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Brandy redux -> PS 3.0 Address Book: FAQs (8/9/2012 5:55:27 PM)
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The most important point which must always be kept in mind about the Print Shop 3.0 Address Book is that Print Shop 3.0 is not a true upgrade of any previous version of Print Shop. Instead, Print Shop 3.0 is a completely redesigned product which works in an entirely different manner than all earlier versions of Print Shop - even Print Shop 2.0. And, for that reason, even though the Print Shop 3.0 Address Book program can open *.ab2 Address Book files which were created by Parsons Technology's Ultimate Mail Manager 1.0b***, the Print Shop 3.0 Address Book is an entirely different program - which will never function in exactly the same manner as either the 'Ultimate Mail Manager 1.0b' program OR Parsons Technology's much earlier 'Address Book' program.
Importing Contacts From an External Source
If you will click on the link below
http://www.printshop.com/user-guide/30/address-book,-mail-merge,-and-event-reminders/creating-an-address-book/importing-contacts-from-an-external-source.aspx
to the Address Book section of Print Shop 3.0 Help, you will see that the Print Shop 3.0 Address Book allows contacts to be imported from:
*Other The Print Shop 3.0 programs
*The Print Shop 20 - 23.1 Ultimate Mail Manager Program***
*GMail
*Outlook
*Yahoo
*Flat File *** As many long-time users of Ultimate Mail Manager are aware, Ultimate Mail Manager 1.0b is actually a Parsons Technology product which:1. Is bundled with most Print Shop 23.1 and earlier versions of Print Shop
2. Was originally designed for only Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT
3. Has never been upgraded
4. Saves Address Book files as *.ab2 files - which is the same file extension which is used in the much older Parsons Technology 'Address Book' program. And, If you will click on the link below
http://forums.encoreusa.com/tm.asp?m=42149&mpage=1&key=꒥
you will see that:
* Parsons Technology Address Book v2 thru v5 *.ab2 files can be opened in the Ultimate Mail Manager for any Print Shop 23.1 or earlier version of Print Shop.
* Parsons Technology Address Book v6 or v7 *.ab2 files CANNOT be opened in the Ultimate Mail Manager for any Print Shop 23.1 or earlier version of Print Shop. Attempts to do so will result in an error message which says, "Unable to convert Address Book 3.0 file." Since Parsons Technology Address Book v6 or v7 *.ab2 files CANNOT be opened in the Ultimate Mail Manager for any Print Shop 23.1 and earlier version of Print Shop, it is very unlikely that you will be able to open an Address Book v6 or v7 *.ab2 file in Print Shop 3.0. And, in that case, your only option will very likely be to export from Address Book v6 or v7 in the 'Comma Delimited' text format, then import into Print Shop 3.0.
Backup/Export
The Print Shop 3.0 Address Book does not offer any option for either Backing Up or Exporting the Print Shop 3.0 Address Book file (AddressBook.xml) - which is created in this folder
C:\Users\[your username]\AppData\Roaming\Encore\The Print Shop 3.0
So, it is a very good idea to manually back up the 'AddressBook.xml' file from time to time.
NOTE: Since the Print Shop 3.0 Address Book file is an *.xml file, it can be opened in 2007 or later versions of MSWord, MSExcel, and MSPowerPoint - or any other program which can open *.xml files.
However, it must always be kept in mind that indications are that only a spreadsheet program will open the *.xml file in a truly usable format - because, when the 'AddressBook.xml' file is opened in the 2007 or newer versions of Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, time-consuming formatting would be required to use the address data in that *.xml file.
When the 'AddressBook.xml' file is opened in MS Excel 2007 or later, specific fields are created for the data - which can be quickly formatted for import into other Address Book programs.
Sorting Names
It is possible to sort the names in the Print Shop 3.0 Address Book, by Last Name, by clicking on the words 'Last Name' at the top of the Last Name column.
However, when a Mail Merge is performed, the names will be processed in the order in which they were entered into the Address Book. And, there does not appear to be any way to change this.
'Title' field in Mail Merge
Even though the Print Shop 3.0 Address Book allows information to be entered into a 'Title' field, the Print Shop 3.0 Mail Merge process does not include an option for selecting the 'Title' merge field.
My workaround would be to enter the Titles into a merge field which is selectable - such as the 'Spouse Title' field - then select that field while Inserting Fields into the Mail Merge Text Box.
Another workaround would be to set up a Custom Field, by doing this:
1. Open the Address Book
2. Click on the Custom tab
3. Type a Name into the box next to 'Custom Field Name'
4. Type the Value (Mr., Mrs., Dr., etc.) that you want to have placed in the mail merge field for that Custom Field Name.
However, the problem with setting up Custom Fields is that you *might* have to type both the Name of the Custom Field AND the value into each record - which, to my way of thinking, would be a major waste of time.
Printing the Address Book
Since the Print Shop 3.0 Address Book was provided ONLY for the purpose of creating mail merge projects, the Print Shop 3.0 Address Book does not offer any option for printing a hard copy of the Address Book contents. So, your only options for printing the Address Book are to:
* Open the Address Book file in a different program (see Backup/Export above), then print from that program
* Create a mail merge project for printing all entries in the Address Book (see Mail Merge below)
Mail Merge
The mail merge process for printing labels from the Address Book is described in the Print Shop 3.0 Help file here
http://www.printshop.com/user-guide/30/address-book,-mail-merge,-and-event-reminders.aspx
NOTE: If you have any thoughts about other methods for working around any of the problems I noted above, please click on 'Post Reply' then provide a detailed explanation of your workaround.
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