Kubuntu Maverick Meerkat (2.6.35-23-generic i686 (32 bit))
KDE 4.5.3
Kontact: 4.4.7
KMail: 1.13.5
KAddressBook: 4.4.7
Nepomuk Semantic Desktop enabled
Strigi Desktop File Indexer enabled
Resources:
Default Address Book (File) Location: /home/paul/.kde/share/apps/kabc/std.vcf
(/home/paul/.kde/share/apps/kabc/ contains a lock folder and currently, eight std.vcf files:
std.vcf std.vcf_1 std.vcf_2 std.vcf_3 std.vcf_4 std.vcf_5 std.vcf_6 std.vcf_7. No new such file
since yesterday (November 20, 2010))

akonadi-resource (akonadi) Standard: Yes Directory: /home/paul/.local/share/contacts/
(/home/paul/.local/share/contacts/ contains my four Address Book Folders. akonadi-resource was
not present yesterday, and I added it then, and then could 'see' all my contacts when composing
emails.)

Here's the issue. While I can add new contacts to my hearts content; direct which Address Book Folder to add it to (I have four: Others, KFN, Friends, Family),and they all are locatable when typing into a new email so I can select from them, after 'some time' the contacts that exist can't be edited. By that, I mean that the field entries no longer show the data that was entered. If the field has elipses (...), I can click on that button and see what was input for the field, but that's it. No editing is possible.

I would like to know why this is occuring, and what, if anything, I can do to fix it. One should be able to edit the contacts they've created.

As indicated above, I discovered that I did not have the akonadi-resource and the Default Address Book resource was being used. I added the akonadi-resource yesterday and flagged it as default.

Well, go figure. Decided to check on my Contacts in Kontact (which has been running all morning). Even though at the time I posted on this above, the issue existed - I could not edit my contacts - now I can! The data I entered in the fields is being displayed, as is expected.

So what gives? Why, 'at times', are the contacts un-editable, and then later, they are?

Not sure why, but if Akonadi couldn't obtain a lock on the contacts files, then it would probably set them as readonly, leading to this behaviour. KMail may still be using legacy methods to access them, not sure though.

Appreciate the reply. So far, my Contacts are behaving. Will keep an eye on it.

Well, again, today, my Contacts became 'read-only' and could not be edited. Hmm.

I know/remember that KMail requires that the resource Default Address Book is required, although akonadi doesn't use it. So I decided to deactivate Default Address Book (un-select it). Closed Kontact and restarted it. My Contacts become editable again. So far, so good.

Going to say that deactivating the resource Default Address Book seems to be the thing that keeps Contacts editable.