Exporting to VCF file : UID attribute keep changing

1

I’m exporting my contacts to a vcf file and import the data into a proprietary application.

I realized that the UID value for a contact is not constant. I’ve being using that UID attribute from the vcf file as a unique indicator of a contact. Unfortunately, looking at several exports, for a same contact, I see multiple UID values. 

Is there a way to get a unique identifier per contact, something that would never change overtime? If not, why a UID is exported?

2

Hi Luke, not completely sure what you’re referring to, each contact available on the server is assigned with a unique identifier (UID), this UID should remain kept. How did you export the contact out of eM Client? Are you completely sure the contact was exported out of the same contacts folder?

Thank you,
Paul

3

Paul:

Thanks for your note. Have a look at the picture I placed here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxLQQ_c4wo9HRFpzR2VGNWtISjg/view
It’s an extract of the table I was referring to. All the duplicates in the table are actually not duplicates in eM. So the UID values should remain the same.

I started importing the vcf files a couple of days ago, with about 1,700 contacts. I tested the code I wrote for the import and ran it about 10 times (did a  select-all in eM, did a save-as to create the vcf, about 10 times - I had to do so because I was adding contacts in eM at the same time).  Now, I have about 2,100 records in my table - instead of 1,700+a few. I suspected that there was a bug in my code until I noticed the issue with the changing UIDs.

Thanks for your help.
Luke

4

Hi Luke, not completely sure how did you import your contacts. When importing contacts from a .VCF file, the UID is kept and is not changed when exporting from the application nor when importing. If the UID does not match the duplicate’s UID, it is considered to be a different item and will not be removed by the deduplicator.

Are you able to replicate the import issue on your computer?

Thank you,
Paul

5

Same issue here. Why is the UID changed everytime the Contact is exported? It really gives no meaning? What will the purpose be, if it changes all the time?