How are Gmail contacts joined?

[btw]

I am having a problem with loading all my contacts on Gmail onto my Droid.
I think that at least some of the problem is that there is duplicate information (same phone numbers, for example) for different contacts and I think when the information gets transferred to the Droid it gets combined into one contact (though they remain separate on Gmail).

I think this has happened with a recent contact (maybe since I downloaded Android 2.1?). The problem is that I can't FIND where the contact went on my Droid.

Can anyone provide guidance? Including how the Droid decides some contacts should be combined?

Thanks!
BT

 

[ntrddragn]

there is an option in the main contact screen (where you see all your contacts) to show all or only contacts with numbers. To separate or join contacts you will need to go into each contact and click menu, there will be two option there separate or joint. select what you want.

 

[jsh1120]

BTW,

Do yourself a favor (if possible) and access your contacts on your laptop/desktop in your gmail account. If that's impossible then at least access them through the browser on your droid. (Painful but better than trying to do complicated management through the gmail app.)

You may not be able to resolve your specific problem (Once I put my daughter's name into my contact list all the calls from home were announced as coming from her.) but at least you'll be able to separate and merge contacts in a more user-friendly fashion.

 

[btw]

Thanks for these replies.

ntrddragn: I understand how to join/separate contacts on the Droid. I'm trying to find a contact that got incorrectly joined. Any advice on that front?

jsh1120: I am not sure I understand...you seem to be suggesting that I can see the contacts as presented on my droid by using my laptop or desktop? I don't know how to do that. Of course, I can see them on GMail-Contacts, but they are not joined there.... So, if I'm following you, could you give me more specific directions?

Thanks again.

 

[pcallycat]

I'm trying to find a contact that got incorrectly joined. Any advice on that front?

use the search button within the contacts list for a detail specific to the contact you are trying to find, if possible.

 

[jsh1120]

Thanks for these replies.

ntrddragn: I understand how to join/separate contacts on the Droid. I'm trying to find a contact that got incorrectly joined. Any advice on that front?

jsh1120: I am not sure I understand...you seem to be suggesting that I can see the contacts as presented on my droid by using my laptop or desktop? I don't know how to do that. Of course, I can see them on GMail-Contacts, but they are not joined there.... So, if I'm following you, could you give me more specific directions?

Thanks again.

Sure. On your computer go to www.gmail.com.

Sign into your gmail account. On the left side you'll see "Contacts." Click on it and you'll open up the entire Contacts application that you're viewing on your Droid. But you'll find it far easier to perform surgery on contacts, including "merging" them on your desktop system than on that tiny screen on your Droid and you'll have more options for putting contacts into groups, etc.

The "contacts" app on your Droid is just a (relatively crippled) view that provides access to your contacts maintained in your Google account. Any contacts you add or delete from either place will be reflected in the other.

Hope that helps.

 

[btw]

Thanks much for sticking with this!

As you might expect, I've been messing around with this, trying to find a solution. Here's something I just did that illustrates why, I'm afraid, your suggestion doesn't work:

As with you, a problem arises with my daughter! In my Gmail contacts, I have her phone numbers under a contact, let's say it's "realname". I'd like to ALSO be able to find her info under "nickname".

For the sake of experimenting, I had her info on Gmail contacts under "realname". Then, I added a new contact called "TEST", which had a couple of her phone numbers. On Gmail->Contacts, they are listed separately--I have two contacts (and, one has some additional slightly different information).

BUT, on the Droid, after I added TEST on Gmail, the "realname" contact on the Droid simply disappeared, and the little bit of additional information from that contact was now included under TEST.

This is not good. My listings on the Droid and on Gmail-contacts are similar but not identical. I find this annoying and have no idea how to fix!

Any help gratefully received!

 

[Droids]

On your computer, log into gmail then view your contacts. Export your contact list as a csv file and open it in Excel, It will become obvious where the problems are, and you can fix them with a bit of effort and time. Make a backup copy of the csv file before editing. Now go back to gmail and delete all your contacts, including most frequently called. Import your csv file into gmail contacts, wait a minute or so for the phone to sync, and you're good.

 

[btw]

Thanks for your suggestion, which I have followed. But, I don't think it works:

The problem is that my GMail Contacts are perfectly fine. But, when they get sent to the Droid, contacts get merged in ways I do not want.

Here's an example:
On Gmail, I have a contact for my daughter with her phone number, address, and some other info. For the sake of illustration, let's say the Contact Name for that is "RealName" (in fact, it is her married name)..

I'd like to have another entry for her with just her phone number, listed under her nickname. That's where the problem occurs. In trying to sort this out, I entered a new contact in Gmail called "Test". It has the same home phone # as "RealName", but other fields are different--like RealName has an address, and Test does not. I've confirmed that in the csv file. The Gmail contacts are arranged just as I'd like.

My problem is that when I added Test to Gmail, and then looked at the Droid contacts, the entry for "RealName" has been removed and some (all?) of the information under RealName has been stuck into Test.

So: there is nothing amiss as far as I can see in Gmail contacts, but on the Droid, the two contacts are merged, presumably because the home phone # is the same?

What am I missing???

Thanks again!