knowledge/technology/files/vCard.md

18 KiB

obj wiki mime extension rfc aliases rev
concept https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VCard text/vcard
vcf
vcard
https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc6350
vcf
2024-03-07

vCard

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. They can contain name and address information, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, URLs, logos, photographs, and audio clips.

vCard is used as a data interchange format in smartphone contacts, personal digital assistants (PDAs), personal information managers (PIMs) and customer relationship management systems (CRMs). To accomplish these data interchange applications, other "vCard variants" have been used and proposed as "variant standards", each for its specific niche: XML representation, JSON representation, or web pages.

An example of a simple vCard (from RFC 6350 of August, 2011, abbreviated):

BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION:4.0
FN:Simon Perreault
N:Perreault;Simon;;;ing. jr,M.Sc.
BDAY:--0203
GENDER:M
EMAIL;TYPE=work:simon.perreault@viagenie.ca
END:VCARD

Properties

vCard defines the following property types.

All vCards begin with BEGIN:VCARD and end with END:VCARD. All vCards must contain the VERSION property, which specifies the vCard version. VERSION must come immediately after BEGIN, except in the vCard 2.1 standard, which allows it to be anywhere in the vCard. Otherwise, properties can be defined in any order.

Name Description Example
ADR A structured representation of the physical delivery address for the vCard object. ADR;TYPE=home:;;123 Main St.;Springfield;IL;12345;USA
ANNIVERSARY Defines the person's anniversary. ANNIVERSARY:19901021
BDAY Date of birth of the individual associated with the vCard. BDAY:19700310
BEGIN All vCards must start with this property. BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION The version of the vCard specification. In version 4.0, this must come right after the BEGIN property. VERSION:4.0
CALADRURI A URL to use for sending a scheduling request to the person's calendar. CALADRURI:http://example.com/calendar/jdoe
CALURI A URL to the person's calendar. CALURI:http://example.com/calendar/jdoe
CATEGORIES A list of "tags" that can be used to describe the object represented by this vCard. CATEGORIES:swimmer,biker
CLIENTPIDMAP Used for synchronizing different revisions of the same vCard. CLIENTPIDMAP:1;urn:uuid:3df403f4-5924-4bb7-b077-3c711d9eb34b
EMAIL The address for electronic mail communication with the vCard object. EMAIL:johndoe@hotmail.com
END All vCards must end with this property. END:VCARD
FBURL Defines a URL that shows when the person is "free" or "busy" on their calendar. FBURL:http://example.com/fb/jdoe
FN The formatted name string associated with the vCard object. FN:Dr. John Doe
GENDER Defines the person's gender. GENDER:F
GEO Specifies a latitude and longitude. GEO:geo:39.95,-75.1667
KEY The public encryption key associated with the vCard object. It may point to an external URL, may be plain text, or may be embedded in the vCard as a Base64 encoded block of text. KEY:data:application/pgp-keys;base64,[base64-data]
KIND Defines the type of entity that this vCard represents: application, individual, group, location or organization; x-* values may be used for experimental purposes. KIND:individual
LANG Defines a language that the person speaks. LANG:fr-CA
LOGO An image or graphic of the logo of the organization that is associated with the individual to which the vCard belongs. It may point to an external URL or may be embedded in the vCard as a Base64 encoded block of text. LOGO;ENCODING=BASE64;TYPE=PNG:[base64-data]
MEMBER Defines a member that is part of the group that this vCard represents. Acceptable values include:
- a "mailto:" URL containing an email address
- a UID which references the member's own vCard

The KIND property must be set to group in order to use this property.
MEMBER:urn:uuid:03a0e51f-d1aa-4385-8a53-e29025acd8af
N A structured representation of the name of the person, place or thing associated with the vCard object. Structure recognizes, in order separated by semicolons: Family Name, Given Name, Additional/Middle Names, Honorific Prefixes, and Honorific Suffixes N:Doe;John;;Dr;
NICKNAME One or more descriptive/familiar names for the object represented by this vCard. NICKNAME:Jon,Johnny
NOTE Specifies supplemental information or a comment that is associated with the vCard. NOTE:I am proficient in Tiger-Crane Style,\nand I am more than proficient in the exquisite art of the Samurai sword.
ORG 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. ORG:Google;GMail Team;Spam Detection Squad
PHOTO An image or photograph of the individual associated with the vCard. It may point to an external URL or may be embedded in the vCard as a Base64 encoded block of text. PHOTO;ENCODING=BASE64;TYPE=PNG:[base64-data]
PRODID The identifier for the product that created the vCard object. PRODID:-//ONLINE DIRECTORY//NONSGML Version 1//EN
RELATED Another entity that the person is related to. Acceptable values include:
- a "mailto:" URL containing an email address
- a UID which references the person's own vCard
- a text value used to specify textual information
RELATED;TYPE=friend:urn:uuid:03a0e51f-d1aa-4385-8a53-e29025acd8af
REV A timestamp for the last time the vCard was updated. REV:20121201T134211Z
ROLE The role, occupation, or business category of the vCard object within an organization. ROLE:Executive
SOURCE A URL that can be used to get the latest version of this vCard. SOURCE:http://johndoe.com/vcard.vcf
TEL The canonical number string for a telephone number for telephony communication with the vCard object. TEL;TYPE=cell:(123) 555-5832
TITLE Specifies the job title, functional position or function of the individual associated with the vCard object within an organization. TITLE:V.P. Research and Development
TZ The time zone of the vCard object. TZ:America/New_York
UID Specifies a value that represents a persistent, globally unique identifier associated with the object. UID:urn:uuid:da418720-3754-4631-a169-db89a02b831b
URL A URL pointing to a website that represents the person in some way. URL:http://www.johndoe.com