Export Contacts from Thunderbird to vCard & Convert Address Book to VCF

Before discussing the method to export Thunderbird address book to VCF, it is important to understand the different reasons that need to convert Thunderbird contacts to vCard format. This can be done with the help of user scenarios which are discussed as:

"I am using Mozilla Thunderbird application as my default email client. Now I want to export contacts from Thunderbird to vCard format for my phone device. But I am not aware of the approach to achieve this conversion. I tried to find a solution but all of them seems to be very difficult and lengthy procedure. I want a solution where I can easily export Thunderbird address book to VCF file format. Can anyone please help me by providing the solution?"

"Recently, I have been asked to take the backup of Thunderbird address book on my PC for security reasons. All my important contacts with their details are stored in Thunderbird so, I am very worried about the data loss. I know that to save data on my local machine I have to convert Thunderbird contacts to vCard format. But I have to find a feasible solution to perform the conversion. Hence, I need a technical advice and assistance to move Thunderbird Address book on my system ".

The user’s scenario will help you apprehend the different situations that require converting Thunderbird contacts to vCard. Additionally, the ease of sharing vCard files over the internet or through messages is another reason for moving Mozilla Thunderbird address book files to VCF.

Expert Advice to Export Contacts from Thunderbird to vCard

Considering the advantages of importing Thunderbird Address book to VCF, experts recommend using a professional tool which is specially designed to convert Thunderbird contact to VCF. Among many tools available in the market, SysTools MAB Converter Software is the best software that also provides you the option to import Mozilla Thunderbird address book to Outlook. Along with that the utility export Thunderbird address book to VCF very efficiently and quickly that too without any data loss. The tool possesses the ability to overcome the limitation associated with a manual method. You can take a look at the drawbacks and manual method in the following section.

Manual Method to Convert Thunderbird Contacts to vCard

A user has to follow some guideline to convert Thunderbird contacts to VCF file format. Also, the solution is appropriate for those users who have configured email client installed on their machines. Hence, one should follow exact steps to implement the procedure.

Run and Open Mozilla Thunderbird application on your PC and click on Address Book to access user’s contacts.

The window will show all contacts stored in your email account. Here click on Tools at the top-left corner of the screen.

In the Tool Button window, select the Export option to export contacts from Thunderbird to vCard format. Here you can select the desired contacts from the entire list.

Proceeding further, choose the desired location on your system to save the vCard files. Also, select the vCard option as the Save As Type and click on Save button.

You have to repeat the procedure to save Collected Addresses of Thunderbird contacts to vCard.

Lastly, both Thunderbird contacts are transferred to VCF file format and are saved at the specified location on the system.

The manual method used to transfer Thunderbird Address book to vCard is not considered to be the perfect solution. The approach is sometimes difficult to implement when used by a novice or technical user. And if the method is executed perfectly, there is a possibility that user might experience loss of data. There are more such limitations associated with the manual method to export contacts from Thunderbird to vCard. Some of them are discussed down below.

Drawbacks of Manual Method to Export Thunderbird Address Book to VCF

A user manually performs the procedure and hand-pick the Address Book file to export contacts from Thunderbird to vCard. In case of multiple numbers of files, it may take a lot of time than expected to transfer files. Secondly, a lot of user efforts are required to execute the method which is not possible in every scenario. The procedure may compromise with the data integrity and the user may face data loss. All such limitations can be overcome by going with an alternative solution. The appropriate solution is to use the expert suggested method.

Conclusion

There can be several reasons that force a user to export contacts from Thunderbird to vCard. And they can opt for either manual or automated solution to move Thunderbird contacts. But a user with.mab files has no other choice than to use the automated solution to convert Thunderbird contacts to vCard. As there is no direct method available to export Thunderbird address book to VCF format. Moreover, with the discussed limitations, experts suggest using a third party tool which provided more reliable solutions. You can refer to the automated approach from the beginning section of the blog.

I am Software Engineer by Profession and Tech Blogger by passion. I love to write about technologies and solve user query on different forums.