Your Guide to vCard & VCF Files: Key to Easy Contact Sharing (2024)

Imagine being able to share your contact details with just a click. That’s what vCards offer. These .vcf files (virtual contact file) hold your profile information, ready to be shared and imported into many contact management systems (CMS). While you may not see the term “vCard” that much, the .vcf file format is very much alive, even with mobile phones.

What Is a vCard?

The easiest way to think of a vCard is as a “virtual” profile. According to the RFC spec, “the profile is defined for representing and exchanging a variety of information about an individual (e.g., formatted and structured name and delivery addresses, email address, multiple telephone numbers, photograph, logo, audio clips, etc.).“

One benefit of these “virtual business cards” is you can use them with just about any email program or contact management system. For example, an iPhone user could read the vCard you created from Microsoft Outlook or Google Contacts.

The appeal of these online cards is they are easy and efficient to exchange in email messages or applications. A user can click or import the card, and if they have a program that reads the vCard format, the data can be saved as a new contact record.

The downside is you can act on one card at a time. There isn’t a way to combine multiple vCards into a single .VCF file.

What’s in a vCard?

Most vCards contain basic contact information fields such as phone numbers and address information, but you’re not limited to those. Over the years, the standard has been revised to include new fields and data types:

  • logo
  • the date of birth of the person
  • an audio clip describing the pronunciation
  • the longitude and latitude information
  • date and time that the information was last updated
  • annotations that are often written on a business card

The key issue is whether the recipient has a contact program that uses the same fields. Sometimes, you have differences based on which vCard file version is used. Personal data, such as individual conversation records or text messages, is not included.

If you were to open the .vcf file in a text editor, you would be able to read the data, although the data labels and formatting might not be as intuitive as a CSV file.

Below is a simple test record I exported from Google Contacts using the vCard option into a text editor. As you can see on Line 2, Google is using VCARD Version 3.0 (RFC 2426). This is the most widely used format at this time, but a newer version exists.

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Most of these fields make sense, but you would never see this format on a business card. The structured file is made to be parsed by a software program.

If I were to send this file as an attachment to an email account using Microsoft Outlook, the data would come across to the correct contact fields. I need to double-click the file, and Outlook creates the contact record below. Clearly, this saves us from having to type in all the information.

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Please note that additional fields came across from the import, such as Nickname, which shows on a different Outlook contact area.

Troubleshooting vCards and VCF File Format

Sadly, not all programs make this process as easy as you’d like, which is why you might test your own vCard first. A notable example is Gmail. If I click a vCard within an email, it doesn’t automatically add the contact to Google Contacts. Instead, it presents a dialog where I can download or save the file to Google Drive.

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This is an example where I need to open Google Contacts and then import the file.

Another item to remember is that even though your contact manager has a vCard option, that doesn’t mean all data fields will transfer with the file. For example, Microsoft Outlook has many contact fields that are not part of the RFC spec. And as I found out when I was writing my tutorial on how to import contacts into Gmail, many fields are optional and don’t come across. One glaring example was Microsoft Outlook does not include “Categories” in their vCards. These fields equate to your Labels in Google Contacts.

However, if I were to export a vCard from Google Contacts, I would see my “Label” tags as Categories.

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In a related fashion, some contact systems don’t include all possible vCard fields. Using Google Contacts again, I don’t see geo-positioning fields or an area for audio clips.

The last item to remember is few systems will alert you if you’re importing a file for an existing record. I added a photograph to the Abe Lincoln record in Outlook. When I exported this record and then imported it to Google Contact, it came in as new.

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Fortunately, Google does a good job of identifying records that can be merged. They also add a label to a record with the import date.

The bottom line is that vCards are an easy way to exchange contact information with other programs or people. They may not include all the data you want, but they cover the major attributes.

You Might Also Like These Articles

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  • How to Organize with Outlook Categories
  • Understanding “Other Contacts” in Google
  • Video: Create Gmail Distribution List Your Guide to vCard & VCF Files: Key to Easy Contact Sharing (6)
Your Guide to vCard & VCF Files: Key to Easy Contact Sharing (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between vCard and VCF? ›

A vCard enables you to send contact information in a format that can be easily read in other e-mail programs. A vCard is saved as a . vcf file, which is the Internet standard for sharing contact information.

How do I open a VCF file in Gmail? ›

Importing vCard (vCF) to Gmail
  1. Open your Gmail account.
  2. Open Google Contacts from the Google Apps icon.
  3. Click on Import under Fix & Manage.
  4. Click on Select File.
  5. Locate the vCard file you want to import on your computer and open it.
  6. Click Import.
Mar 25, 2024

How do I open a VCF file on my phone? ›

If you've saved contacts to a VCF file, you can import them to your Google Account. On your Android phone or tablet, open the Contacts app . At the bottom, tap Fix & manage Import from file.

How do I share contacts with VCF? ›

Export contacts
  1. On your Android phone or tablet, open the Contacts app .
  2. Tap Menu Settings. Export.
  3. Choose one or more accounts to export contacts from.
  4. Tap Export to . VCF file.

What can open a VCF file? ›

VCF file format, depending upon what software and hardware you are using: If you have a dedicated Contact Management programme, you can usually directly access the file using this software. These include Microsoft Outlook for Windows, Apple Contacts on MacOs and Google contacts on ChromeOS (also available online).

How do I read VCF contacts? ›

How to Open VCF File?
  1. Right-click on the vCard file you want to open.
  2. Select “Open with”
  3. Choose “Windows Contacts”
May 31, 2024

How can I view VCF contacts on my computer? ›

Open VCF File on PC with Outlook

Click File and select Open & Export >> Import/Export. Select “Import a vCard file (. vcf)” and click Next. Browse and select the VCF file to import.

Where is vCard in Gmail? ›

Go to your Gmail account and log in. In the top-right corner of the screen, click “Google Apps” and then choose “Contacts.” The “Export” option can be found by clicking the “More” button. Click the “Export” button after selecting “vCard” as the export format.

Is VCF an email address? ›

VCF is a file format commonly used to store contact information, such as names, phone numbers, email addresses, and more.

How do I share all contacts from one phone to another? ›

Back up & sync device contacts
  1. On your Android phone or tablet, open the "Settings" app.
  2. Tap Google. Settings for Google apps. ...
  3. Turn on Automatically back up & sync device contacts.
  4. Pick the account you'd like your contacts to be saved in. Your contacts can only be automatically saved to one Google Account.

Where is the VCF file stored in Android? ›

vcf file is now stored on your Google Drive, and you have created a backup for your contacts. To import contacts from a . vcf file and restore them to your device: Open the Contacts app.

What does a VCF file look like? ›

As described in the specification for the Variant Call Format (VCF), there are 3 main sections to each file: Meta Information Lines - Multiple lines prefixed by double pound symbols (##). Header Line - Single line prefixed with a one pound symbol (#). Data Lines - Remainder of the file with 1 position per line.

How to recover deleted contacts on Android? ›

Recover deleted contacts
  1. On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google Contacts app .
  2. At the top right, select the Google Account that has the contact you moved to the Trash.
  3. At the bottom, tap Fix & manage. Trash.
  4. Select an option. A single contact: Tap the contact. Recover. Multiple contacts:

What does a vCard mean? ›

vCard, also known as VCF (Virtual Contact File), is a file format standard for electronic business cards. vCards can be attached to e-mail messages, sent via Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), on the World Wide Web, instant messaging, NFC or through QR code.

What is the purpose of a VCF file? ›

VCF is the standard file format for storing variation data. It is used by large scale variant mapping projects such as IGSR. It is also the standard output of variant calling software such as GATK and the standard input for variant analysis tools such as the VEP or for variation archives like EVA.

Do people still use vCards? ›

While most people consider vCards as obsolete (or have no idea what they are) others use it on a daily basis in their email communication.

What are the advantages of VCF file? ›

You should use a VCF file when you need to share contact information with someone else or transfer contacts between different devices or applications. Using a VCF file saves time and ensures accuracy by providing a standardized format for contact data.

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