Add a contact to the mobile device Address book from an HTML webpage

Question

I'm currently building a site where, with one touch, you should be able to add a contact to your IPhone/Android Address book. The website is currently HTML5, but Javascript and/or PhP options could be implemented.

So is there a way that on the click of a link, the mobile device will open the Adress book already filled with the info I want it to have (Name, EMail Address, Street Address, Phone number).

I've looked everywhere to only find ways to program apps that would do the same thing. I want to make it from a webpage. Anywhere I can learn how to do this?

PS: Currently, I'm trying with everything in a .VCF file that could be downloaded on the click... this seems to lead me nowhere at the moment.

Blisse

Answer 1

W3C defined Contacts API as a working draft but as far as I tested it's not supported in iOS devices(I have iPad with iOS4 and iPhone with iOS 5). You should test some android devices and tell us if they support Contacts API or not. That would be useful for future readers.

In case you have contacts api supported you can do this:

if(navigator.contacts){
   var mycontacts = [];
   navigator.contacts( ['emails.value', 'name', 'friends'],
                         function(contacts) { 
                           for(i in contacts) {

                               mycontacts.push(contacts[i]);

                         } );
}

Azotic

is this still available? can you please provide a working sample code which will add the contact to phone contacts/address book? please? – Patriciapatrician

Answer 2

To create a VCF; paste below code in notepad. Then change the contact information part. Save it as vcf.

BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION:3.0
N:Smith;John;;Mr.;
FN:John Smith
ORG:Acme Corporation
TITLE:Sales Manager
TEL;TYPE=WORK,VOICE:[phone]
ADR;TYPE=WORK:;;123 Main St.;Anytown;CA;12345;USA
EMAIL:[email protected]
END:VCARD

Now upload this vcf file to a hosting server and get a link of that. Now this link can be share anywhare on the internet across the devices and platforms. once clicked on this link from a mobile phone. it will ask to save it as contact directly.

Cooperage

i liked a lot. Ialso found this article on-line that exapnds on VCF techdim.com/what-is-a-vcf-file – Amygdalin

dear sir, thanks for your answer, i have tried, but it does: a. download as regular file, b. it's prompts whether user like to open that file, c. if user click on "open" it shows as contact information and ask whether user like to save it or not? d. and only it saves to contact if user select so. => is there any way to reduces those steps? that is too much for end user. – Patriciapatrician

Answer 3

The first Idea i got was to use for Android (most Android-User, have a Google-Account) the Google-Contact-API.

Shamanism

Answer 4

I'm was searching for this too, and I found only this "near" solution:

1. Make a QR for your contact card
2. Use a link like:
   http://qrdroid.com/decode?q=[FULL-QR-IMAGE-URL] for it
3. If the user has QR Droid installed, it will decode the URL.

a video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-2D3uCV2bE

Personally I found that solution a bit buggy, this is safer:

1. The user saves the QR image from the browser (long-click, save image)
2. Open the image saved
3. Click "Menu"->Share->Decode with QR Droid

a video here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ws99exsZEIs

CONS:
it's counter intuitive
you need android and QR droid installed
I don't know if it's possible with iphone, and other mobiles.

Lowspirited

I don't know if you answered the wrong question, but your answer doesn't make sense with the question. – Blisse

can you explain why? you are asking for a way to add contact info with a click from a webpage in HTML, and putting a QR code with the contact information can do that if you have qr droid installed – Lowspirited

that's exactly what I'm saying, you can add the contact info directly to your address books, contact list etc with a QR code generated for that. QR Droid detects that you have contact info in your QR code and let's you add that information directly to the contact list. You can create the QR with QR droid too. Video here: youtube.com/watch?v=BXCColkqV8I also here is an online generator for QR with contact information zxing.appspot.com/generator (test it with QR droid and you will see that you can add that information directly to your contact list) – Lowspirited