vCard

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vCard
Filename extension .vcf, .vcard
Internet media type text/vcard
Type code vCrd
Uniform Type Identifier public.vcard
Developed by Internet Mail Consortium
Type of format electronic business card
Container for contact information

vCard is a file format standard for electronic business cards. vCards are often attached to e-mail messages, but can be exchanged in other ways, such as on the World Wide Web or Instant Messaging. They can contain name and address information, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, URLs, logos, photographs, and audio clips.

Contents

[edit] History

Versitcard was originally proposed in 1995 by the Versit Consortium, which consisted of Apple, AT&T Technologies (later Lucent), IBM and Siemens. In December 1996, ownership of the format was handed over to the Internet Mail Consortium, a trade association for companies with an interest in Internet e-mail.

Version 2.1 of the vCard standard is widely supported by e-mail clients. Version 3.0 of the vCard format is an IETF standards-track proposal contained in RFC 2425 and RFC 2426. Version 4.0 is defined in RFC 6350, with a new XML syntax, xCard, defined in RFC 6351. The commonly-used filename extension for vCards is vcf.

In RFC 4770, vCard Extensions for Instant Messaging, a new type of entry to hold an IMPP URI is defined, which is "IMPP". This is now part of the base vCard 4.0 spec.

[edit] Media type

The standard Internet media type for a vCard (often referred to as its mime type) is:[1]

text/vcard

As of version 4.0 specification, other media types known to have been used previously are now deprecated, including:[1]

text/x-vcard
text/directory;profile=vCard
text/directory

[edit] Compatibility

Through testing performed in October 2011, it seems that the Blackberry platform only supports versions up to and including vCard 2.1. Version 3.0 cards caused "rendering errors" when loaded in the web browser and in the e-mail client.

[edit] Example vCard files

The following is an example of a VCard file containing information for one person:

[edit] vCard 2.1

BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION:2.1
N:Gump;Forrest
FN:Forrest Gump
ORG:Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.
TITLE:Shrimp Man
TEL;WORK;VOICE:(111) 555-1212
TEL;HOME;VOICE:(404) 555-1212
ADR;WORK:;;100 Waters Edge;Baytown;LA;30314;United States of America
LABEL;WORK;ENCODING=QUOTED-PRINTABLE:100 Waters Edge=0D=0ABaytown, LA 30314=0D=0AUnited States of America
ADR;HOME:;;42 Plantation St.;Baytown;LA;30314;United States of America
LABEL;HOME;ENCODING=QUOTED-PRINTABLE:42 Plantation St.=0D=0ABaytown, LA 30314=0D=0AUnited States of America
EMAIL;PREF;INTERNET:forrestgump@example.com
REV:20080424T195243Z
END:VCARD

[edit] vCard 3.0

BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION:3.0
N:Gump;Forrest
FN:Forrest Gump
ORG:Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.
TITLE:Shrimp Man
PHOTO;VALUE=URL;TYPE=GIF:http://www.example.com/dir_photos/my_photo.gif
TEL;TYPE=WORK,VOICE:(111) 555-1212
TEL;TYPE=HOME,VOICE:(404) 555-1212
ADR;TYPE=WORK:;;100 Waters Edge;Baytown;LA;30314;United States of America
LABEL;TYPE=WORK:100 Waters Edge\nBaytown, LA 30314\nUnited States of America
ADR;TYPE=HOME:;;42 Plantation St.;Baytown;LA;30314;United States of America
LABEL;TYPE=HOME:42 Plantation St.\nBaytown, LA 30314\nUnited States of America
EMAIL;TYPE=PREF,INTERNET:forrestgump@example.com
REV:2008-04-24T19:52:43Z
END:VCARD

[edit] vCard 4.0

BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION:4.0
N:Gump;Forrest;;;
FN: Forrest Gump
ORG:Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.
TITLE:Shrimp Man
PHOTO:http://www.example.com/dir_photos/my_photo.gif
TEL;TYPE="work,voice";VALUE=uri:tel:+1-111-555-1212
TEL;TYPE="home,voice";VALUE=uri:tel:+1-404-555-1212
ADR;TYPE=work;LABEL="42 Plantation St.\nBaytown, LA 30314\nUnited States of America"
 :;;42 Plantation St.;Baytown;LA;30314;United States of America
EMAIL:forrestgump@example.com
REV:20080424T195243Z
END:VCARD

[edit] xCard

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<vcards xmlns="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:vcard-4.0">
  <vcard>
    <n>
      <surname>Gump</surname>
      <given>Forrest</given>
      <additional/>
      <prefix/>
      <suffix/>
    </n>
    <fn><text>Forrest Gump</text></fn>
    <org><text>Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.</text></org>
    <title><text>Shrimp Man</text></title>
    <photo><uri>http://www.example.com/dir_photos/my_photo.gif</uri></photo>
    <tel>
      <parameters>
        <type>work</type>
        <type>voice</type>
      </parameters>
      <uri>tel:+1-111-555-1212</uri>
    </tel>
    <tel>
      <parameters>
        <type>home</type>
        <type>voice</type>
      </parameters>
      <uri>tel:+1-404-555-1212</uri>
    </tel>
    <adr>
      <parameters>
        <type>work</type>
        <label>42 Plantation St.
          Baytown, LA 30314
          United States of America
        </label>
      </parameters>
      <pobox/>
      <ext/>
      <street>42 Plantation St.</street>
      <locality>Baytown</locality>
      <region>LA</region>
      <code>30314</code>
      <country>United States of America</country>
    </adr>
    <email><text>forrestgump@example.com</text></email>
    <rev><timestamp>20080424T195243Z</timestamp></rev>
  </vcard>
</vcards>

[2]

[edit] Properties

vCard defines the following property types. According to the current (4.0) specification, vCards must contain the VERSION and FN properties between the BEGIN:VCARD and END:VCARD entities.

Name Description Semantic
N Name A structured representation of the name of the person, place or thing associated with the vCard object.
FN Formatted Name The formatted name string associated with the vCard object
NICKNAME Nickname A descriptive or familiar name given instead of or in addition to the one belonging to a person, place, or thing.
PHOTO Photograph An image or photograph of the individual associated with the vCard
BDAY Birthday Date of birth of the individual associated with the vCard
ADR Delivery Address A structured representation of the physical delivery address for the vCard object
LABEL Label Address Addressing label for physical delivery to the person/object associated with the vCard
TEL Telephone The canonical number string for a telephone number for telephony communication with the vCard object
EMAIL Email The address for electronic mail communication with the vCard object
MAILER Email Program (Optional) Type of email program used
TZ Time Zone Information related to the standard time zone of the vCard object
GEO Global Positioning The property specifies a latitude and longitude
TITLE Title Specifies the job title, functional position or function of the individual associated with the vCard object within an organization (V. P. Research and Development)
ROLE Role or occupation The role, occupation, or business category of the vCard object within an organization (e.g. Executive)
LOGO Logo An image or graphic of the logo of the organization that is associated with the individual to which the vCard belongs
AGENT Agent Information about another person who will act on behalf of the vCard object. Typically this would be an area administrator, assistant, or secretary for the individual
ORG Organization Name or Organizational unit The name and optionally the unit(s) of the organization associated with the vCard object. This property is based on the X.520 Organization Name attribute and the X.520 Organization Unit attribute
NOTE Note Specifies supplemental information or a comment that is associated with the vCard
REV Last Revision Combination of the calendar date and time of day of the last update to the vCard object
SOUND Sound By default, if this property is not grouped with other properties it specifies the pronunciation of the Formatted Name property of the vCard object.
URL URL A URL is a representation of an Internet location that can be used to obtain real-time information about the object to which the vCard refers. For example, a personal website or the company's web portal.
UID Unique Identifier Specifies a value that represents a persistent, globally unique identifier associated with the object
VERSION Version Version of the vCard Specification
KEY Public Key The public encryption key associated with the vCard object

In addition, because vCard augments RFC-2425, a standard for directory information, the following property types are also supported: SOURCE, NAME, PROFILE, BEGIN, END.

[edit] vCard extensions

vCard supports private extensions, with an "X-" prefix, a number of which are in common usage.

Some of these include:

Extension Used As Data Semantic
Extensions supported by several different programs.
X-ABUID property string Apple Address Book UUID for that entry
X-ANNIVERSARY property YYYY-MM-DD arbitrary anniversary, in addition to BDAY = birthday
X-ASSISTANT property string assistant name (instead of Agent)
X-MANAGER property string manager name
X-SPOUSE property string spouse name
X-GENDER property string value "Male" or "Female"
X-AIM property string Instant Messaging (IM) contact information; TYPE parameter as for TEL (I.e. WORK/HOME/OTHER)
X-ICQ property string "
X-JABBER property string "
X-MSN property string "
X-YAHOO property string "
X-TWITTER property string "
X-SKYPE, X-SKYPE-USERNAME property string "
X-GADUGADU property string "
X-GROUPWISE property string "
X-MS-IMADDRESS property string " (IM address in VCF attachment from Outlook (right click Contact, Send Full Contact, Internet Format.)
X-MS-CARDPICTURE property string Works as PHOTO or LOGO. Contains an image of the Card in Outlook.
X-PHONETIC-FIRST-NAME, X-PHONETIC-LAST-NAME property string alternative spelling of name, used for Japanese names
introduced and used by Mozilla, also used by Evolution (software)
X-MOZILLA-HTML property TRUE/FALSE mail recipient prefers HTML-formatted email
X-MOZILLA-PROPERTY property string Thunderbird specific settings
introduced and used by Evolution (software)
X-EVOLUTION-ANNIVERSARY property YYYY-MM-DD arbitrary anniversary, in addition to BDAY = birthday
X-EVOLUTION-ASSISTANT property string assistant name (instead of Agent)
X-EVOLUTION-BLOG-URL property string/URL blog URL
X-EVOLUTION-FILE-AS property string file under different name (in addition to N = name components and FN = full name
X-EVOLUTION-MANAGER property string manager name
X-EVOLUTION-SPOUSE property string spouse name
X-EVOLUTION-VIDEO-URL property string/URL video chat address
X-EVOLUTION-CALLBACK TEL TYPE parameter value - callback phone number
X-EVOLUTION-RADIO TEL TYPE parameter value - radio contact information
X-EVOLUTION-TELEX TEL TYPE parameter value - Telex contact information
X-EVOLUTION-TTYTDD TEL TYPE parameter value - TTY TDD contact information
introduced and used by Kontact and KAddressBook
X-KADDRESSBOOK-BlogFeed property string/URL blog URL
X-KADDRESSBOOK-X-Anniversary property ISO date arbitrary anniversary, in addition to BDAY = birthday
X-KADDRESSBOOK-X-AssistantsName property string assistant name (instead of Agent)
X-KADDRESSBOOK-X-IMAddress property string im address
X-KADDRESSBOOK-X-ManagersName property string manager name
X-KADDRESSBOOK-X-Office property string office description
X-KADDRESSBOOK-X-Profession property string profession
X-KADDRESSBOOK-X-SpouseName property string spouse name

Note: The Internet media type text/vcard was used (incorrectly) in some SyncML Documentation to refer to vCard 3.0, and the example was followed in various implementations.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b RFC 6350, section 10.1 "Media Type Registration"
  2. ^ vcard
  3. ^ "RFC 6350 - vCard Format Specification, Section 6.5.2". IETF. http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6350#section-6.5.2. Retrieved August 2011. 

[edit] External links

 This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (August 2010)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=VCard&oldid=477892701"
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