
How to open a VCF file ?
The VCF file format was created to record information associated with contacts. This information is useful on email services such as Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo Mail… Moreover, this data can be consulted and imported by tools such as Microsoft Outlook, Google Drive or iCloud. You can also convert this type of file to CSV format or Excel workbook.
What’Is the VCF format on PC ?
L’file extension ” .vcf “ is an abbreviation of the English terms Virtual Card File. Unlike the paper version, these electronic business cards can contain a wide range of information. They include contact information of the person in question (name, first name, address, e-mail, telephone, fax, etc.). The file can also include URLs, logos, photos..
The use of the vCard format is especially widespread among clients of email platforms or instant messengers. Through this technique, they can easily exchange personal data with their online contacts. These documents also allow users to share their contact list.
A VCF file can include a whole address book or a single contact. In this second case, it is simply a virtual business card. The principle remains the same however.
Moreover, these slightly different contents did not lead to any change in the extensions for this type of document.
The vCards are basically, stored as a text file (.txt). However, they can also integrate binary data blocks for other content. You therefore need specific programs to access all the information stored in these business cards.
Under Windows, the VCF files can be opened by various tools, including :
- Microsoft Windows Contacts;
- Microsoft Outlook ;
- Qualcomm Eudora ;
- Palm Desktop ;
- Beiley Handy Address Book ;
- Fonlow IT Open Contacts;
- vCardOrganizer.
Other software also allows to open this file format by read only. However, only the dedicated applications gather all the functionalities such as import, export, creation and edition of VCF.
How to convert a VCF file to CSV or Excel ?
Many online platforms currently offer convert your VCF files to the following formats .csv, .xls or .xlsx. As a reminder, CSV is the abbreviation for comma-separated values. This is, in a sense, a text translation of an Excel spreadsheet.
The formatting of the latter will be translated here into comma, semicolon and line feed.
Therefore, the sites that carry out the VCF to Excel conversion often provide the same service to CSV. This last format is also closer to vCard through its text base. Translation errors will therefore be relatively limited.
However, stay alert against scams and other dangers of the Web.
Choose sites with a good reputation or at least known pages that. Aconvert, fConvert, PDF Mall and The Web Vendor are among the most popular platforms reliable at the moment.
That said, Aconvert stands out for its efficiency and ease of use.
- Start by going to the web page of this service.
- Once on the website, click on the option Choose the files.
- Search and select the file to convert.
- Then choose the desired output format, in this case CSV or Excel.
- Finally, press the button Convert now to start the operation.
- After the transformation, you will find the new file in Converted results.
You will be able to retrieve it by performing backups on the Cloud, via services such as Dropbox or Google Drive. Moreover, experts often recommend storing copies of your personal data on these platforms. You will have a recovery plan in case of problems with the support of your contact list.