MacOSX Address Book sync to Gmail
Ever wonder if you could sync your Mac Address Book to Gmail Contacts? Well, I did, in recent preparation for my new G1 Google phone that is in the mail 
It is a fairly simple process, it is easier if you have previously connected an iPod/iPhone/PDA or some type of handheld device to your Mac (because you’ve already setup iSync most likely). I followed the instructions here, How to Enable Mac Address Book to Sync with Google’s Gmail Contacts. It mentions using the command line to edit the plist file, but there are other GUI alternatives like PlistEditPro to make things simpler. In short the steps are:
- Backup your Mac Address Book!
- Modify the “~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.iPod.plist” file (if necessary).
- Open Address Book settings and check the box to “Synchronize with Google”
- Open up iSync and click “Devices -> Sync Devices”, or enable menubar sync.
- Wait for sync operation to complete, then login to your Gmail and verify the new contacts show up.
All in all it works out pretty well. I have encountered an issue if you connect say an iPod to your computer and sync iTunes, it will overwrite the changes you make to the “com.apple.iPod.plist” file. While the link I posted above says how to remedy that situation I could not get it to work myself. Here are a few additional screenshots to show the process.
Hello,
Well I tried this out, but it doesn’t work. When I open iSync and I “Sync Devices” it gives me a warning “You cannot sync your computer and devices until you add a device to iSync”
@G
You need to have at least 1 device already configured in iSync. Whether it’s a cell phone, iPod, or something else. I already had a cell phone and iPod that I sync’d previously with iSync, so I had a device there. If you don’t have a device to sync you might need to add a dummy device to iSync for it to work. Good luck.
Well… I succeeded syncing gmail contacts, sending my address book contacts to gmail and my xperia x10. My issue is that when I change or add a contact in my phone, gmail is updated and I receive a message from isync, on my mac, saying that changes are going to happen on my computer. I accept it, but address book is not updated. Thanks for your help
Hmm, that is odd. Are you using Snow Leopard? The more recent versions of OSX have much easier sync options then when I wrote this article, although some of it still does apply. Can you change a contact in Mac Address Book then tell iSync to sync, then see if the change shows up in Gmail?