Free vCard Previewer
Open or paste a .vcf contact file to see each contact as a card, list every field, and check it before importing.
What is a vCard Previewer?
vCard is the standard file format for contacts, saved as .vcf and used by phones, email apps and address books to share names, numbers and addresses. This previewer opens a vCard file, shows each contact as a card, and checks it before you import it anywhere.
It reads vCard 2.1, 3.0 and 4.0 with ical.js, which parses into jCard, the JSON form defined in RFC 7095. Outlook-style 2.1 files are normalised first, so bare parameters and quoted-printable text read correctly, and a whole address book of cards can be checked at once for missing names, bad emails and phone numbers without a country code.
Key Features
Contact Cards
Name, title, organisation, phones, emails, addresses, websites and notes.
Every Field
Each property with its parameters, including custom X- fields.
All Versions
vCard 2.1 from Outlook, 3.0 from Google and Apple, and 4.0.
Import Check
Missing names, bad emails, local phone numbers and odd birthdays.
jCard Output
The contacts as JSON, ready for code that reads RFC 7095.
Perfect for everyone
- Anyone moving contacts between phones and apps
- CRM admins
- Developers handling .vcf files
How to Use the vCard Previewer
Open a .vcf file exported from a phone, Outlook, Google Contacts or a CRM, or paste its text. The cards, fields, check and jCard all read the same file, so you can see exactly what each app will import before you commit to it.
Open the File
Choose a .vcf file or paste text starting BEGIN:VCARD.
Read the Cards
See each contact the way an address book would.
Check the Fields
List every property to see exactly what will import.
Fix and Import
Fix problems in the text, then import or download.
vCard Files, Opened and Checked
Each row is a vCard as phones, Outlook, Google Contacts and CRMs export them, including files with mistakes. Each answer is this tool’s output in the mode on the chip: the contact card HTML, the field list, the check or jCard.
“BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:4.0 FN:Dr. Mira Okafor N:Okafor;Mira;;Dr.; ORG:Harbour Goods;Design TITLE:Head of Design EMAIL;TYPE=work:mira@harbourgoods.example TEL;TYPE=cell,voice;VALUE=uri:tel:+44-7700-900123 ADR;TYPE=work:;;12 Ferry St;Portsmouth;;PO1 2AB;United Kingdom URL:https://harbourgoods.example BDAY:19880412 NOTE:Met at the trade fair\, ask about lanterns. END:VCARD”
“BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:2.1 N:Shah;Ravi FN:Ravi Shah ORG:Ferry Street Bakery TEL;WORK;VOICE:023 9200 0000 EMAIL;PREF;INTERNET:ravi@ferrystreetbakery.example NOTE;ENCODING=QUOTED-PRINTABLE;CHARSET=UTF-8:Caf=C3=A9 owner, prefers = calls after 3pm END:VCARD”
“BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:4.0 FN:Dr. Mira Okafor N:Okafor;Mira;;Dr.; ORG:Harbour Goods;Design TITLE:Head of Design EMAIL;TYPE=work:mira@harbourgoods.example TEL;TYPE=cell,voice;VALUE=uri:tel:+44-7700-900123 ADR;TYPE=work:;;12 Ferry St;Portsmouth;;PO1 2AB;United Kingdom URL:https://harbourgoods.example BDAY:19880412 NOTE:Met at the trade fair\, ask about lanterns. END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:2.1 N:Shah;Ravi FN:Ravi Shah ORG:Ferry Street Bakery TEL;WORK;VOICE:023 9200 0000 EMAIL;PREF;INTERNET:ravi@ferrystreetbakery.example NOTE;ENCODING=QUOTED-PRINTABLE;CHARSET=UTF-8:Caf=C3=A9 owner, prefers = calls after 3pm END:VCARD”
“BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 EMAIL:mira at harbourgoods TEL:07700 900123 PHOTO;VALUE=uri:https://cdn.example.com/mira.jpg BDAY:April 12 END:VCARD”
“BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Lin;Wei;;Prof.; FN:Prof. Wei Lin ORG:Northern University;Physics TEL;TYPE=WORK,VOICE:+44 161 555 0199 EMAIL;TYPE=INTERNET,WORK:w.lin@northern.example END:VCARD”
“BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:4.0 KIND:org FN:Ferry Street Bakery TEL;VALUE=uri;TYPE=work:tel:+44-23-9200-0000 URL:https://ferrystreetbakery.example ADR;TYPE=work:;;3 Ferry St;Portsmouth;;PO1 3AB;United Kingdom END:VCARD”
“BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:4.0 FN:Ana Souza EMAIL;PREF=1:ana@example.com EMAIL:ana.souza@work.example TEL;TYPE=cell:tel:+55-11-91234-5678 END:VCARD”
“BEGIN:VCARD FN:No Version END:VCARD”
“BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 END:VCALENDAR”
“BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:4.0 FN:Half a Card TEL:+1 555 0100”
Common vCard Properties
A vCard is a list of properties, one per line, each with a name, optional parameters and a value. These are the ones address books use most, and what each holds, so you can read a .vcf file by eye and spot what an app left out.
FN
The formatted name to display, such as Dr. Mira Okafor.
“Is FN required?”
N
The structured name: family; given; additional; prefixes; suffixes.
“Which part comes first in N?”
ORG
Organisation and units, separated by semicolons.
“How are departments added?”
TITLE
Job title, such as Head of Design.
“What does TITLE hold?”
TEL
A phone number, with TYPE such as cell, work or home.
“Which parameter says it’s a mobile?”
An email address, with TYPE and PREF for the preferred one.
“How is the main address marked?”
ADR
Address parts: PO box; extended; street; city; region; postcode; country.
“Where does the postcode go?”
URL
A website for the contact.
“What does URL hold?”
BDAY
Birthday, as 19880412 or 1988-04-12.
“How is a birthday written?”
NOTE
Free text, with commas and semicolons escaped by a backslash.
“How is a comma written in NOTE?”
vCard 2.1, 3.0 and 4.0
Three versions of vCard are still in daily use, and each app exports the one it prefers. Most files open everywhere, but the differences explain why a contact sometimes imports with a missing name or a garbled note, and why the same contact can look different in two apps.
vCard 2.1
The 1996 Versit format, still exported by Outlook, with bare TYPE values and quoted-printable text.
vCard 3.0
RFC 2426 from 1998, used by Google Contacts and Apple, requiring both N and FN.
vCard 4.0
RFC 6350 from 2011, UTF-8 only, with tel: URIs, KIND for organisations and groups, and PREF ranks.
jCard
RFC 7095 maps any vCard to JSON for web APIs.
Mixed Files
One .vcf can hold cards of different versions, each read on its own.
Importing Contacts Cleanly
Most import problems come from a few predictable places, and they are easier to fix in the text before importing than one contact at a time afterwards. A quick check of these saves a long clean-up later, especially for a shared or company address book.
Country Codes
Store numbers with + and the country code so they dial correctly anywhere.
One Name Field
Make sure every card has FN, or apps may show a blank or an email address.
Character Encoding
Save files as UTF-8 so accented names survive the import.
Duplicates
Importing the same file twice usually creates duplicates rather than merging.
Photos
Embedded photos make files large; linked photos may not load at all.
When to Use a vCard Previewer
Whenever a .vcf file arrives and you want to know what’s inside before importing it, or you need to check contacts your code produces before they reach someone’s phone or a shared address book.
Switching Phones
Check an exported address book before importing it.
Email Attachments
Open a contact card someone sent without adding it.
CRM Imports
Check a batch of contacts before a bulk import.
App Development
Inspect .vcf output and its jCard form.
Old Exports
Read Outlook 2.1 files that newer apps garble.
Getting a VCF File From Your Apps
Every major contacts app can save contacts as vCard, though the option is often buried in a share or export menu. These are the usual routes, and which version of the format each one tends to produce, so you know what to expect when you open the file here and which quirks to look for.
iPhone
Open a contact, choose Share Contact, and save or send the .vcf file it creates.
Google Contacts
Select contacts, choose Export, and pick the vCard option for iOS Contacts.
Android Phones
In the Contacts app’s settings, export to a .vcf file on the phone’s storage.
Mac Contacts
Select contacts, then File, Export and Export vCard.
Outlook
Save a contact as a .vcf file; desktop Outlook typically writes vCard 2.1.
vCard Pitfalls
Mistakes that make contacts import with missing or garbled details, often without any warning from the app doing the import. They are easy to fix in the text of the file once you know what to look for, and much harder to fix contact by contact afterwards.
Unescaped Commas
A bare comma in NOTE or TITLE splits the value into a list in 3.0 and 4.0.
Missing FN
Apps show a blank or an email address in place of the name.
Local Phone Numbers
Numbers without a country code dial the wrong place abroad.
Wrong Line Endings
Some importers need CRLF line endings, as the standard specifies.
Folded Lines
Long lines continue on the next line after a space; a missing space breaks them.
Unbalanced Cards
Every BEGIN:VCARD needs its own END:VCARD.