FP3 Contacts three dot menu has disappeared

[JohnHaggerty]

Hi folks, For several years now I have emailed my FP3 contacts to myself {default filename vcards_yyyymmdd_hhmmss.vcf} which I then download to my desktop pc. The saved contacts files are then incorporated into my backup regime on the pc.
I did this by:-
open Contacts => ⋮ {three-dot menu} => Select all => {share icon} => Gmail => To {email.address@provider} => {send icon}.
I got this method from a post by another user quite some time ago but today the ⋮ has disappeared.
I can obtain the same the same results by :-
Step 1
open Contacts => Organise => Export to file => overtype contacts.vcf with {datestamp},vcf => SAVE => close Contacts
Step 2
open Gmail => Compose => type in To field => select {me} => {paperclip icon} => Attach file => select {datestamp},vcf => {send icon} => close Gmail
It would appear that those wonderful people at Google decided the one step approach had been right long enough and so decided to change things.
Perhaps I’m being unkind to them and there is still a simple option to achieve the same thing - or a way of reinstating the three dots.
All assistance will be gratefully received.
Regards,
John

[OldRoutard]

Yes. These changes can be really annoying.

Your new “Step 1” is correct.
To simplify “Step 2”, I would suggest, after performing your Step 1:

• Open your Files app and select the export file you created in Step 1. On my device, by default, the file got saved to “Downloads” but you can change the folder before tapping “Save”. The file will show up in the Files app as a recent file.
• Use the three-dot menu on the “Recent” file and choose Share as before.

So not that much worse than before.

However, since you’re using a Google account you can simplify things even more:

• In Step 1, after typing the file name, tap the three-line hamburger menu top left and choose “Drive” (instead of saving to local phone storage).
• Choose “My Drive” or some other folder.
• Tap “Save”.
  That way, there’s no need to “send” the file to your Google account, it’s already there. No Step 2!!
  This of course requires an active Internet connection.

Be aware that if your objective is just to back up your contacts, this should be happening automatically in any case, if you have allowed synchronisation. But since you are creating a new file each time, I’m presuming you have a purpose in maintaining a history of your contacts list over time.

[JohnHaggerty]

Hi OldRoutard,

Many thanks for your response. Unfortunately, my phone’s three-dot menu on the “Recent” file doesn’t have a Share option so I’m unable to simplify ‘Step 2’ as you suggest.

As to the further simplification - I’m not sending the file to my Google account, I’m using Google’s SMTP server to send the file to my primary email address. I then download the file from my primary email’s POP3 server to my PC. (I chose to use email for the transfer initially as it was the simplest way to do it.)

I have automated backup routines set up on my PC which I prefer to using Google Drive for backups. So, as I’m going to have to perform Step 1 in any event, I’ll just use Cx File Explorer to copy the contacts vcf file directly to my PC alongside the FP3 device and sdcard directories.

Regards,

John