Exporting a few contact details and preserving an address book for recovery are different tasks. Contacts on Mac offers both a selected-contact vCard export and a Contacts Archive. Choosing by filename alone can expose more information than intended or lead to a destructive import test.

First decide the scope. For a recipient list, select only the people whose details are required. For a recovery copy, document which accounts and contacts are present before taking the archive.

Use the format that matches the purpose

For selected cards, choose File, Export, Export vCard. Apple saves the result as a .vcf file. Before exporting, review Contacts, Settings, vCard, where notes and photos can be included or excluded.

Inspect a representative card for private notes, personal numbers and other fields that do not belong in the handover. A contact’s display name is not an adequate description of everything its card contains.

For an archive of the contacts, choose File, Export, Contacts Archive and save the .abbu file in a protected location with a dated name. Keep it separate from the small file intended for sharing.

Test without replacing the active address book

Apple warns that importing a Contacts Archive replaces current contact information. Do not double-click an archive casually to verify it on the only active copy. Use a suitable isolated test environment or a planned restore procedure with current data protected.

For a vCard delivery, test a small authorised sample in the intended receiving workflow. Check multiple phone numbers, email labels, organisation and any non-English characters that matter. Resolve duplicate prompts deliberately rather than applying one choice to an unfamiliar set.

Remember that exporting is a snapshot. New contact changes after the export will not appear in that saved file unless you export again.

Keep a short record of the export date, selected scope and successful checks. Confirm the final filename before sharing so a complete private archive is not mistaken for the limited contact list you meant to provide.

References: Apple: exporting contacts, Apple: importing contacts.