How to Access Gmail"s Address Book in OS X Contacts/Mail

If your Gmail emails are in Mac OS X Mail, you should not have to visit Gmail on the web to search for a contact in your address book. Connecting Gmail and OS X Contacts via CardDAV offers easy access right in Mail (and in other programs). Changes you make will be sent either way as well automatically in just about instantaneous a manner (with the exception of contact groups, which remain separated).

Access the Gmail Address Book in Mac OS X Contacts and Mac OS X Mail

To set up synchronous access to your Gmail addresses in OS X Contacts:

• Select Contacts | Preferences… from the menu in OS X Contacts.
• Open the Accounts category.
• Click +.
• Make sure CardDAV is selected under Account type:.
• Type your full Gmail address ("me@gmail.com", for instance, without the marks of quotation) under User name:.
• Enter the Gmail account password under Password:.
  • If you use 2-step authentication, set up password for OS X Contacts to access your Gmail address book.
• Type "google.com" (excluding the quotation marks) under Server address:.
• Click Create.
• Typically, make sure Mail, Notes, Calendars & Reminders and Messages are not checked to set up address book access alone — in particular if you have already set up your Gmail account in OS X Mail and Google Calendar in OS X Calendar, for example.
• Click Create again.
• Close the Accounts preferences window.

You will find the contacts from your Gmail address book under the contact data account's name (usually "Google") in the Groups list in OS X Contacts.

To make sure the list of groups is visible in Contacts:

• Press Command-1, select View | Groups from the menu or use the leftmost Set the display mode button.

To change the Gmail contacts' account name:

• Select Contacts | Preferences… from the menu in OS X Contacts.
• Make sure the Accounts category is selected.
• Highlight the account whose name you want to change in the accounts list.
• Click Edit Account….
• Click Details… in the Mail, Contacts &, Calendars System Preferences window with the account you want to edit highlighted.
• Enter the desired name under Description:.
• Click OK.

Make the Gmail Address Book Your Default in OS X Contacts

To use the Gmail contacts as the default for new address book entries (when you create them in OS X Mail, for instance):

• Pick Contacts | Preferences… from the menu in OS X Contacts.
• Go to the General category.
• Make sure the Gmail you want to be the default for new entries is selected under Default Account:.
• Close the General preferences window.

Synchronization (Data and Groups)

Any changes you make to your contacts — either in OS X Contacts, another OS X application such as Mail (adding a sender to the address book, for example) or in Gmail on the web — will be synchronized automatically.

Note that any contact groups you set up OS X Contacts will only be available under OS X, though, and Gmail groups in Gmail. Groups do not synchronize.

A Synchronization Alternative

As an alternative to accessing your Gmail contacts via CardDAV, you can also set up OS X Contacts to synchronize the contacts kept on the computer with Gmail.

(Updated January 2013)