Using Web Contacts

ownCloud has a simple web interface to manage your contacts. It works by allowing you to create, import and export contacts in the vCard (vcf) file format. There is another section in this guide on how to connect to your ownCloud contacts with the Thunderbird email client and an Android App.

Adding contacts

To add a new contact, click on the Contacts icon in your navigation bar.

Then click Add Contact or New Contact.

You are now ready to input your contact information.

 

Fill in some or all of the boxes.

When you have finished editing the contact, click Close.

There are various types of additional information that you can add to your contact. It's a good idea to take time to explore the contact dialogues so you can get the most complete contact list right from the start.

While editing your contacts, click on the Add drop-down menu to add details such as Phone, Email Address and Web site.

Viewing and editing your contact

To view your contact, click on the contact name.

To edit the contact information, click on the part that you wish to edit, and a cursor will appear. You can add to or replace information by typing in the box.

You do not need to save the contact, changes are saved automatically.

You can also add photos of your contacts by clicking on the up arrow. This may help you to 'put a name to a face' or to remember more about your interactions with the contact.

 

Organizing your contacts

To organize your contacts you are recommended to use groups. This can make it easier to find your contacts, and can be useful for compartmentalizing your contacts between different jobs, for example, or between social and work.

When you are editing a contact you can click on the Select Groups drop-down to put your contact into a group of similar contacts.

It is possible to add your contacts to many different groups.

You can also drag and drop contacts into groups from the main Contacts window.

To do this, click on the contact name and drag it to the left and drop it over the group you want to add it to.

You can also add additional groups by clicking on the New Group icon.

For example, you could break your work contacts down into Donors, Leads, Staff, Interns, Designers, Fund-raisersfont-family: "Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-AU;mso-fareast-language:DE" lang="EN-AU">– anything you like.

How to import contacts from other sources – vCards

If you have a contact stored in another location, for example, in Thunderbird email client, Gmail web mail, or in another CRM system, you may be able to export it as a vCard. If so, you can import the contact, rather than manually inputting all the data. This will save you time and reduce inputting errors.

First export the contact, here is an example using Google mail.

To upload your vCard click on the cog-shaped settings icon (bottom left).

Then click the up-arrow to import.

Locate the file on your computer (try in your downloads file) and click open (or similar, depending on your operating system).

Your contact will then be uploaded, and should appear in your contacts list. You can then add it to groups, and add additional information as normal.

Sharing and exporting your contacts

By clicking on the cog-shaped setting menu, you reveal a series of buttons for sharing and exporting your contacts. If you click the share button,

you can share ALL your contacts with another person on your team. Start typing their user name and you will be able to choose them from a list of suggested people by clicking on their name.

All of your contacts will then be displayed in a sub-folder of their contacts.

You can export/download ALL of your contacts together, by clicking on the second icon in the set.

 

You can save your contacts as a .CSV or open them in an application, such as your email client.

However, if you just want to download an individual contact, then there is an option for this within the contact information box. Click on the contact name, and click on the Download button.

The third icon in the set of sharing buttons, found in the setting menu, is CardDAV link. This is used by other applications to connect to your ownCloud contacts.

Limitations of contacts web interface

There several noticeable limitations to the way you can work with contacts currently in the web interface of ownCloud especially when it comes to sharing and organizing groups of contacts.

You may want to explore using the CardDAV connection method in a more advanced client like Thunderbird to use the more advanced functionality and link this to your ownCloud site. This is explained in another chapter of this guide.