Hallo,
weiß jemand, ob man mit KDE-Connect auch die Kontakte eines Android Smartphones mit dem Linux-PC synchronisieren kann? Bisher habe ich es mit MyPhoneExplorer über Wine gemacht. Würde gerne das Gleiche mit KDE-Connect machen.
It has a contacts-sync plugin. See below:
1 Like
Oh, this is working out great. Thank you.
The contacts are stored here: ~/.local/share/kpeoplevcard/
Do you know a Linux program to make this xxxx.vcf visible and manage it? That would be great if there was.
I haven’t used this feature yet, but .vcf are widely used for contacts across systems.
How about kcontacts which is the address book for KDE?
Not sure how your contacts/mail/PIM setup is on your system.
I see just now that you are using XFCE. Pick any address book application that fits your taste and you should be able to import the vcf files. kcontact is best suited in a KDE environment.
kcontacts is installed, but how do I open this program? Is it a standalone program?
Yes, my system is XFCE.
This will be slow going for me, who will probably be a perpetual Linux newbie.
So far I use MyPhoeExplorer - a fantastically good program, but unfortunately only runs via Wine.
I would like to switch to KDE Connect or something similar. But it will probably not be possible quickly.
KDE has multiple apps for that and one of it probably reads those vcf files automatically (hopefully): Kaddressbook, Kontakt, or the mobile application plasma-phonebook also for desktop (probably not recommended here). Evolution, gnome-contacts etc…
You’ll have to try which one works best for your use case.
Do you use a mail program or address book already in Xfce? I guess it has those features.
E.g. set your directory for an address book specifically for your mobile phone contacts:
1 Like
My mail program is Thunderbird.
That would be the great goal, to be able to sync the contacts on the phone directly with Thunderbird.
It was fantastically good and easy to do with MyPhoneExplorer when I was on Windwos. But in the meantime I am very convinced of Linux and gladly accept certain limitations.
I heard that you could build your own server - but that’s still way too complicated for me.
It’s certainly possible to import your contacts to Thunderbird.
However, import and sync is not the same. One-way data transfer versus 2 way data sync. Without a proper sync option you will have to make one source the leading application, or as you say have a central directory server.
Most NAS systems offer such option and they aren’t too expensive.
1 Like
Yes, I see Thunderbird can also import .vcf. But that seems to me to be very adventurous, in doing so either old, important contacts could be deleted or overwritten, or I then have very many of my approx. 320 contacts twice.
You’re right, you can’t just import, you have to synchronize, back and forth, depending on which entry, which contact is newer.
Do you think that works?
Or asked differently: How do you do that?
We are getting slightly off-topic. Anyways.
Most likely you will end up with duplicates when you import. A good practice is to make one application the leading source and others just recipients of changes. Some also use cloud options as intermediaries.
My contacts are solely on my mobile, and I have a cloud backup (standard G-contacts). I also have a NAS where I have my own cloud and could have a directory server, which I don’t use currently. On my Notebook there aren’t any contacts data. For mails I use online accounts/mobile and not a central mail client. Mobile world is dominating.
1 Like
@Michi don’t want to bump this thread but have a look at the link below.
It’s KDE environment integration and you are using Xfce, however…
Thank you. I have installed Kalendar: But nothing from or for contacts found, only the calendar.
I’m always amazed how you young people understand all these things so effortlessly - I have a hard time with it.
It is up to me that this topic overwhelms me. I need much more time to learn all this.
If I understand you correctly, KDE-Connect can not solve this task alone?
And my goal is to synchronize contacts from Android smartphone with Thunderbird.
Is there a direct way?
I am not using Thunderbird so I can’t tell you for sure. My guess is it’s not directly possible, because KDE Connect only stores the contacts on the hard drive and can’t connect to Thunderbird. Maybe via multiple steps or third party plugins/intermediaries. It would be easier with a full KDE integration.
Maybe a web search with popular search engines gives some solutions to it, or other users of this forum have a solution. 
Ich danke Dir. Aber was meinst Du mit: a full KDE integration?
Geht so etwa auf meinem Xfce?
Und: Ich muss ja nicht bei Thunderbird bleiben. Gibt es ein anderes Mail-Programm, mit dem das geht?
Meaning, using KAddressbook and a Email client from KDE e.g. Kmail all combined in the Kontact PIM (personal information management) suite. As you have seen it’s possible to add a directory with vcf to your address book. I don’t think Thunderbird provides that.
It’s Linux, so most programs work on any Desktop Environment, more or less.
You could try a test setup with a second test user and see how it goes, or in a virtual machine setup.
Another important question also is: Does KDE Connect sync changes from the computer back to phone properly? Something to try first.
that is a very good question. The way I saw it, it just takes the addresses from the smartphone and pushes (copies) them into the directory: ~/.local/share/kpeoplevcard/
Either way, I think your dedication is great and I thank you very much for that.
If that’s the case then it’s not a sync.
Testing:
- Synced my mobile with notebook. Integrating them into KAddressbook did not work initially, with a push from directory the contacts are finally displayed.
- Changed a contact in KAdressbook, changes the vcf.
- KDE Connect does not sync the change back.
- A change of the same contact on mobile pushes the change into a new vcf (duplicate)
- The Connect CLI does not provide an option to trigger a sync.
- Plasma-phonebook shows all of my contacts immediately but I am not able to add or edit contact. Permissions are given.
The sync functionality is either work-in-progress or as designed, or I didn’t manage to get it set up correctly.
You could fill a bug report upstream at KDE about it to get more information on it.
1 Like
Hallo @raguse
vielen Dank für Dein großes Engagement.
Dein Vorschlag ein bug report zu machen, überfordert! Wie Du siehst, tue ich mir schon allein mit dem Englischen sehr schwer. Ich muss alles mit deepL übersetzen, das ja prima geht. Aber bei KDE etwas zu melden … oh, je.
Wenn Du wüsstest, wie schwer ich mich tue mit Linux, dann… Aber die super Hilfen, die man, vor allem in diesem Forum findet, macht alles wieder wett. Ich finde es menschlich großartig und es spornt mich immer wieder an, nicht locker zu lassen. Ich denke mir, wenn andere es schaffen, dann müsste ich es ja auch hinbekommen, vielleicht aber in der 10- oder 100-fachen Zeit. Aber möglich muss es schon sein.
1 Like
Sorry for the English replies 
Coming back to the original question:
- Yes you can drop your mobile phone contacts with KDE Connect onto your PC.
- Looks like a real sync is not (yet) possible with KDE Connect.
Maybe I take on the task to ask KDE to enhance this feature with real sync by opening a bug report.
Forgive my German. I thought it was also your native language. English is already ok. And thanks again for everything.
Maybe the synchronization will work in the near future. That would be nice for the Linux world.
1 Like