All Topics  
Address Book

 

   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link






 

Address Book



 
 
Address Book is an address book
Address Book

Address Book is an address book for Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X. It features various syncing features and integrations into the rest of the OS....
 for Apple's Mac OS X
Mac OS X

Mac OS X is a line of computer operating systems developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc., and since 2002 has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems....
. It features various syncing features and integrations into the rest of the OS.

Integration with Mac OS X


ess Book has two viewing modes: View Card and Column, and View Card Only. The user can switch between modes with a control in the upper-left portion of the window under the close box.

In View Card and Column, the Address Book window is divided into three panes.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Address Book'
Start a new discussion about 'Address Book'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Address Book is an address book
Address Book

Address Book is an address book for Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X. It features various syncing features and integrations into the rest of the OS....
 for Apple's Mac OS X
Mac OS X

Mac OS X is a line of computer operating systems developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc., and since 2002 has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems....
. It features various syncing features and integrations into the rest of the OS.

Features


  • Exports and imports cards to and from vCard
    VCard

    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....
     3.0 format.
  • Imports cards from LDIF, tab-delimited, and comma-separated files
  • C
    C (programming language)

    C is a general-purpose computer programming language originally developed in 1972 by Dennis Ritchie at the Bell Telephone Laboratories to implement the Unix operating system....
     and Objective-C
    Objective-C

    Objective-C is a Reflection , Object-oriented programming programming language which adds Smalltalk-style message passing to C .Today it is used primarily on Mac OS X, iPhone OS, and GNUstep, three environments based on the OpenStep standard, and is the primary language used for the NEXTSTEP, OpenStep#OPENSTEP, and Cocoa application framew...
     API
    Application programming interface

    An application programming interface is a set of subroutine, data structures, class and/or Protocol provided by library and/or operating system Service s in order to support the building of applications....
     to interface with other applications.
  • Prints labels and envelopes, mailing lists, pocket address books
  • Can configure page setup and paper size before printing
  • One-click automatic look up for duplicate entries
  • Change of address notification
  • Contact groups
  • Smart groups based on Spotlight
    Spotlight (software)

    Spotlight is a system-wide desktop search feature of Apple Inc. Mac OS X operating system introduced in version Mac OS X v10.4 on April 29, 2005....
  • Look up addresses on Google Maps
    Google Maps

    Google Maps is a free web mapping service application and technology provided by Google that powers many map-based services including the Google Maps website, #Google Ride Finder, Google Transit and embedded maps on third-party websites via the Google Maps Application programming interface....
  • Auto-merge when importing vCards
  • Customize fields and categories
  • Automatic formatting of phone numbers
  • Synchronizes with Microsoft Exchange Server
    Microsoft Exchange Server

    Microsoft Exchange Server is a messaging and collaborative software product developed by Microsoft. It is part of the Microsoft Servers line of Server products and is widely used by enterprises using Microsoft infrastructure solutions....
  • Speech recognition
    Speech recognition

    Speech recognition converts spoken words to machine-readable input . The term "voice recognition" is sometimes incorrectly used to refer to speech recognition, when actually referring to speaker recognition, which attempts to identify the person speaking, as opposed to what is being said....
     searching
  • Capability to query an LDAP
    Lightweight Directory Access Protocol

    The Lightweight Directory Access Protocol, or LDAP , is an application protocol for querying and modifying directory services running over Internet protocol suite....
     database containing person information
  • Plugin
    Plugin

    In computing, a plug-in consists of a computer program that interacts with a host application software to provide a certain, usually very specific, function "on demand"....
     interface allowing third-party developers to add functionality to the program


Integration with Mac OS X

  • Integration with Mail
    Mail (application)

    Mail is an e-mail client included with Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X operating system. Originally developed by NeXT as NeXTMail, a part of their Nextstep operating system, it was adapted, following Apple's acquisition of NeXT, to become OS X's Mail application....
    , iCal
    ICal

    iCal is a personal calendar application made by Apple Inc. that runs on the Mac OS X operating system. iCal was the first calendar application for Mac OS X to offer support for multiple calendars and the ability to publish/subscribe calendars to WebDAV server....
    , iChat
    IChat

    iChat is an AOL Instant Messenger , MobileMe, ICQ and XMPP client by Apple Inc. for their Mac OS X operating system. Using a Jabber-like protocol and Bonjour for user discovery, it also allows for LAN communication....
    , Fax, Safari
    Safari (web browser)

    Safari is a web browser developed by Apple Inc.. First released as a beta on January 7, 2003 on the company's Mac OS X operating system, it became Apple's default browser beginning with Mac OS X v10.3, commonly known as "OS X Panther." Apple has also made Safari the native browser for the iPhone OS....
    , iPhone
    IPhone

    The iPhone is an internet-connected multimedia smartphone designed and marketed by Apple Inc. with a flush multi-touch screen and a minimal hardware interface....
  • iSync
    ISync

    iSync is a software application published by Apple Inc. It runs only under Mac OS X and is used to synchronize data in iCal and the Address Book with .Mac and with devices including iPods, many SyncML-compatible mobile phones and Palm OS handheld organizers & smartphones....
     compatibility to sync contacts to phones, PDA
    Personal digital assistant

    A personal digital assistant is a handheld computer, also known as a palmtop computer. Newer PDAs also have both color screens and audio capabilities, enabling them to be used as mobile phones, , web browsers, or portable media players....
    s, iPod
    IPod

    iPod is a brand of portable media players designed and marketed by Apple Inc. and launched on . The product line-up includes the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the video-capable iPod Nano, and the compact iPod Shuffle....
    s, and other Macs
  • Syncs with MobileMe
    MobileMe

    MobileMe is a Subscription business model collection of online services and software offered by Apple Inc.. Originally launched on January 5, 2000, as iTools, a free collection of Internet-based services for users of Mac OS 9, Apple relaunched it as .Mac on July 17, 2002, when it became a paid subscription service primarily designed...
    's Contacts
  • Contacts are indexed by Spotlight
    Spotlight (software)

    Spotlight is a system-wide desktop search feature of Apple Inc. Mac OS X operating system introduced in version Mac OS X v10.4 on April 29, 2005....
  • Address Book stores previous recipient addresses used by Mail
  • URLs
    Uniform Resource Locator

    In Information technology, a Uniform Resource Locator is a type of Uniform Resource Identifier that specifies where an identified resource is available and the mechanism for retrieving it....
     in Address Book cards appear in Safari's Address Book bookmarks
  • Buddies in iChat can be associated with Address Book cards
  • Birthdays saved in Address Book appear in iCal if enabled
  • Address Book Dashboard
    Dashboard (software)

    Dashboard is an application for Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X operating systems, used for hosting mini-applications known as Widget engine. First introduced in Mac OS X v10.4, it is a semi-transparent layer that is invisible to the user unless activated by clicking its icon in the Dock....
     Widget
  • AppleScript
    AppleScript

    AppleScript is a scripting language devised by Apple Inc., and built into Mac OS. More generally, "AppleScript" is the word used to designate the Mac OS scripting interface, which is meant to operate in parallel with the graphical user interface....
     support for querying, adding, modifying, and removing people and groups


Problems and Limitations for Business Use

  • Address Book used to integrate Bluetooth
    Bluetooth

    Bluetooth is a wireless protocol for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks . It was originally conceived as a wireless alternative to RS232 data cables....
    -enabled phones (displaying incoming and missed calls, displaying incoming text messages
    Short message service

    Short Message Service is a communication service standardized in the GSM mobile communication system, using standardized communications protocols allowing the interchange of short text messages between mobile phone....
    , letting you send text messages using the phone, etc.) but these features have been entirely disabled in Mac OS 10.5 (Leopard).
  • Address Book can print either a person's name, or company/affiliation, on a label or envelope, but not both at the same time unless you check print company name in the print menu and you have the contact displayed by name and not company (uncheck company when editing contact.).
  • Address Book contacts cannot be synchronized with an LDAP server, therefore sharing addresses is nearly impossible.
  • Relatively primitive de-duplication facility
  • Can not export to Excel for mass editing - will only export vCards, which are of limited use as a de-duping or filtering tool.


Description

Address Book has two viewing modes: View Card and Column, and View Card Only. The user can switch between modes with a control in the upper-left portion of the window under the close box.

In View Card and Column, the Address Book window is divided into three panes. The first pane has the title Group. This pane lists All, Directories, and each user-made group. Users can add new groups by pulling the File menu down to New Group, or typing Command-Shift-N.

When selecting All or a user-made group, the second column has the title Name. It lists the names of the people with cards in that group, or all the names if the selected group is All, in alphabetical order by first or last name, depending on user preference.

The third pane has the card corresponding to the selected name. The card can include information, some of which the user can classify into customizable categories like Home and Work. Many of the fields can have duplicate entries, for example, if the person the card describes has several email addresses. The user can edit the fields by pressing the edit button below the bottom-left of the third pane. Default fields include:

  • Picture
  • Name pronunciation
  • First name
  • Last name
  • Job title
  • Company
  • Phone number
  • Email address
  • Home page
  • Birthday
  • Instant messaging username
    • AIM
      AOL Instant Messenger

      AOL Instant Messenger is an instant messaging and Presence information computer program which uses the proprietary software OSCAR protocol and the TOC protocol to allow registered users to communicate in real time....
    • ICQ
      ICQ

      ICQ is an instant messaging computer program, which was first developed by the Israeli company Mirabilis , now owned by Time Warner's AOL subsidiary....
    • Jabber
    • MSN
    • Yahoo
  • Address
  • Related Names
  • Note


Address Book can search LDAP directories. Users customize these in the LDAP tab of the preferences. Users search these by selecting Directories in the first pane, selecting a directory or All in the second pane, and typing their search in the search box above the top-left of the third pane. Results appear in the third pane.

External links

  • - Allows you to open Address Book as portable application
    Portable application

    A portable application is a computer software program that runs from a removable storage device such as a CD-ROM drive, USB flash drive, flash memory, or floppy disk....
     from external drive.
  • - Exports the Address Book to HTML (for example, to print a pocket phone book)