Can't get 'all contacts' group on ipad to sync with Gmail

[keevill]

On my Ipad 2 IOS5 I have set up gmailusing the Exchange method.
I seem to have 3 groups on my ipadcontacts - 'all from my pc' , 'all contacts' and'gmail'.
When I open gmail on my pc, no contactsshow up.
It seems that only gmail contacts folder will sync with gmail.
I have tested with a single contact inthis folder and it syncs across.
How can I get the contacts in the otherfolders ( all contacts & all from my pc ) to sync ?
I can't find any way to move them intothe gmail folder.
I have enabled imap on gmail.
I had read elsewhere that only contactsin the 'all contacts' group will sync but this is not the case. It'sonly the ones in the gmail folder
-keevill-

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

I've moved this to the Help section, where I think it will receive better attention.

Tim

 

[twerppoet]

Only contacts in the All Contacts folder in GMail will sync to the iPad. Contacts that are only in the other groups will not sync. This is a limitation of the Active Sync Exchange client used by Google. There is nothing you can do about it, except go to Google Contacts on the website and copy all your contacts to this folder.

The All Contacts option in Contacts on the iPad is unrelated to the folder of the same name on Google. This folder only appears if you have more than one contact database on the iPad. Choosing it lets you brows all the contacts at once, instead of just your local, gmail, or other contacts.

 

[keevill]

Only contacts in the All Contacts folder in GMail will sync to the iPad. Contacts that are only in the other groups will not sync. This is a limitation of the Active Sync Exchange client used by Google. There is nothing you can do about it, except go to Google Contacts on the website and copy all your contacts to this folder.

The All Contacts option in Contacts on the iPad is unrelated to the folder of the same name on Google. This folder only appears if you have more than one contact database on the iPad. Choosing it lets you brows all the contacts at once, instead of just your local, gmail, or other contacts.

Thanks for your reply. I understand that the 'all contacts' folder in Gmail will be the only one to sync.
My question now is ; how do I get the Ipad contacts into the Gmail website 'all contacts' folder ?
I can find now way to export the Ipad contacts from the default contact app nor can I copy and paste.
Thx for some more help anyone.
-keevill-

 

[twerppoet]

When you added your Google account as an Exchange account it should have offered the choice of Keep or Merge your contacts. If you chose Merge then both the iPad and Google contacts should have gotten put together. If you said keep, the local iPad contacts will be separate. You'll see this on your Groups page, which will not appear if you don't have groups or separate contacts accounts.

If you have a local iPad contacts book where all your contacts are, you can try turning off the Google contacts, choosing delete, then on and chose the merge option. You should open the Contacts app in between, or it may not purge the old data. Do the ONLY if you have the local iPad address book, or you could delete all your contacts.

Otherwise, you are left with the option of exporting your iPad contacts via another app, then importing them into Google. I've got no experience with these apps, though I know they exist. Once you have a csv or vCard file from the exporting app you can use a desktop computer to import them through your Google account settings.

That's all I know. Sorry.

 

[twerppoet]

Hm, just visited my Google Contacts, something I hadn't done in a while. There is no All Contacts folder. My Contacts is the folder that will be synced. Sorry. Bad memory.

 

[Beryl]

Try an app called ExcelContacts. There is a free 'lite' version that allows you to export 180 of your contacts (including images) to a number of formats (CSV, Excel, google, Outlook) which you can then put to your workstation and import to Google. If it works well for you and you have more than 180 contacts, you can purchase the full version.

It has been serving as a backup for me since I have over 600 contacts on Google and google is not exporting very well these days AND you can't back up google contacts using iTunes or iCloud. Google imports quite well but sometimes takes import/delete/tweak CSV/repeat cycles to get the data just right.

 

[SolublePeter]

In developing and supporting MailShot Pro I've learned more about this subject than I would like, but it may help to explain what happens under the skin, which is why the original poster can only sync his Gmail folder. It isn't exactly a "limitation" of the sync method, its more a case of understanding properly what is going on.

You have one "address book" for each way your device syncs with another device. Each contact can only belong to one address book.
"Gmail" is an address book for contacts synchronised over Exchange to Google (you can change the name)
"iCloud" is an address book for contacts synchronised to iCloud.
"All on my <device name>" is your local address book, its name changes to "All on my PC" if you sync with a PC and similar for a Mac.

"All Contacts" is not an actual address book in the same way as the others, it shows all your contacts, across all address books on your device.

A local address book is created when you try to save a contact without having a synched address book available. You can merge it into iCloud by turning iCloud off and then on, at which point it will offer to combine your devices local contacts with those in iCloud.

Address books are kept separate to avoid all sorts of problems from synchronising contacts across different synch systems. (internally, they are all actually part of the same database on your device, but each BEHAVES as though it was in a specific address book.)

Hopefully the above will explain why you can only sync your "Gmail" directory to Gmail- thats the point of having a Gmail directory.

Peter Johnson
Soluble Apps

 

[twerppoet]

Thanks for the insights.

 

[parp]

I'm having Google contacts that I have synced via CardDAV and Lotus Traveller linked through an Exchange account.
As you describe I'm seeing the contacts from both sides in different sections of my contacts app.

Is there any way to copy contacts from the "Google section" to the Exchange section or to sync contacts from Exchange to Google