vCard

A vCard is an "electronic business card " that a user can transfer directly to the address book of his e-mail program or Personal Information Manager with a click of the mouse . vCards can be embedded in HTML pages, sent as file attachments to an e-mail or available as a QR code . Cell phones and PDAs also use vCards to store contact information and exchange it with IrDA or Bluetooth .

History and title

In the early 1990s, Apple , AT&T , IBM and Siemens founded the Versit Consortium in order to develop common standards, among other things, for the exchange of personal data ( personal data interchange , PDI). In 1996 the Versit Consortium published the specification for vCard in version 2.1 and for vCalendar in version 1.0. The letter v in vCard does not stand for "business card", but for the publisher Versit .

At the end of 1996, the consortium dissolved and transferred all rights to vCard to the Internet Mail Consortium (IMC).

Content type

The standardized content type (MIME type) of a vCard is from version 4.0 of the vCard specification:

text/vcard

Different content types are considered obsolete, for example:

text/x-vcard

text/directory;profile=vCard

text/directory

In some SyncML documentation relating to vCard 3.0, text/x-vcardthe MIME type was incorrectly used instead of the MIME type text/vcard- and this example has been followed in various implementations - although the latter was not standardized until version 4.0.

properties

Many e-mail programs can read and export contact data as a vCard. However, the support is often flawed; a vCard that was created with a certain program can be illegible for another program: umlauts can be lost etc. if contents are not saved according to the specifications with the necessary character set information. A vCard can e.g. B. in version 2.1 save the address and the name with different character sets and must specify the character set in each case; information without specifying the character set should only contain ASCII characters in version 2.1 . Starting with version 3.0 and starting with version 4.0, the entire file must be encoded in UTF-8 . Currently, the IMC does not offer an official test to check the quality of a vCard or a list of products that support vCards (reliably).

The usual filename extension for vCard files is *.vcf= "vCard file".

specification

According to the reference specification RFC 6350 (August 2011), vCard defines the following object types.

A vCard is saved as a simple, unformatted text file. This consists of one or more vCard objects that are enclosed by the boundaries BEGIN:VCARDand END:VCARD. All vCards must have the VERSIONproperty that specifies the vCard version. VERSIONmust BEGINfollow directly on (except in the vCard 2.1 standard, where it can appear anywhere within the vCard). The contents of the vCard consist of individual properties and their attributes. The properties can be defined in any order as follows:

EIGENSCHAFT[;PARAMETER]:Attribut[;Attribut]

= supported and required

= supported, not required

= no longer supported as a property as it can now be used as a parameter within another property

= Special case, supported

Surname	version			description	example
	2.1	3.0	4.0
ADR				Structured representation of the physical address of the vCard object.	ADR;TYPE=home:;;Heidestrasse 17;Koeln;;51147;Germany
AGENT				Information about someone else to act on behalf of the vCard object. Typically this is a representative, assistant or secretary. Either a URL or an embedded vCard can be specified here.	AGENT:http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/007
ANNIVERSARY				Anniversary (usually the wedding day is meant) of the person.	ANNIVERSARY:2014-08-12
BDAY				Date of birth of the person associated with the vCard.	BDAY:1964-08-12 oder (2.1) BDAY:19640812
BEGIN				Every vCard must start with this property.	BEGIN:VCARD
CALADRURI				A URL for sending an appointment request to use the person's calendar.	CALADRURI:http://example.org/kalender/emuster
CALURI				A URL to the person's calendar.	CALURI:http://example.org/kalender/emuster
CATEGORIES				List of properties that describe the object of the vCard.	CATEGORIES:swimmer,biker
CLASS				Sensitivity of the data contained in the vCard.	CLASS:public
CLIENTPIDMAP				UUID for the synchronization of different revision levels of the same vCard.	CLIENTPIDMAP:1;urn:uuid:3df403f4-5924-4bb7-b077-3c711d9eb34b
EMAIL				E-mail address for communication with the vCard object.	EMAIL:[e-mail]
END				Every vCard must end with this property.	END:VCARD
FBURL				URL that describes whether the person's calendar shows “free” or “busy”.	FBURL:http://example.org/fb/emuster
FN				Formatted string containing the full name of the vCard object.	FN:Dr. Erika Mustermann
GENDER				Gender of the person.	GENDER:F
GEO				Longitude and latitude.	2.1 , 3.0 : GEO:50.858,7.0885 4.0 :GEO:geo: 50.858\,7.0885
IMPP		1)		Defines an instant messenger handle. 1) This object was introduced by a separate RFC before vCard version 3.0 was valid. Therefore vCards 3.0 can use this property even if it is not part of the 3.0 specification.	IMPP:aim:[e-mail]
KEY				Public key associated with the vCard object. Reference can be made to an external URL, plain text can be specified or a Base64 -coded text block can be embedded in the vCard.	2.1 : KEY;PGP:http://example.org/key.pgp 2.1 : KEY;PGP;ENCODING=BASE64:[base64-data] 3.0 : KEY;TYPE=PGP:http://example.org/key.pgp 3.0 : KEY;TYPE=PGP;ENCODING=B:[base64-data] 4.0 : KEY;MEDIATYPE=application/pgp-keys:http://example.org/key.pgp 4.0 :KEY:data:application/pgp-keys;base64\,[base64-data]
KIND				Type of object that the vCard describes: a person ( individual), an organization ( organization) or a group ( group).	KIND:individual
LABEL			*)	Represents the actual text that is present on a physical address label for addressing the object connected to the vCard (similar to the ADRproperty). 2) Not supported in version 4.0. Instead, this information is stored in the LABELparameter of the ADRproperty.	LABEL;TYPE=HOME:Heidestrasse 17\n51147 Koeln\nDeutschland
LANG				Language the person speaks.	LANG:de-DE
LOGO				Logo of the organization with which the person who owns the vCard is related. It can refer to an external URL or a Base64 -coded text block can be embedded in the vCard.	2.1 : LOGO;PNG:http://example.org/logo.png 2.1 : LOGO;PNG;ENCODING=BASE64:[base64-data] 3.0 : LOGO;TYPE=PNG:http://example.org/logo.png 3.0 : LOGO;TYPE=PNG;ENCODING=b:[base64-data] 4.0 : LOGO;MEDIATYPE=image/png:http://example.org/logo.png 4.0 :LOGO:data:image/png;base64,[base64-data]
MAILER				Type of e-mail program used.	MAILER:Thunderbird
MEMBER				Defines the object that the vCard represents as part of a group. Permissible values ​​are: a "mailto:" URL that contains an email address a UUID that points to the member's own vCard In order to be able to use this property, the KINDproperty must be set to "group".	MEMBER:urn:uuid:550e8400-e29b-11d4-a716-446655440000
N				Structured representation of the name of the person, place or thing to which the vCard object is assigned.	N:Mustermann;Erika;;Dr.;
NAME				Text representation of the SOURCEproperty.
NICKNAME				One or more alternative names for the object represented by the vCard.	NICKNAME:Erica,Ehrenreiche
NOTE				Additional information or comments related to the vCard.	NOTE:Ich bin eine fiktive Person aus Deutschland\nund ich bin bundesweit bekannt.
ORG				Name and, if applicable, unit (s) of the organization to which the vCard object is assigned. This property is based on the "Organization Name" and "Organization Unit" attributes of the X.520 standard.	ORG:Google;GMail Team;Spam Detection Squad
PHOTO				Image or photograph of the person associated with the vCard. It can refer to an external URL or a Base64 -coded text block can be embedded in the vCard.	2.1 : PHOTO;JPEG:http://example.org/photo.jpg 2.1 : PHOTO;JPEG;ENCODING=BASE64:[base64-data] 3.0 : PHOTO;TYPE=JPEG:http://example.org/photo.jpg 3.0 : PHOTO;TYPE=JPEG;ENCODING=b:[base64-data] 4.0 : PHOTO;MEDIATYPE=image/jpeg:http://example.org/photo.jpg 4.0 :PHOTO:data:image/jpeg;base64,[base64-data]
PRODID				Identifier for the product with which the vCard object was created.	PRODID:-//ONLINE DIRECTORY//NONSGML Version 1//DE
PROFILE				Specifies that the vCard is a vCard.	PROFILE:VCARD
RELATED				Another entity with which the person is connected. Permissible values ​​are: a "mailto:" URL that contains an email address a UUID that points to the member's own vCard	RELATED;TYPE=friend:urn:uuid:550e8400-e29b-11d4-a716-446655440000
REV				Time stamp of the last update of the vCard.	REV:20140301T221110Z
ROLE				The role, occupation, or economic category of the vCard object within an organization.	ROLE:Executive
SORT-STRING			3)	Character string that describes the sorting order of the vCard in applications. 3) Not supported in version 4.0. Instead, this information is saved in the SORT-ASparameter of the Nand / or ORGproperty.	SORT-STRING:Mustermann
SOUND				By default, specifies the pronunciation of FNthe vCard object's property when this property is not linked to other properties. It can refer to an external URL or a Base64 -coded text block can be embedded in the vCard.	2.1 : SOUND;OGG:http://example.org/sound.ogg 2.1 : SOUND;OGG;ENCODING=BASE64:[base64-data] 3.0 : SOUND;TYPE=OGG:http://example.org/sound.ogg 3.0 : SOUND;TYPE=OGG;ENCODING=b:[base64-data] 4.0 : SOUND;MEDIATYPE=audio/ogg:http://example.org/sound.ogg 4.0 :SOUND:data:audio/ogg;base64\,[base64-data]
SOURCE				URL that can be used to get the latest version of this vCard.	SOURCE:http://mustermann.de/vCard.vcf
TEL				Normal form of a numeric character string for a telephone number for telephone communication with the vCard object.	TEL;TYPE=CELL,HOME:[phone] TEL;TYPE=VOICE,HOME:+4141310xxyy
TITLE				Specification of the job title, functional position or function of the person associated with the vCard object within an organization.	TITLE:V.P. Research and Development
TZ				Time zone of the vCard object.	2.1 , 3.0 : TZ:+0100 4.0 :TZ:Europe/Berlin
UID				UUID , which is a persistent, globally unique identifier of the connected object.	UID:urn:uuid:550e8400-e29b-11d4-a716-44665544ffff
URL				URL to a website that represents the person.	URL:http://www.mustermann.de
VERSION				Version of the vCard specification. In versions 3.0 and 4.0 this must BEGINfollow the property.	VERSION:3.0
XML				Any XML data associated with the vCard. Used if the vCard is encoded in XML (xCard standard) and the XML document contains elements that are not part of the xCard standard.	XML:<b>kein XML-Element des xCard-Standards</b>

Additional vCard features

Additional vCard properties are defined in various separate specifications.

Surname	specification	description	example
BIRTHPLACE	RFC 6474	Person's place of birth	BIRTHPLACE;VALUE=text:Berlin\, Germany
DEATHDATE	RFC 6474	Date of death of the person	DEATHDATE:20740812
DEATHPLACE	RFC 6474	Place of death of the person	DEATHPLACE;VALUE=uri:geo:54.76,13.63
EXPERTISE	RFC 6715	Subject area that the person has knowledge of	EXPERTISE;LEVEL=expert:Computer Science
HOBBY	RFC 6715	Leisure activity pursued by the person	HOBBY;LEVEL=high:knitting
IMPP	RFC 4770	Trade to an instant messenger. This was included in the official vCard specification in version 4.0.	IMPP:aim:[e-mail]
INTEREST	RFC 6715	Leisure activity that the person is interested in but does not necessarily take part in.	INTEREST;LEVEL=high:baseball
ORG-DIRECTORY	RFC 6715	URI representing the person's workplace; this allows information about employees of the person to be obtained	ORG-DIRECTORY:http://www.firma.de/mitarbeiter

vCard extensions

vCard supports individual extensions, these start with the prefix X-. Some of them are:

extension	Use as	Data format	use
Supported by various programs
X-ABUID	object		UUID for this entry in the Apple Contacts program
X-ANNIVERSARY	object	YYYY-MM-DD	any anniversary (in addition to BDAY, birthday)
X-ASSISTANT	object	String	Assistant name (instead of AGENT)
X-MANAGER	object	String	Name of the manager
X-SPOUSE	object	String	Spouse's Name
X-GENDER	object	String	Gender MaleorFemale
X-AIM	object	String	Instant messaging (IM) contact information ; TYPEParameters as forTEL
X-ICQ	object	String
X-GOOGLE-TALK	object	String
X-JABBER	object	String
X-MSN	object	String
X-YAHOO	object	String
X-TWITTER	object	String
X-SKYPE, X-SKYPE-USERNAME	object	String
X-GADUGADU	object	String
X-GROUPWISE	object	String
X-MS-IMADDRESS	object	String	IM address in the VCF attachment from Microsoft Outlook (right-click on the contact entry → Send complete contact → In Internet format [vCard])
X-MS-CARDPICTURE	object	String	used as PHOTOor LOGO; contains the contact picture from the Microsoft Outlook contact card
X-PHONETIC-FIRST-NAME, X-PHONETIC-LAST-NAME	object	String	alternative spellings to help you pronounce unknown names
Introduced and used by Mozilla ; used by evolution
X-MOZILLA-HTML	object	TRUE/FALSE	Mail recipients prefer HTML-formatted e-mails
X-MOZILLA-PROPERTY	object	String	Thunderbird-specific settings which are coded as follows: X-MOZILLA-PROPERTY:PropertyName;PropertyValue
Introduced and used by evolution
X-EVOLUTION-ANNIVERSARY	object	YYYY-MM-DD	any anniversary (in addition to BDAY, birthday)
X-EVOLUTION-ASSISTANT	object	String	Assistant name (instead of AGENT)
X-EVOLUTION-BLOG-URL	object	String / url	Blog url
X-EVOLUTION-FILE-AS	object	String	File under a different name (in addition to N, name components; and FN, full name)
X-EVOLUTION-MANAGER	object	String	Name of the manager
X-EVOLUTION-SPOUSE	object	String	Spouse's Name
X-EVOLUTION-VIDEO-URL	object	String / url	Videochat address
X-EVOLUTION-CALLBACK	TEL TYPE Parameter value	-	Callback 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 writing phone contact information (Telecommunications device for the deaf)
Introduced and used by Kontact and KAddressbook
X-KADDRESSBOOK-BlogFeed	object	String / url	Blog url
X-KADDRESSBOOK-X-Anniversary	object	ISO date	any anniversary (in addition to BDAY, birthday)
X-KADDRESSBOOK-X-AssistantsName	object	String	Assistant name (instead of AGENT)
X-KADDRESSBOOK-X-IMAddress	object	String	IM address
X-KADDRESSBOOK-X-ManagersName	object	String	Name of the manager
X-KADDRESSBOOK-X-Office	object	String	Office name
X-KADDRESSBOOK-X-Profession	object	String	job
X-KADDRESSBOOK-X-SpouseName	object	String	Spouse's Name

Examples

vCard 2.1

BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION:2.1
N:Mustermann;Erika;;Dr.;
FN:Dr. Erika Mustermann
ORG:Wikimedia
ROLE:Kommunikation
TITLE:Redaktion & Gestaltung
PHOTO;JPEG:http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Erika_Mustermann_2010.jpg
TEL;WORK;VOICE:[phone]
TEL;HOME;VOICE:[phone]
ADR;HOME:;;Heidestrasse 17;Koeln;;51147;Deutschland
EMAIL;PREF;INTERNET:[e-mail]
REV:20140301T221110Z
END:VCARD

vCard 3.0

BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION:3.0
N:Mustermann;Erika;;Dr.;
FN:Dr. Erika Mustermann
ORG:Wikimedia
ROLE:Kommunikation
TITLE:Redaktion & Gestaltung
PHOTO;VALUE=URL;TYPE=JPEG:http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Erika_Mustermann_2010.jpg
TEL;TYPE=WORK,VOICE:[phone]
TEL;TYPE=HOME,VOICE:[phone]
ADR;TYPE=HOME:;;Heidestraße 17;Köln;;51147;Germany
EMAIL;TYPE=PREF,INTERNET:[e-mail]
URL:http://de.wikipedia.org/
REV:2014-03-01T22:11:10Z
END:VCARD

vCard 4.0

BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION:4.0
N:Mustermann;Erika;;Dr.;
FN:Dr. Erika Mustermann
ORG:Wikimedia
ROLE:Kommunikation
TITLE:Redaktion & Gestaltung
PHOTO;MEDIATYPE=image/jpeg:http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Erika_Mustermann_2010.jpg
TEL;TYPE=work,voice;VALUE=uri:tel:[phone]
TEL;TYPE=home,voice;VALUE=uri:tel:[phone]
ADR;TYPE=home;LABEL="Heidestraße 17\n51147 Köln\nDeutschland"
 :;;Heidestraße 17;Köln;;51147;Germany
EMAIL:[e-mail]
REV:20140301T221110Z
END:VCARD

Articles on vCard-compatible programs

Some programs use internally a database with an import method for vCards, others use vCards as the file format. An export as a vCard is not always possible and the support of versions 2.1, 3.0, 4.0 is inconsistent:

• address manager
• Android
• Symbian
• Apple address book for macOS
• combit Relationship Manager
• EGroupware
• Contact
• Lotus Notes , Lotus Organizer
• Gmail
• Microsoft Outlook (restricted, only the first contact is imported)
• Mozilla Thunderbird , with extension MoreFunctionsForAddressBook .vcf file editor or CardBook
• Novell Evolution and GroupWise
• Nextcloud
• ownCloud
• Roundcube
• SOGo
• Palm Desktop
• The Bat
• Trillian
• Horde (framework)
• further Personal Information Manager (PIM)

In addition, current cell phones from some manufacturers offer the option of saving the phone book as a vCard, which can make data synchronization (e.g. under Linux) much more convenient.

See also

• LDAP Data Interchange Format
• iCalendar ( vCalendar )

Web links

• RFC 6350 Definition vCard Version 4.0 (IETF)
• RFC 2426 Definition vCard Version 3.0 (IETF)
• RFC 2425 Definition vCard Version 2.1 (IETF)
• Address data as microformat, hcard

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} RFC 6350 , section 10.1 Media Type Registration
2. ↑ vCard Format Specification. P. 31 , accessed on November 24, 2018 .