important to never be arrogant. Especially if you're one
of the little people whose opinion doesn't matter." --Rat

[James P. Doolittle]

The Real Bev wrote, on Tue, 25 Nov 2014 15:30:37 -0800:

> I never found a place to copy the 'contacts' file for
> safekeeping

Someone suggested, and I agree, that the easiest (maybe
even safest) way to "archive" all my contacts was to
simply save them as an ASCII vcardfile, to sdcard (or PC).

[Suman Rawat]

Here, I would suggest the safest way to remove duplicate contacts. Move the contacts from Android to PC, then use the Aryson vCard Duplicate Remover Tool. It is the best solution to remove duplicate contacts from VCF/vCard files. You can use the software on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. The tool is so easy to use that a non-technical user can easily go through it. Try the free demo version now!

Know more: https://www.arysontechnologies.com/vcard-duplicate-remover/

[Della Taylor]

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[J.O. Aho]

On 14/09/2023 08.27, Della Taylor wrote:

Note, that this thread is 9 years old and the OP had multiple
duplicates+ due of importing different vcf files. The OP used in the end
"Contacts Optimizer".

Sadly Google Groups users just think of using the service they got for
free to spam the world without caring or red replies.

> Are you finding an easy way to strip duplicates out of the Android Contacts vCard file?

Most Android devices do have built in functionality nowadays, so taking
care of duplicates can be done before exporting or after importing.

> If users have any doubts about this app then they can use the free demo version that doesn't take a single money from the user.

This don't remove the risk that the application itself is a malware.

--
//Aho

[Radison lury]

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[Bobby Russell]

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[Olivia Williams]

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