“The Mac OS X Address Book is a neat little application that is often under-appreciated. As a seemingly boring application it has loads of features that are overlooked by most users. While useful on its own for organising your contacts, Address Book’s real power is that it works with so many other applications. Here are a few tips to save you time and let you make the most of Address Book,” Mac OS X Tips reports.
12 Mac OS X Address Book Tips:
• Add Contacts to your Safari Bookmarks
• Chat to your Contacts
• Put your Contacts in the Spotlight
• Highlight Groups
• Get Directions
• Merge two contacts
• Large Type
• Address Book Sharing
• Using vCards
• Make Your Own Card
• Restrict Private Information
• Printing Envelopes
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Judge Bork” for the heads up.]
Personally I LOVE Address Book.
I use it to address my Christmas cards every year.
Still a bit lacking, hoping for some significant changes in the next release
It’s missing a feature (unless I missed it) to print envelopes using a salutation…. for example I have John Doe in my list, (with other attributes for children, anniv, etc…) but I want my christmas list to use the salutation “The Doe Family” currently I have to go change them every year.
What I still find surprising about most contact managers is the inability to list enough details. For example, if a husband and wife both work, and both have their own mobile phones, they likely need 5 telephone number entries (home, wife’s work, wife’s mobile, husband’s work, husband’s mobile). Similar problem for email addresses and snailmail addresses. Also, most contact managers don’t handle dates very well. For example, again for a husband and wife, it’s not very easy to store both of their birthdays and their anniversary, and any birthdays for their children.
@Shiva
You add places for extra phone #’s and Birthdays by clicking on the + button to the left of the item you want to add. In Address Book you can easily have all of the information you talked about listed and ready to view.
It would be very nice if both AddressBook and FileMaker Pro worked together. Are there any script that that solve that problem.
Furthermore AddressBook should be maked to be able to work with any other Mac wordprocessor.
I wish it was more configurable and predictable when using it with LDAP servers, like being able to search for a name or contact before the entire remote directory is downloaded. And, (I’m loathe to even say it), compatability with Exchange.
Let’s not forget the ability to send SMS messages from your keyboard, via a Bluetooth linked mobile. Works with Sony Ericsson phones, very cool. Doesn’t work with Moto phones 🙁
Does anyone know how to print lables from only one contact (multiple on page)? – needed to print of lable stickers to one person only.
shiva105
“for a husband and wife, it’s not very easy to store both of their birthdays and their anniversary, and any birthdays for their children”
Make a separate address card for each individual and use the “spouse” & “children” & parent fields. Enter the first and last names in these fields and when you click on the field label, it magically gives you a choice of contacts you can show in a separate window.
I’m waiting for Apple to come out with the “Little Black Address Book” for those OTHER phone numbers lying around – complete with photo and video capabilities, a cryptic rating system, a complete list of lies that you ever told that person, as well as a list of every place and event that you took them.
Imagine! No more, “Hey, remember when we went to go see that movie?” “Ahhhh, no that wasn’t me, you jerk!”
And, it would reside inside a password-protected disk image so as to avoid embarrassing accidental discovery.
Now, that would truly be helpful!
cubert
you’re brilliant
Cubert, you should patent that thing ….
I didn’t realize I just need something like that too.
BuddyPop is a fabulously convenient addition to AddressBook. Instantly displays a contact. No need to mess with a widget.
How about printing person’s name before the company name or after it? This is needed if you send a personal letter compared to one that mail room can open and deliver to you. Some letters I get can be opened by anybody if I’m on 5 week vacation but if my name is on top they can’t open them and steal my coupons or free tickets.
@ Cubert, Wot a good idea! I am now working on software to target “blackbooks”, I will then sell it to contacts who want to verify that their partners are not low lifes!!:-)
Thanks! Every action has an opposite reaction!!!!!!!
400 contacts in one app 600 in another and another 300 in Address book. SO is there any way to export address book data in order to merge it all.
No I don’t want to use vcards.
I’ll be a bit nutty when it’s all done… if not already
Snapper,
Try exporting as a tab-delimited list (or similar text option) and then import to the other program.
Simple: Thanks SO much for your hint about the spouse and children fields. I’ve been trying to figure out how to do something similar and didn’t even realize what “related names” meant in the card template.