File Extension Guide📖 What is a VCF File?
A VCF file (Virtual Contact File) is also known as a vCard file, is a standardized file format for storing contacts information electronically. The format was originally developed by the Versit Consortium in 1995 and is now maintained by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).
VCF files are plain text files that contain structured contact data. They are universally supported across all major platforms including Windows, macOS, iOS android and web-based services like Google Contacts and Outlook.com.
Personal Information
- Full name and nickname
- Job title and organization
- Birthday and anniversary
- Profile photo (embedded)
Contact Details
- Phone numbers (mobile, home, work)
- Email addresses
- Physical addresses
- Website URLs and social media
⚡ Quick Facts
| File Extension | .vcf or .vcard |
| Full Name | Virtual Contact File (vCard) |
| Category | Contact / Address Book File |
| MIME Type | text/vcard |
| Developed By | Versit Consortium (1995), now IETF |
| Current Version | vCard 4.0 (RFC 6350, 2011) |
| File Type | Plain text (human-readable) |
| Character Encoding | UTF-8 (vCard 4.0), ASCII/UTF-8 (earlier) |
| Multiple Contacts | Yes - single file can contain many contacts |
| Photo Support | Yes - embedded as Base64 or URL |
🔧 VCF File Structure
VCF files use a simple text-based structure with property-value pairs. Each contact entry is wrapped between BEGIN:VCARD and END:VCARD markers. Here's an example:
VERSION:3.0
FN:John Smith
N:Smith;John;;Mr.;
ORG:Acme Corporation
TITLE:Sales Manager
TEL;TYPE=CELL:+1-555-123-4567
TEL;TYPE=WORK:+1-555-987-6543
EMAIL:john.smith@acme.com
ADR;TYPE=WORK:;;123 Business Ave;New York;NY;10001;USA
URL:https://www.acme.com
BDAY:1985-03-15
NOTE:Met at Tech Conference 2024
END:VCARD
Common VCF Properties
| Property | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
FN | Formatted (display) name | John Smith |
N | Structured name (Last;First;Middle;Prefix;Suffix) | Smith;John;;Mr.; |
TEL | Telephone number with optional type | +1-555-123-4567 |
EMAIL | Email address | john@example.com |
ADR | Address (PO;Ext;Street;City;State;ZIP;Country) | ;;123 Main St;Boston;MA;02101;USA |
ORG | Organization/company name | Acme Corporation |
TITLE | Job title | Software Engineer |
PHOTO | Contact photo (Base64 or URL) | data:image/jpeg;base64,... |
BDAY | Birthday | 1985-03-15 |
URL | Website URL | https://example.com |
NOTE | Additional notes | Met at conference |
BEGIN:VCARD and END:VCARD tags, making VCF files ideal for backing up or transferring entire address books.
📊 vCard Versions
The vCard format has evolved through three major versions, each adding new features and improving compatibility:
vCard 2.1
Released 1996
- Original specification
- Quoted-printable encoding
- Basic contact fields
- ASCII character focus
Legacy
vCard 3.0
Released 2001 (RFC 2426)
- Improved UTF-8 encoding
- Better photo handling
- More property types
- Widely adopted standard
Most Common
vCard 4.0
Released 2011 (RFC 6350)
- Full UTF-8 by default
- XML/JSON representations
- Extended properties
- Better data typing
Latest
📂 How to Open a VCF File
VCF files are supported by virtually all contact management applications. Here are the most common ways to open them:
Windows
macOS
Mobile Devices
Online Services
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Locate the VCF file on your computer, in an email attachment or download folder.
- Double-click the file to open it with your default contact application.
- Review the contact details displayed in the import preview window.
- Click "Import" or "Add" to save the contact to your address book.
- Verify the imported data is complete and correct in your contacts app.
✏️ How to Create a VCF File
There are several ways to create VCF files depending on your needs:
📱 From Contact Apps
Export contacts from your device or application:
- iPhone: Contacts → Select → Share → VCF
- Android: Contacts → Menu → Export
- Outlook: Contact → File → Save As → vCard
- Google: contacts.google.com → Export
📝 Manual Creation
Create using any text editor:
- Open Notepad or any text editor
- Type the vCard structure (see example above)
- Save with
.vcfextension - Use UTF-8 encoding for international characters
🔄 Convert from Other Formats
Convert existing data to VCF:
- CSV to VCF conversion
- Excel spreadsheet to VCF
- Database export to vCard
🌐 Online Generators
Use web-based tools:
- Fill out a web form with contact details
- Download the generated VCF file
- Great for single contacts
- No software installation needed
🎯 Common Uses
VCF files serve many practical purposes in both personal and professional settings:
Digital Business Cards
Share contact info professionally at meetings and conferences via email or QR codes.
Phone Migration
Transfer contacts when switching phones. Export from old device, import to new one.
Contact Backup
Create offline backups of important contacts. Store safely in cloud or external drives.
CRM Integration
Import contacts into Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho CRM for business management.
Email Client Sync
Keep contacts synchronized across Outlook, Thunderbird and webmail services.
Directory Sharing
Distribute organizational contact lists to employees, members or event attendees.
⚖️ VCF vs CSV
Both VCF and CSV are popular formats for storing contacts. Here's how they compare:
| Feature | VCF (vCard) | CSV |
|---|---|---|
| Format Type | Structured contact format | Generic tabular data |
| Photo Support | ✅ Embedded (Base64) | ❌ Not supported |
| Multiple Values | ✅ Multiple phones/emails | ⚠️ Requires extra columns |
| Universal Support | ✅ All contact apps | ⚠️ Mapping varies by app |
| Spreadsheet Edit | ❌ Not designed for this | ✅ Opens in Excel/Sheets |
| Best For | Sharing, mobile, backup | Bulk editing, analysis, CRM |
- Sharing contacts between devices
- Including contact photos
- Creating digital business cards
- Transferring to mobile phones
- Bulk editing in spreadsheets
- Importing to databases/CRM
- Data analysis and reporting
- Simple data without photos
🔧 Troubleshooting
Common issues and their solutions:
- Corrupted file: Open in a text editor to check structure integrity
- No associated program: Right-click → Open with → Choose contact app
- Wrong encoding: Re-save the file with UTF-8 encoding
- Missing tags: Ensure file has proper BEGIN/END:VCARD structure
- Ensure the VCF file is saved with UTF-8 encoding
- For vCard 2.1, check CHARSET parameter is set correctly
- Try using vCard 3.0 or 4.0 format for better Unicode support
- Use a dedicated VCF viewer that handles encoding properly
- Check if target application supports embedded photos
- Verify photo is properly Base64 encoded in the VCF
- Try converting to a different vCard version
- Reduce photo size if it's too large (>1MB)
- Check for syntax errors in individual contact entries
- Ensure each contact has proper BEGIN/END:VCARD tags
- Look for special characters that might break parsing
- Try splitting the file into smaller batches
Help & Support
Frequently Asked Questions
VCF and vCard refer to the same thing, there is no difference. VCF stands for "Virtual Contact File" and is the file extension (.vcf), while vCard is the name of the format specification itself. Both terms are used interchangeably in the industry.
Yes! A single VCF file can contain any number of contacts. Each contact entry is wrapped between BEGIN:VCARD and END:VCARD markers. This makes VCF files ideal for backing up entire address books, sharing contact directories and migrating contacts between devices.
VCF files are plain text files and cannot contain executable code or viruses by themselves. However, you should still be cautious of VCF files from unknown sources, scan files with antivirus software and be aware that URLs in VCF files could potentially link to malicious sites.
There are several ways to convert VCF to spreadsheet formats:
- Import to Outlook first, then export as CSV
- Use Google Contacts: Import VCF, then export as CSV
- Use dedicated software like Univik vCard Converter
- Online converters: Various free tools available
Yes! VCF files are plain text and can be edited with any text editor like Notepad, VS Code or Sublime Text. Maintain the BEGIN:VCARD and END:VCARD structure, follow the property format, save with UTF-8 encoding and keep the .vcf extension.
There is no official size limit for VCF files. Practical limits depend on email attachment limits (usually 25MB), application handling capabilities and embedded photo sizes. For very large contact lists, consider splitting into multiple files.
iPhone: Open Contacts → Select contact → Scroll down → Tap "Share Contact" → Choose method (AirDrop, Message, Email)
Android: Open Contacts → Select contact → Tap menu (three dots) → Share → Select "Share as VCF" → Choose method
🛠️ Related Tools
📝 Summary: Key Points About VCF Files
- VCF (vCard) is the standard format for electronic contacts
- Uses .vcf or .vcard file extension
- Plain text format that is human-readable
- Supports photos, multiple phone numbers, addresses
- Three versions: 2.1, 3.0 and 4.0
- Compatible with all major platforms
- Can contain single or multiple contacts
- Best for sharing and backing up contacts
- Can be created and edited with text editors
- Universally supported by contact applications
