Microsoft KB Archive/218397

= Converting vCard to contact displays the Windows Address Book in Outlook =

Article ID: 218397

Article Last Modified on 1/31/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Office Outlook 2003
 * Microsoft Outlook 2002 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Outlook 2000 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q218397



SYMPTOMS
When you receive a message which contains a vCard and attempt to create a contact from the vCard, by double-clicking the vCard icon, a message appears with the option to Add to Address Book. After you click this button, a contact is not created.



CAUSE
You have previously set the Windows Address Book (WAB) as the default handler for vCard information. The information was added to the default WAB on your computer.



RESOLUTION
Set Outlook to be the handler for vCard files.



MORE INFORMATION
The WAB is primarily used by Microsoft Outlook Express and may be used by the Internet Only installation of Outlook. When the WAB is set to handle vCards, the Outlook Contact form is not used to import and present this information.

NOTE: Because there are several versions of Microsoft Windows, the following steps may be different on your computer. If they are, see your product documentation to complete these steps.

To set Outlook as the default handler for vCards, follow these steps:

 Quit all running programs. Click Start, point to Programs, and then click Windows Explorer. On the View menu, click Folder Options. Click the File Types tab, and on the Registered File Types list, click vCard File. Click Edit and in Edit File Types, click Open in the Actions box. Click Edit. In Editing Action For Type: vCard File, click Browse and navigate to the Outlook.exe file. The default location for Outlook.exe is:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office.

The path in your installation may vary if you did not use the default installation location. In the case of the example path, a switch that designates that Outlook opens the vCard and a variable to store the filename must be added. The path for the association must read as follows:

"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\outlook.exe" /v "%1"

IMPORTANT: Use quotation marks as in the above path. Click OK, OK, and then OK.</li> Start Outlook and locate the message that contains the vCard file. Double-click the vCard icon. A contact form appears with the information from the vCard. Click Save and Close to store the contact.</li></ol>

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