OL98: How to Use vCard in Outlook

ID: Q179430

The information in this article applies to:

SUMMARY

Microsoft Outlook 98 supports vCard and vCalendar, a powerful new approach to electronic, Personal Data Interchange (PDI). PDI occurs every time individuals communicate in either a business or personal context. These interchanges frequently include the exchange of information, such as business cards, telephone numbers, addresses, dates and times of appointments, and such. The vCard and vCalendar features facilitate PDI electronically.

This article discusses the implementation of vCard in Outlook. For information on vCalendar, please see the REFERENCES section below.

This article discusses:


MORE INFORMATION

vCard serves as an electronic business card. It is a convenient way of exchanging personal information such as, name, address, phone number, and e-mail address with others.

How to Create a vCard

  1. In a Contact folder, click to select the contact for which you wish a vCard.


  2. On the File menu, click to select Save As.


  3. In the "Save file as type" list, click to select, VCARD Files (*.vcf).


  4. In the Save In list, select the folder where you wish to save the vCard file, and then click Save.


RESULT: This creates a vCard file with the same name as that of the Contact.

How To Distribute a vCard

You can distribute a vCard file as you distribute any other computer file. To send it as an e-mail attachment, follow these steps:

  1. Open a new e-mail message and address it to the recipient.


  2. On the Insert menu, click File.


  3. Click to select a vCard (.vcf) file, and click OK.


Note: If you want to include Notes with your vCard, you must insert the .vcf file. If the .vcf is attached to your signature, the Notes field (and other fields) will be removed prior from the vCard.

How To Automatically Process a vCard

With Outlook 98, you can automatically convert a vCard received from an external source to an Outlook Contact record. If the vCard arrives as an e- mail attachment, you can double-click the vCard, then click Save And Close to add it to your default Contact folder.

NOTE: If the vCard the icon appears as a generic Windows icon, does not open when you double-click the icon, or you receive an "Open With" prompt, the vCard File application is not associated with the .vcf file type. For detailed information on how to correct this, click Help on the Start menu, and type "associating, file types with programs" (without the quotes). Click Display, click "Creating or modifying a file type," and click Display.

If you receive the vCard in the form of a file on a disk, you can import it into your default Contact folder using the Outlook Import and Export Wizard.

  1. On the File menu, click Import And Export.


  2. Click to select "Import a vCard file (*.vcf)" then click Next.


  3. Click to select the vCard file and then click Open.


RESULT: The vCard data will be used to create a Contact record in your default Contact folder.

How To Include a vCard with Your Automatic Signature

  1. On the Tools menu, click Options.


  2. On the Mail Format tab, click Signature Picker.


  3. Click New to add a new signature.


  4. Enter a name for your signature and click Next.


  5. Type the desired signature information in the text window.


  6. Click "New vCard from Contact."


  7. In "Show name from the" select Contacts or another address list.


  8. Click to select the entry to create a vCard for, and then click OK and click Finish, and OK to complete the signature entry.


Note: If your vCard contains Notes, UserDefined Fields, or Outlook-specific fields, these values will be stripped from the vCard included with the signature. The Signature Picker specifically includes only those fields in a Contact that are essential to the definition of a vCard.

How To Manually Process a vCard as a Text File

A vCard record is just a text file. If you do not have an automated facility to process vCard records, you can open them with a text editor and use the information. The contents of a vCard file will vary with the information inserted by the file creator but a typical file created from a Contact record looks like the following when opened in a text editor.

NOTE: Text formatting applied to entries in the Notes field is not preserved when the .vcf file is save to the hard drive. The file format is preserved in ASCII text only. 

BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION:2.1
N:Doe;John;;;
FN:John Doe
ORG:Doe Company, The;
TITLE:President
NOTE;ENCODING=QUOTED-PRINTABLE:This is a note associated with this
contact=0D=0A
TEL;WORK;VOICE:(987) 123-4567
TEL;HOME;VOICE:(987) 765-4321
TEL;CELL;VOICE:(987) 135-8642
TEL;WORK;FAX:(987) 246-1357
ADR;WORK:;;1234 North Street;Anytown;TX 751234;;United States of America
LABEL;WORK;ENCODING=QUOTED-PRINTABLE:1234 North Street=0D=0AAnytown, TX
751234 =0D=0AUnited States of America
URL:
URL:<LINK TYPE="GENERIC" VALUE="http://www.doeweb.com">http://www.doeweb.com</LINK>
EMAIL;PREF;INTERNET:jdoe@nowhere.com
REV:19980114T170559Z
END:VCARD<BR/>


REFERENCES

For information on vCalendar, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q179431 How to Use vCalendar in Outlook 98

Additional query words: 


Keywords          : GnlCont IntpImEx 
Version           : WINDOWS:
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbhowto kbinfo

Last Reviewed: July 30, 1999