Creating Contacts

You can create new contacts in your personal contact folders or in other users' shared or public contact folders - provided you have relevant access rights - using one of the methods described below.

Please note that the approach for creating new distribution lists differs from the descriptions below. The steps for creating new distribution lists is explained under the section called “Combining contacts in distribution lists” in this chapter.

Creating new contacts in the Contacts module

With the Contacts module open, click on the Contacts icon in the New panel section. Here it is irrelevant whether the panel is expanded - in each view of the panel, the icon at the top always represents the function for creating new contacts.

As an alternative you can open the New contact window by double-clicking in the empty field below the contacts in the list or card view.

Creating contacts in other users' public or shared contact folders

Please note that you need the right to create objects for these folders in order to create new contacts in other users' public or shared contact folders.

If you have not been granted such access rights, a relevant message is displayed after starting the function to create new contacts. From this message, you can decide whether you want to create that contact in your personal contact folder (Contact folder), or cancel the function.

You can find more information about choosing the desired destination folder and the necessary access rights under the section called “Entering data for a new contact” of this chapter.

Creating new contacts from other modules

Even if you are not in the Contacts module, you can create new contacts - from any other module of Open-Xchange Server. If the panel is not expanded, click on the downward-pointing arrow in the New panel section and select Contact from the menu that is opened then.

If the panel is already expanded, click on the Contact icon in the New panel section.

Destination folder for new contacts

Since contacts can only be managed in contact folders, your personal contact folder (Contacts folder) is automatically preset as the destination folder when you create new contacts from other modules of Open-Xchange Server.

If you would like to save new contacts in other folders of your personal contact folders or in other users' public or shared contact folders, you can select a different destination folder when you enter the new contact information.

You can find more information about choosing a destination folder and the required access rights in the section the section called “Entering data for a new contact” below.

Creating a new contact from an E-Mail address

With drag and drop you can create a new contact from an E-Mail address of a received or sent E-Mail.

To do so open the E-Mail module. Open an E-Mail in h split or v split view. Move the mouse cursor over an E-Mail address. The mouse cursor turns into a hand icon. Drag the E-Mail address on a contact folder in the folder tree. Drop the E-Mail address. The dialog window for entering the contact data is opened.

Creating a new contact from a vCard attachment

You can create a new contact from an E-Mail's vCard attachment. A vCard attachment can be recognized by the ending vcf.

Open the E-Mail module. Display the E-Mail in the H Split or V Split view. In the lower part of the overview window right click on the vsf file. Choose Import vCard from the context menu. The dialog window for editing the contact data opens.

Entering data for a new contact

Regardless of how and from which module you have launched the contact creation function, this function call opens the Contact window with the Business tab activated. You can now enter the new contact data into the appropriate fields.

The Display name field is an automatic field - you do not necessarily need to fill in this field. If you do not enter a value in this field, Open-Xchange Server will take the value from the Last name field. If you have also entered a first name, a combination of the fields Last name and First name will be entered into the Displayed name field.

Personal contacts

If you have launched the contact creation function from a personal folder, you can set the new contacts to be created as personal contacts. Contacts marked as personal are only accessible to you - even if you share your personal contact folders with other users, other users can neither see nor edit your personal contacts.

Figure 3.6. Personal contacts

Personal contacts

Creating personal contacts

Please note that only contacts managed in your personal contact folders can be marked as personal contacts. If you create new contacts in other users' public or shared contact folders, the option Personal contact is not available in the Contact window.

Personal data, tags, and folders

The Private tab allows you to manage the personal data of your new contact, for instance the private address as well as other information and remarks. If you have a photo or company logo for this contact, you can also load an image into the contact data record (file formats: JPG, BMP, GIF, or PNG; recommended size: 90 x 90 pixels). To do so click on Add in the Picture panel section.

Images in contact records

Since contact images are managed directly in the database of Open-Xchange Server, you can add images to contacts even if you do not have any more storage space available for attachments or InfoStore entries on the server.

To be reminded of the contact's birthday you can create a serial appointment. To do so click on the calendar icon in the Birthday row. A dialog windows opens asking whether you want to create an annual serial appointment for the birthday. Further information on serial appointments can be found in the section called “Appointment series”.

Furthermore, you can associate one or several tags with the new contact via the Business tab. For this, you enter either the desired tags manually in the field Tags (individual tags must be separated from each other by commas) or you click on the Tags option and then select the desired tags with a mouse click. Note that the Tags option display tags only if you had provided these before into the Settings.

As a result, all selected tags are entered into the Tags field .

If you would like to delete one or several of the tags associated with a contact again, delete the appropriate entries from the Tags field. Place your cursor into the field and delete the undesirable tag(s).

As an alternative, click on Tags deselect the tags in the popup window and click OK.

Creating personal tags

If you would like to reuse certain tags frequently, it is advisable to create these as personal tags in the Settings, so that you can access these tags more simply. You can find more information about creating your personal tags and a description of the procedure in the chapter Settings under the section called “Private Tags”.

The Folder option allows you to specify in which folder the new contact should be saved; this field is preset to one of the following folders:

  • When you create new contacts from one of your personal contact folders => the personal contact folder that was open during the creation of the new contact.

  • When you create new contacts from other users' public or shared contact folders to which you have been granted the right to create objects => the public or shared contact folder that was open during the creation of the new contact.

  • When you create new contacts from other users' public or shared contact folder to which you have not been granted folder rights => your personal contact folder (Contacts folder).

  • When you create new contacts from another module of Open-Xchange Server, e.g., Email, Calendar, etc. => your personal contact folder (Contacts folder).

When you make a choice, please note that new contacts can only be saved in contact folders and that you need the right to create objects for saving contacts to other users' public or shared contact folders. In the select list you can only choose folders, in which you can save contacts.

Entering additional data

Via the Additional tab you can manage additional data for the new contact. Here you can add another address (e.g., a vacation address) as well as accompanying contact information. In addition, you can use the dynamic fields to capture your own information about the contact for which Open-Xchange Server does not offer any fields.

Adding attachments to contacts

If you would like to associate relevant external documents directly with the new contact (e.g., text documents with driving directions, spreadsheets with quotes, etc.), you can add the appropriate files as attachments to the contact.

Please note that in order to be able to add attachments to contacts, you must have enough free storage space on the server. If you have filled up the storage space assigned to you, you cannot add any further attachments to contacts. The InfoBox on the Start page of Open-Xchange Server provides information about your currently available storage space.

In order to add attachments to new contacts, you first activate the Attachments tab and then click on Add attachment under the Attachments panel section. This function opens the Select Attachments window where you can select the file(s) to be attached. Select one or more files via Browse and use the Add option to add them to the list of attachments.

When you confirm your file selection with OK, the Select Attachments window closes and the attachment(s) are added to the contact.

Adding attachments to contacts

Every attachment that you associate with a contact is exclusively connected with this contact. If you add a file to several contacts as an attachment, each of these contacts receives its own copy of this file as an attachment.

Removing attachments from a contact

If you had selected documents and added them as attachments to the new contact by mistake, you can delete them again.

Select the file(s) you want to delete from the contact in the attachments table. If you want to select several files, hold down the Ctrl key (for non-adjacent multi-selections) or the Shift key (for adjacent multi-selections). Then click on Delete in the Attachments panel section to delete all previously selected attachments from the contact.

Saving or discarding entries

If you want to save the new contact with all entered data, click on the Save icon in the Save panel section. This closes the Contact window and creates the new contact in the previously selected folder.

If you do not want to save the contact, click on Cancel in the Windows panel section. To be safe, you will be asked whether you really want to discard your entries. If you confirm this query with OK, the Contact window closes and all entered data is discarded.